North Korea has deployed over 11,000 soldiers to support Russia’s forces in Ukraine’s western Kursk region, sparking concerns about the potential challenges this poses for Ukrainian forces. According to reports, some of these soldiers have been brainwashed and are willing to sacrifice themselves for Kim Jong Un, their leader.
Testimonies from defectors suggest that some North Korean soldiers are resorting to extreme measures, including self-detonation and suicides, as they try to avoid capture. A former North Korean soldier who defected to the South stated that these soldiers have been “brainwashed” and are ready to die for their leader.
Ukrainian forces have released videos of two captured North Korean soldiers, one of whom expressed a desire to stay in Ukraine while the other wanted to return home. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has offered to hand over captured North Korean soldiers to Kim Jong Un if he can facilitate an exchange for Ukrainians held captive in Russia.
Experts warn that this deployment could make North Korea more capable of waging war against its neighbors, and some have speculated that the North’s troops may be being used as “cannon fodder” by Russian forces. The experience gained in Ukraine will also raise concerns about the effectiveness of modern warfare tactics.
The North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has previously hailed his army as “the strongest in the world,” but reports from the battlefield suggest otherwise, with wounded and killed soldiers indicating a lack of preparation for modern warfare.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/north-koreas-suicide-soldiers-pose-new-challenge-ukraine-war-with-russia-2025-01-14