Source: Washington Post
“NATO chief Mark Rutte said Monday that North Korean soldiers have been deployed to Kursk, the Russian region where Ukrainian forces seized territory in a surprise attack over the summer. The United States said last week that at least 3,000 North Korean personnel were undergoing combat training in Russia, though it was not yet clear if they would join the war. The U.S. announcement, which officials said was based on newly declassified intelligence, followed similar disclosures from Kyiv and Seoul. [Vladimir] Putin appeared to obliquely acknowledge the presence of North Korean troops in Russia last week and cited the article on mutual defense in the two countries’ new security treaty. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday said condemnations from Western leaders about Russian-North Korean cooperation were ‘an attempt in retrospect’ to justify their own military support to Ukraine.” (10/28/24)