North Koreans fighting for Putin threatens world order, Rutte says

North Korean troops now fighting for Russian leader Vladimir Putin against Ukraine represent a “deeply dangerous” moment for the world, NATO chief Mark Rutte said Wednesday. 

“These deepening military and economic ties between a reckless Russia and an emboldened North Korea don’t just threaten Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific security, they are deeply dangerous for global security,” Rutte wrote in an opinion piece for POLITICO published Wednesday.

Rutte sounded the alarm over Moscow’s growing reliance on its “authoritarian friends” — North Korea, Iran and China — and warned that Pyongyang’s involvement in the war could mark the start of a “far darker” phase of the prolonged conflict. 

China, Rutte said, “bears particular responsibility” to use its influence with Moscow and Pyongyang to de-escalate the conflict, as he chided Beijing for its efforts to “prop up” the Russian economy and provide access to technology used in its war on Ukraine.

Rutte’s comments come after Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov confirmed Tuesday that Ukrainian and North Korean forces had battled for the first time since Pyongyang dispatched troops to Russia, with “small-scale” clashes erupting Monday in Kursk.

The NATO leader also called on Indo-Pacific partners to “step up” their support and urged Western allies to engage in more consultation, intelligence-sharing and practical and political cooperation with those countries, including on defense production. Last month, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said he was considering providing military aid to Kyiv to counteract the North Korean deployment. 

“This dangerous expansion of the conflict escalates the war and demonstrates that our security is not regional, it is global,” Rutte said, echoing repeated calls from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for increased support from Western allies.