Ryu ran to freedom across the Korean Demilitarized Zone in 2019; A rare military desertion. He had a profile that mirrored many of the newly deployed troops today: young, malnourished, and blind to the outside world. Before choosing to escape, Ryu remembers moving bricks around construction sites and shivering while standing guard outside. He ate soft rice mixed with corn. Meat was a holiday treat.

At that time, if the order had been given to fight the Russians, Ryu, now 28 years old, would have given a definitive answer: “Thank you.” His rationale: “Wouldn’t the food at least be better?”

North Korean fighters in Russia were dismissed as mercenaries, cannon fodder and second-rate. But former North Korean soldiers and other military experts argue that what is overlooked is how ready many of these troops were to die and how willing they might be to escape harsh conditions at home.

The presence of approximately 10,000 North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region, where Russia is trying to repel the Ukrainian attack, is unlikely to change the course of the painful war that has been going on for 2.5 years. But they provide Russian President Vladimir Putin with much-needed manpower and pose new threats on stalemated front lines. One of the greatest mysteries is the level of determination these North Korean troops would bring to a war fought far from home and for an unfamiliar purpose.

Ukrainian officials said Tuesday that some North Korean soldiers had engaged in minor skirmishes on the front lines. A day later, South Korea assessed that the newcomers had not yet engaged in a full-fledged conflict. The United States has said it expects the North Koreans to begin fighting within days.

North Korean veterans say nearly all troops sent to Russia, including special forces fighters, will have similar motivations. From an early age they were taught to sacrifice everything for the religious leader. In school textbooks, children are asked to prove their loyalty to the regime by volunteering to be the target of hypothetical artillery strikes.

The deployment of troops will be seen as the opportunity of a lifetime to bring money and glory to Kim Jong Un’s regime. The dead gain value; The survivors return as heroes.

“North Korean soldiers believe they must do anything for Kim,” Ryu said.

‘Without hesitation’

Even North Korea’s best troops lack modern equipment and resources, putting them at a disadvantage compared to special forces trained in the United States, Europe or South Korea, said David Maxwell, a retired U.S. Army Special Forces colonel with extensive experience in Asia. The official added that most North Korean soldiers, even special forces, spend most of their time in agriculture or construction work.

“North Korean special operations forces training produces highly disciplined soldiers with intense loyalty and a willingness to assume extreme risks, often with limited equipment,” Maxwell said.

Russians and Ukrainians have an armed force of hundreds of thousands; Both sides face attrition and struggles to replenish their ranks. Russia can recruit more than 30,000 new soldiers a month, but often loses most of those killed or wounded in Ukraine, according to Western estimates. Although the exact figures are not clear, casualty rates are lower in Ukraine.

What makes North Korea’s initial deployment alarming is its ability to send more. North Korea has one of the largest standing armies in the world, at about 1.2 million men, according to South Korean estimates, and reserves of several million more. Military experts say the Kim regime has the world’s largest special forces unit, numbering around 200,000.

South Korean officials said that the soldiers sent to Russia are expected to be paid a monthly salary of around 2 thousand dollars, and most of this will go to the regime. Still, this is a staggering amount, with the majority of the country living on a few dollars of monthly earnings.

North Korea has struggled to provide enough food to its people for decades due to international isolation and economic mismanagement, worsened by natural disasters. Approximately 45% of North Korea’s 26 million population is undernourished, according to a World Food Program report. Even the military, which typically enjoys special privileges, experiences chronic food shortages.

Special forces have a special place in the North Korean military hierarchy. They are better nourished than other units, with more intensive training in infiltration, infrastructure destruction and assassination. State television broadcast footage highlighting the vaudeville aspects of their training: Soldiers breaking light bulbs with their bare hands and shirtless warriors being beaten with wooden sticks. Others bend metal rods.

In September, Kim oversaw special forces reconnaissance and raid exercises involving the country’s “invincible revolutionary armed forces,” as state media called them. The report claimed that each North Korean fighter was equivalent to 100 enemy soldiers. Kim’s approval filled the troops with thunderous cheers, “with boundless emotion, joy, great pride and self-confidence”.

Lee Hyun-seung once served in North Korea’s elite “Storm Troop” special forces unit before defecting nearly a decade ago. Lee, now 39, said that in addition to military exercises, he attended daily ideological training sessions memorizing Kim’s orders and repeating that they were ready to die for the Supreme leader; This is undoubtedly an ongoing practice for those sent to Russia.

“They can be sacrificed without making much of an impact in combat,” Lee said. “But they dare not cast doubt on the leader’s order to go to Russia.”

A worthwhile risk

North Korea often displays flashy military hardware, from new tanks to artillery rockets and drones, in garish parades. However, this advanced equipment is probably not integrated at the unit level. The country lacks the funds to properly supply its military with such high-priced equipment.

South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers late last month that newcomers to North Korea were taught about 100 basic military terms in Russian, including “fire” and “position,” but had difficulty communicating.

Bang Jong-kwan, a former major general in the South Korean army, said soldiers’ training and food situation had not changed significantly since Kim came to power in December 2011, as the focus remains on increasing Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal. This, he said, limited their potential role in Russia to being infantry due to the language barrier and unfamiliarity with the terrain.

“They will suffer high losses because Russia is unlikely to provide advanced equipment or intelligence,” Bang said.

However, many North Korean soldiers find the risks worthwhile. Sim Ju-il, who served as a North Korean military officer for 30 years before defecting to North Korea, said those who heard of North Korean pilots who fought against US aircraft during the Vietnam War knew that overseas deployment would elevate a soldier’s status. South Korea in 1998.

Sim, 74, recalled that pilots returning from Vietnam were welcomed like heroes and promoted to senior officer ranks. Even the wives of pilots who died on the battlefield were given upgraded Labor Party status, giving them access to prestigious jobs.

This is how Sim hopes to break his blind allegiance to the Kim regime by going to the front lines of Ukraine. About 300 former North Korean military members are also willing to go, he said. If sent to the front lines, he said, they hoped to create “psychological distress” by sending anti-regime leaflets and producing publications that would persuade North Korean soldiers to surrender or flee.

“I want them to know they were lied to,” Sim said. “There is no need to die for their loyalty.”

Write to Dasl Yoon at [email protected]

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