NATO chief Mark Rutte said Thursday that North Korea's military cooperation with Russia against Ukraine is a threat that extends beyond Europe and must be addressed collectively.
"This role of North Korea is basically illustrating how these countries work together — China, North Korea, Russia and of course, Iran," Rutte told reporters before meeting with European leaders in Budapest.
“This is more and more a threat, not only to the European part of NATO, but also to the United States, because Russia is delivering the latest technology to North Korea in return for North Korean help with the war against Ukraine.”
Rutte said that if Russia succeeds in Ukraine, it will become emboldened and better equipped, presenting a greater threat at NATO's border and to the United States.
The NATO leader said he looks forward to discussing with a new Trump administration "how collectively we'll make sure that we face the threat and that we keep our part of the world safe."
The White House on Thursday said that the United States will keep delivering aid to Ukraine ahead of President Joe Biden's transfer of power to President-elect Donald Trump in January.
"That's not going to change. We're going to surge and get that out there to Ukraine. We understand how important it is to make sure they have what they need," spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said at a news conference Thursday in Seoul that his government will "gradually adjust our support strategy in phases" depending on how much North Korea becomes involved in Russia's war in Ukraine.
"This means we are not ruling out the possibility of providing weapons," Yoon said.
South Korean and U.S. officials have said North Korea has more than 10,000 troops deployed to Russia's Kursk region.
Speaking at a news conference at the European Political Community summit in Budapest, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that North Korean troops had suffered in combat with Ukraine's forces.
In the Russian city of Sochi on Thursday, Putin suggested that Russia could hold military drills with North Korea.
"We'll see. We could also conduct exercises. Why not?" Putin said, when asked about whether Moscow could conduct joint military drills with Pyongyang.
Putin also that Moscow was ready for talks on a way to end the conflict based on the realities on the ground.
On Wednesday, foreign ministers from the Group of Seven, along with South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, issued a joint statement expressing "grave concerns" over "DPRK's direct support for Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine," referring to North Korea's formal name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
"We condemn in the strongest possible terms the increasing military cooperation between the DPRK and Russia, including the DPRK's export and Russia's unlawful procurement of DPRK ballistic missiles in breach of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs), as well as Russia's use of these missiles and munitions against Ukraine," the ministers said, warning that this could dangerously expand the conflict with serious implications for European and Indo-Pacific security.
They also voiced serious concerns about any potential transfer of nuclear or missile-related technology from Russia to the DPRK.
Russian attacks
A Russian guided bomb attack on Ukraine's southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia on Thursday killed four people and wounded 33 others, officials said. The attack also destroyed houses and damaged an oncology center, they said.
Zelenskyy said such attacks made a mockery of comments about a lack of negotiations with Moscow. "They take pleasure in killing people," he said in a post on the social media platform X.
Ukrainian officials reported damage to residential buildings Thursday after overnight Russian drone attacks in Kyiv.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram that the Russian attack damaged houses and apartment buildings in five districts in the Ukrainian capital.
Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said Ukrainian air defenses shot down more than three dozen drones over the Kyiv region, and that two people were injured.
In the Odesa region in southern Ukraine, Governor Oleh Kiper said Thursday falling drone debris damaged several buildings and injured one person.
Serhiy Lysak, governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, reported on Telegram that Russian drone attacks damaged five houses overnight, but did not cause any injuries.
Officials in Cherkasy, Kherson and Mykolaiv also said Thursday that air defenses shot down Russian drones in their regions.
Russia's Defense Ministry said it destroyed two Ukrainian aerial drones over Voronezh, where officials said there were no reports of damage or casualties.
Some information for this story was provided by Agence France-Presse, Reuters and The Associated Press.
