BRUSSELS: NATO on Monday confirmed that North Korean troops have been sent to help Russia in its almost three-year war against Ukraine and said some have already been deployed in Russia’s Kursk border region, where Russia has been struggling to push back a Ukrainian incursion.
“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,” NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told reporters.
Rutte said the move represents “a significant escalation” in North Korea’s involvement in the conflict and marks “a dangerous expansion of Russia’s war.”
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. He 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 has sought direct help for the war from Iran, which has supplied drones, and North Korea, which has shipped large amounts of ammunition, according to Western governments.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov shrugged off Rutte’s comments and noted that Pyongyang and Moscow signed a joint security pact last June. He stopped short of confirming North Korean soldiers were in Russia.
Lavrov claimed that Western military instructors already have been covertly deployed to Ukraine to help its military use long-range weapons provided by Western partners.
“Western military personnel long have been working in Ukraine,” Lavrov said after a meeting with the Kuwaiti foreign minister in Moscow.
Ukraine, whose defenses are under severe Russian pressure in its eastern Donetsk region, could get more bleak news from next week’s US presidential election. A Donald Trump victory could see key US military help dwindle.
In Moscow, the Defense Ministry announced Monday that Russian troops have captured the Donetsk village of Tsukuryne — the latest settlement to succumb to the slow-moving Russian onslaught.
Rutte 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 said he was due to talk soon with South Korea’s president and Ukraine’s defense minister.
“We continue to monitor the situation closely,” he said. He did not take questions after the statement.
The South Koreans showed no evidence of North Korean troops in Kursk, according to European officials who were present for the 90-minute exchange and spoke to The Associated Press about the security briefing on condition of anonymity.
It’s unclear how or when NATO allies might respond to the North Korean involvement. They could, for example, lift restrictions that prevent Ukraine from using Western-supplied weapons for long-range strikes on Russian soil.
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 had information that some 10,000 troops from North Korea were being readied to join Russian forces fighting against his country.
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.
NATO confirms that North Korea has sent troops to join Russia’s war in Ukraine
NATO confirms that North Korea has sent troops to join Russia’s war in Ukraine
Middle East aviation sector ‘champion of net profit’ — IATA
GENEVA: Net passenger profit in the Middle East’s aviation sector is the highest globally, providing “a great model for other areas of the world,” according to the International Air Transport Association’s director general.
Speaking at IATA’s global media day in Geneva, Switzerland, Willie Walsh praised the region’s focus on long-haul travel as well as its increasing efficiency in the industry.
In its latest financial outlook for the global airline industry, IATA announced that 2026 is set to be a record-breaking year in terms of net profit, with a forecast total of $41 billion.
Airlines are expected to achieve a record-breaking combined total net profit of $41 billion in 2026, up from $39.5 billion in 2025.
The Middle East is set to be the strongest region in terms of net profit margin and profit per passenger in 2026, as it was over the previous 12-month period.
In 2025, net profit was $28.90 per passenger, totaling $6.6 billion and leading to a net profit margin of 9.3 percent. For 2026, the IATA forecast the Middle East’s net profit margin will remain the same, but net profit per passenger will be $28.60, equating to $6.8 billion.
In contrast, Europe’s aviation sector saw net profit of $13.2 billion in 2025 but the margin was considerably smaller — 4.8 percent, working out at $10.60 per passenger. North America posted a net profit of $10.8 billion, working out to $9.50 per passenger with a net profit margin of 3.3 percent.
When asked to clarify which factors contributed to the region’s ranking as the highest for net profit, Walsh told Arab News: “The Middle East has clearly a much stronger focus on long-haul travel, strong premium demand, very good infrastructure availability, clear coordination between airports, suppliers, and regulators — all working together to ensure the effective operation of the industry,”
He added: “I think it is a great model for other areas of the world to look at.”
Reflecting on the role played by the Gulf in contributing to these figures, Walsh said he was “pleased to see the GCC look at a common safety regulator.”
He added: “Working together can enhance the overall benefit and security of operation. So, I think it’s a great example of where everybody is working in the same direction.”
The director general continued: “You’ve got alignment between all of the key players, and that helps to ensure that the operation of the industry there is as efficient as possible.”
He also said he was “very encouraged” by the investments that are being made by airlines, airports, and air navigation service providers in the Middle East.
According to the report, passenger demand continues to be robust, driven by long haul traffic and the expansion of hub carriers.
The global net profit margin is set to remain at 3.9 percent in 2026, the same level as the previous 12-month period.
Saudi Arabia will develop its aviation sector in 2026, with its newest airline Riyadh Air continuing to roll out. The company is expected to contribute over $20 billion to the non-oil gross domestic product and create more than 200,000 direct and indirect jobs.
The IATA report highlights how governments in the Middle East are doubling down on aviation infrastructure investments.
Saudi Arabia is seeking to boost its aviation capacity with the construction of King Salman International Airport, set to accommodate up to 120 million passengers by 2030 and 185 million passengers by 2050, and Red Sea International Airport.
Other developments in the region include expansion of Al Maktoum International Airport in the UAE.
