The direction of the war in Ukraine has direct repercussions in other parts of the world, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Wednesday.
"The war has taken a dangerous new turn, with North Korean troops now being deployed to Russia," Rutte said in a joint news conference with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw.
Noting that Russia provides advanced missile technology to North Korea in return for its assistance in its war effort against Ukraine, he said: "And this is now presenting a threat, not only to us here in Europe, but also to South Korea, to Japan and to the United States mainland, and of course, China is part of the war effort by sanction circumvention, by dual use goods."
Turning to Iran's military aid to Russia, he said Tehran is receiving money in return and using it to maintain its "negative influence in the Middle East and beyond."
"So this is getting more and more a situation where the Euro-Atlantic and the Indo Pacific really have to be seen as one theatre, and not as two separate ones. And that's why we have that strong relationship with Japan, South Korea, but also with Australia, New Zealand, and of course, with the European Union," he said.
"And our security, therefore, is now more and more global, and we have to look at this as a global issue."
South Korea's Defense Ministry said last Tuesday that 10,000 North Korean troops were deployed to Russia.
Neither North Korea nor Russia has commented on the allegation, although the Kremlin has asserted its right to build relations with Pyongyang, describing it as a matter of Russian sovereignty.
