North Korean troops are now in Kursk to help Russia, NATO confirms – POLITICO

BRUSSELS — North Korean soldiers assisting Moscow have been deployed to Kursk, the Russian region partly controlled by Ukrainian troops, NATO chief Mark Rutte said Monday.

His remarks, confirming earlier intelligence from Ukraine, mean that North Korean troops are now in — or ready for — combat with Ukraine’s army. Kyiv's military captured parts of Kursk in August during an operation that represented the first military offensive into Russia since World War II. 

Pyongyang's battlefield assistance for Russian President Vladimir Putin has alarmed Western allies and Rutte pointed to the North Korean troop deployment as a "dangerous expansion" of the conflict.