NATO considers responses to DPRK troop deployment to Russia

Bloomberg reports, citing sources.

The article says that South Korea will present its intelligence to NATO officials on Monday during a meeting of the North Atlantic Council. At the same time, the news agency's interlocutors added that NATO's response to the DPRK's deployment of troops to Russia is ‘limited’.

‘NATO’s potential responses are limited but could include intensifying support for Ukraine and building up partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region,’ the sources said.

It’s assumed the North Korean troops will be dispatched to the frontlines of Russia’s war in Ukraine once their approximately month-long training at military facilities in Vladivostok, Ussuriysk, Khabarovsk and Blagoveshchensk is completed, according to the South Korean documents.

The Kremlin plans to equip the North Koreans with weapons and combat uniforms as well as fake identities to make them appear to be residents of eastern regions of Russia, it said.

Military cooperation between Russia and North Korea

On October 4, the Kyiv Post reported that 20 soldiers were killed in a missile strike on occupied Donetsk, including six North Korean military personnel advising the Russian army.

The South Korean Defense Minister warned on October 8 that North Korea may deploy troops to Ukraine in support of Russia.

At an October 17 press conference in Brussels, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed Russia's plan to train 10,000 North Korean soldiers for combat in Ukraine.

Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Military Intelligence, later reported that 11,000 North Korean infantrymen are training in eastern Russia, preparing for deployment to Ukraine. He added that the first unit of 2,600 soldiers is en route to Kursk, where Ukraine has established a stronghold.

Ukraine has since shared intelligence with NATO about North Korea’s military involvement and requested data from alliance members.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that the participation of the North Korean military in the war against Ukraine on the side of Russia would mean a “significant escalation.” 

Later, it was reported that South Korea was considering providing Ukraine with military and intelligence assistance in response to North Korea's sending its military to fight on the side of Russia.