NATO chief Mark Rutte said that North Korean troops had been sent to Russia, framing it as a sign of “growing desperation” in the Kremlin after over 600,000 Russian forces have been killed or wounded in Ukraine.

The head of NATO Mark Rutte confirmed the deployment of North Korean troops in Russia and said it represented a “significant escalation.”

Rutte also said that more than 600,000 Russian troops had been killed or injured in “Putin’s war.”

Meanwhile, South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol has told European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that North Korean involvement on the battlefield could take place “sooner than expected.”

Here are the major developments in Russia’s war in Ukraine on Monday, October 28.

‘North Korean troops have been sent to Russia’ — NATO chief Mark Rutte

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Monday told a media briefing there were North Korean troops in Russia.

“Today, I can confirm that North Korean troops have been sent to Russia, and that North Korean military units have been deployed to the Kursk region,” NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told reporters.

Rutte said this represented a “significant escalation” in Pyongyang’s involvement in conflict and marked “a dangerous expansion of Russia’s war.”

Ukrainian forces launched a major offensive in Kursk in August and managed to capture large swathes of territory in a surprise offensive this August.

“The deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea is a threat to both Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic security,” Rutte told reporters after NATO officials and diplomats received a briefing from a South Korean delegation.

Rutte also pointed to Russia’s battlefield losses and said this was a sign of “growing desperation” on the part of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Over 600,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in Putin’s war and he is unable to sustain his assault on Ukraine without foreign support,” Rutte said.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov appeared to shrugg off Rutte’s comments, noting a joint security pact last signed by Moscow and Pyongyang in June.

Lavrov stopped short of confirming North Korean soldiers were in Russia.

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Iceland for Ukraine-Nordic Summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday said he had arrived in Iceland to discuss the Russian invasion with the leaders of several Nordic states.

“This marks my first working visit to Iceland, where I will participate in the Fourth Ukraine-Nordic Summit and hold bilateral talks with its participants,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X.

Zelenskyy also said discussions would center around support for his “victory plan” and areas where “cooperation can yield maximum results.”

Zelenskyy’s plan is a road map to ending the war on Ukraine’s terms.

He highlighted the financing of Ukrianian weapons production and long-range and training and equipment for Ukrianian forces among other talking points.

“The Nordic countries are our principled and resolute allies, and the Ukraine-Nordic Platform stands as one of our most productive multilateral formats,” Zelenskyy said.

Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden have pledged billions of euros in aid to Ukraine since Russian forces invaded in February 2022.

Seoul wants ‘practical countermeasures’ against North Korean deployment

South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Monday that the deployment of North Korean troops to battlefields in Ukraine could happen sooner than expected.

Yoon made the comments in a phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The comments also come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said North Korean troops could join the battlefield against Ukraine “in a matter of days.”

“This unlawful military cooperation between Russia and North Korea fundamentally undermines the rules-based international order and poses a threat to peace on the Korean Peninsula and globally,” South Korea’s Yonhap news agency quoted Yoon as saying.

Yoon said Seoul was hoping to seek “practical countermeasures” with the EU and member states, and would redouble efforts to monitor and block “illegal exchanges” between Russia and North Korea.

This marks my first working visit to Iceland, where I will participate in the Fourth Ukraine-Nordic Summit and hold bilateral talks with its participants: the Prime Ministers of Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Sweden. I will meet with Iceland’s President and…

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 28, 2024