"We're working together to ensure that the whole of NATO is safe and secure and will build on our cooperation to enhance deterrence and defence in the Arctic," Rutte wrote on X after meeting Frederiksen in Brussels.
Frederiksen -- who was to travel to Greenland to meet its premier on Friday -- said "we agree that NATO should increase its engagement in the Arctic".
"Defence and security in the Arctic are matters for the entire alliance," she wrote on X.
The meeting came after Trump claimed he had struck a framework deal with Rutte on Wednesday that satisfied him after he made demands to take the autonomous Arctic territory from Denmark.
Trump backed off his threats to seize Greenland and impose tariffs on NATO allies blocking him despite not making headway on his main demand for control of the island.
Details of what, if anything, was agreed have not been made public -- but officials say NATO boosting security in the Arctic was part of the plan.
Frederiksen on Thursday said that NATO allies agreed on the need for a "permanent presence" in the Arctic, including around Greenland.
Members of the alliance have floated setting up a new NATO mission in the Arctic, but commanders say concrete planning has yet to start.
Officials familiar with Rutte's talks with Trump said that Denmark and the United States would look to renegotiate a 1951 pact governing American force deployments on Greenland.
That could allow Washington to boost its military footprint on the vast island, including potentially stationing parts of Trump's planned "Golden Dome" missile defence system.
NATO also said that the United States, Denmark and Greenland would negotiate on stepping up efforts to stop Russia and China gaining a "foothold" on the territory.
Trump used the alleged threat from both Moscow and Beijing to Greenland as a major justification for why he needed to take control.
Danish troops were combat ready in Greenland: report
Copenhagen (AFP) Jan 23, 2026 -
Troops sent to Greenland by Copenhagen were ordered to be combat ready in case the United States attacked the autonomous Danish territory, Danish public broadcaster DR reported on Friday.
US President Donald Trump backed down on threats to seize Greenland by force after meeting NATO chief Mark Rutte on Wednesday, saying he had reached a "framework" of a deal on the Arctic island.
Prior to that, Trump had not ruled out the use of force, insisting that the US needed Greenland for "national security".
DR said a Danish military order last week said soldiers in Greenland should be equipped with live ammunition.
It also outlined a multi-phase operation that included the possibility of sending additional forces and assets later, if needed.
Civilian and military aircraft then began transporting soldiers and equipment to Greenland, according to DR.
The deployment was officially a part of the Danish-led military exercise Arctic Endurance -- which Copenhagen has said will continue "throughout large parts of the coming year."
A few days after Trump announced that the United States would get Greenland "one way or the other", eight European countries sent several dozen troops to Greenland, officially to prepare for the exercise.
Some have since departed, including a group of about 15 Germans and some Swedes, while others continue to arrive.
DR also reported wide political support, both from the Danish government and the opposition, to take up the fight in case of a US attack.
Speaking to reporters Friday, Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen declined to comment on the report.
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