NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte recently confirmed that North Korean troops have been deployed to support Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine. Speaking at a press conference on October 28, 2024, Rutte characterized North Korea’s involvement as a sign of Russia’s inability to sustain its invasion on its own. He described this reliance on foreign support as an indication of Moscow’s “growing desperation” as the war reaches two and a half years. According to intelligence reports from South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, the country’s defense ministry, and NATO allies, North Korean soldiers have been stationed in Russia’s Kursk region, near the occupied areas in Ukraine. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently stated that his forces expect to encounter North Korean troops on the battlefield within days, marking the first time another nation has committed ground troops to the main conflict in Ukraine. The situation has raised concerns in South Korea, which condemned the deployment and hinted at potentially supplying weapons to Ukraine as part of phased countermeasures. South Korean officials fear that the involvement of North Korean troops could destabilize the region further. NATO has also urged both Russia and North Korea to withdraw their forces, warning of heightened security risks across both the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions. In response to the growing criticism, Russian President Vladimir Putin defended the decision, asserting that deploying North Korean troops is Russia’s “sovereign decision.”