Mark Rutte: North Korean troops in Europe marks turning point

Mark Rutte is secretary-general of NATO.

Last week, a delegation of South Korean intelligence and defense chiefs briefed the 32 NATO allies and our Indo-Pacific partners on the deployment of thousands of North Korean troops to Russia’s Kursk region, with the intention of participating in the war of aggression against Ukraine.

North Korean troops on European soil is certainly historic — and for all the wrong reasons. This is the first time in a century that Russia has invited foreign troops into the country.

And this should give us all pause.

Are we on the verge of something far darker than the devastation that’s already been visited upon the people of Ukraine?

President Vladimir Putin’s litany of failures since starting this senseless war has only made Russia more reliant on its authoritarian friends in Asia: China, Iran and North Korea.

Although Russia’s war against Ukraine has created enormous dependencies, Putin’s hubris continues to shape his decision-making. He relies on China to prop up Russia’s economy and to access dual-use technologies to sustain his war effort. He relies on Iran for the deadly drones and missiles that have murdered and maimed so many Ukrainians. And he depends on North Korea for millions of rounds of ammunition, ballistic missiles and now troops.

These are all signs of growing desperation.

On every front, Putin is failing to achieve his strategic objectives through this illegal and ill-judged war of aggression. While we seek a just and lasting end to the conflict, he’s only prolonging and expanding it.

This comes at an incredible cost. Russia’s suffering an estimated 1,200 casualties per day — more than 600,000 since February 2022. And unable to face the political costs of mass conscription, Putin has now opted to draft soldiers from North Korea too.

This dangerous expansion of the conflict escalates the war and demonstrates that our security is not regional, it is global.

Putin certainly isn’t getting this support for free. The Russian president is propping up Kim Jong Un’s cash-strapped regime in return, providing Pyongyang with military technology that its dictator will use to threaten neighbors​, adding to the Korean Peninsula’s instability.

Furthermore, the North Koreans, who haven’t fought a war in over 70 years, will now gain valuable battlefield experience and insight into modern conflict. Just last week, the country conducted its longest-range intercontinental ballistic missile test — its first in a year — in yet another breach of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions.

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.

China bears particular responsibility here, to use its influence in Pyongyang and Moscow to ensure they cease these actions. Beijing cannot pretend to promote peace while turning a blind eye to increasing aggression.

Since the start of Russia’s full-fledged invasion, NATO allies have provided more than 99 percent of all military support to Ukraine. And we’re on track to deliver on the financial pledge of €40 billion in military aid to Ukraine this year.

What we need now is the political commitment to stay the course for the long haul.

So far, our support has kept Ukraine in the fight. But we need to do much more in order to shift the conflict’s trajectory. We need to raise the cost for Putin and his enabling authoritarian friends. 

We also need to invest more in our relationship with our Indo-Pacific partners. That means more consultation, more intelligence-sharing — like we did last week — and more practical and political cooperation, including on defense production.

Our Indo-Pacific partners are already doing a lot for Ukraine, and we hope they can step up their support even further.

Backing Ukraine costs a fraction of our annual military budgets. That’s a small price to pay for peace. The question is, can we afford not to?