North Korean troops fighting in invaded Kursk, Nato confirms…as defectors who fled Kim regime beg to fight for UKRAINE

NORTH Korean troops have been sent to Russia, with some already headed to fight in the invaded Kursk region, Nato has confirmed.

Putin's men have taken back half of Kursk territory in the last few weeks and could become even stronger as best pal Kim Jong-un sent his troops to join forces.

But they could soon be met with a group of nearly 200 North Korean defectors, who are pushing to deploy to Ukraine and launch a psychological warfare campaign against their former comrades.

Confirming earlier intelligence from Ukraine, Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Monday: "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."

Rutte said that the move represents “a significant escalation” in North Korea’s involvement in the conflict and marks “a dangerous expansion of Russia’s war.”

He spoke in Brussels after a high-level South Korean delegation, including top intelligence and military officials as well as senior diplomats, briefed the alliance’s 32 national ambassadors at Nato headquarters.

Rutte said Nato is “actively consulting within the alliance, with Ukraine, and with our Indo-Pacific partners,” on developments.

He added he was due to talk soon with South Korea’s president and Ukraine’s defence minister.

“We continue to monitor the situation closely,” he said, not taking any questions after his statement.

The Nato secretary general argued, however, the deployment also shows Russia’s weakness and is “a sign of Putin's growing desperation.” 

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

“This is because the Ukrainians are fighting back with courage, resilience and ingenuity.”

“Nato calls on Russia and the DPRK to cease these actions immediately,” he added.

Rutte said Putin was "unable to sustain his assault to Ukraine" without foreign support.

But he also warned North Korea's support posed a threat to global security.

Rutte said: “The deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea is a threat to both the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic security.

“It undermines peace on the Korean Peninsula and fuels the Russian war against Ukraine.”

Ukraine launched a lightning assault in Kursk seizing sovereign Russian territory for the first time since World War Two in August.

So far Russian troops have been unable to dislodge them.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, citing intelligence reports, claimed last Friday that North Korean troops would be on the battlefield within days.

He previously said his government has information that some 10,000 troops from North Korea were being readied to join Russian forces fighting against his country.

General Kyrylo Budanov, the head Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence said, the first 2,600 North Koreans were due to arrive Kursk last week and would ready to fight by this Friday.

Days before Zelensky spoke, American and South Korean officials said there was evidence North Korea had dispatched troops to Russia.

The US said around 3,000 North Korean troops had been deployed to Russia for training.

Many more could still arrive as North Korea aims to deploy a total of 10,000 soldiers by the end of the year, reports claim.

Adding thousands of North Korean soldiers to Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II will pile more pressure on Ukraine’s weary and overstretched army.

It will also stoke geopolitical tensions in the Korean Peninsula and the wider Indo-Pacific region, including Japan and Australia, Western officials say.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is keen to reshape global power dynamics.

The tyrant sought to build a counterbalance to Western influence with a summit of BRICS countries, including the leaders of China and India, in Russia last week.

He also sought direct help for the war from Iran, which has supplied drones and at least 200 ballistic missiles.

Experts said Iran might struggle to meet weapons orders after Israel bombed missile and drone factories.

North Korea, meanwhile, has shipped large amounts of ammunition to Moscow, according to Western governments.

Germany's Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said North Korea's actions would have knock-on effects in China and India.

Britain's Defence Secretary John Healey said: “This is not just a concern about the potential for an escalation of the conflict in Europe

“There is an indivisible link with security concerns with the Indo-Pacific.”

Ukraine, whose defences are under severe Russian pressure in its eastern Donetsk region, could get more bleak news from next week’s US presidential election as a Donald Trump victory could see key US military help dwindle.

But a group of nearly 200 defectors who fled Kim Jong-un's regime could turn things around as they hope to fight for Ukraine to help demoralise and influence Pyongyang's troops.

The ex-soldiers, currently living in South Korea, offered their military experience to help wage psychological warfare against Moscow's allies, the South China Morning Post reports.

Ahn Chan-il, a 69-year-old defector and member of the group, said: “We are all military veterans who understand North Korea’s military culture and psychological state better than anyone else.

“We’re ready to go wherever needed to work as psychological warfare agents – through loudspeaker broadcasts, distributing leaflets, and even acting as interpreters.”

Another important player in the initiative, Lee Min-bok, has made his appeal directly to the Ukrainian government.

He asked President Volodymyr Zelensky for the green light to help rescue North Korean soldiers, whom he referred to as "cannon fodder," in an open letter sent to Ukraine's embassy in Seoul.

It comes after footage appeared to show North Korean troops marching alongside Russian soldiers at a military base near Vladivostok.

Video analysed by The Washington Post showed hordes of men who appeared to be of Korean descent at Sergeevka military training ground - near Russia's eastern border with North Korea.

The clips also included audible Korean phrases spoken with a North Korean accent.

And audio intercepted by Ukrainian intelligence shows Russian soldiers talking offensively about the Korean troops - calling them "the f*****g Chinese".

One even says: "And he’s like standing there with his eyes out, like… f**k... He came here and says what the f**k to do with them."

A red and blue North Korea flag was also reportedly spotted flying alongside the Russian tricolour in Ukrainian territory, fuelling fears of a major escalation in Putin's bloody war.

A blurry photo, allegedly taken near the besieged key city of Pokrovsk shows the two flags flying between the trenches.