North Korean troops sent to Russia may be happy to stay there, even in the face of fierce fighting

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – Thousands of young people soldiers that North Korea sent to Russiasupposedly intended to help in the fight against Ukraine, include many elite special forces, but that doesn’t stop speculation that they will be wiped out because they have no combat experience, no knowledge of the terrain, and will likely be dropped on the most ferocious forces battlefields.

This may be true, and soon. Observers claim that some of the soldiers have already reached the front. But from North Korea’s perspective, these soldiers may not be as miserable as outsiders think. According to former North Korean soldiers, they may in fact proudly view their tour of Russia as a rare chance to make good money, see a foreign country for the first time and win preferred treatment for their families back home.

“They are too young and won’t understand exactly what it means. They simply consider it an honor to be among the many North Korean soldiers selected for Russia,” said Lee Woong-gil, a former member of the same special forces unit, the Assault Corps. He came to South Korea in 2007. “But I think most of them probably won’t come home alive.”

Deploying troops is a “big risk” for Kim

He’s worried Likely North Korean involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war were highlighted this week when the Pentagon said North Korea had sent about 10,000 troops to Russia and that they would likely fight Ukraine “in the next few weeks.” South Korea’s president’s office said Wednesday that more than 3,000 North Korean troops had been transferred near battlefronts in western Russia.

Deployment of North Korean troops could mean a major escalation of the nearly three-year war. This surprised many outside observers because North Korea has its own security problems, an escalating conflict with the United States and South Korea over its nuclear program.

Large losses among North Korean soldiers would be a serious political blow to the country’s 40-year-old ruler, Kim Jong Unwhose deployment has not been formally confirmed by the government. But experts say Kim may see it as a way to get much-needed monetary and security support from Russia in exchange for joining Russia’s war with Ukraine.

“Kim Jong Un is taking a big risk. Unless there are a large number of victims, he will get what he wants to some extent. But the situation will change a lot if many of his soldiers die in battle,” said Ahn Chan-il, a former North Korean army lieutenant and now head of the advisory team of the Global Institute for North Korean Studies in Seoul.

A soldier’s usual wage is less than $1, defectors say

The Assault Corps, also known as the 11th Corps, is one of Kim’s best units. Its main missions would be to infiltrate agents into South Korea, blow up important facilities in the South, and assassinate key figures in the event of a war on the Korean Peninsula.

Lee, who served in the Assault Corps from 1998 to 2003, recalled that his unit received better food and supplies than other units, but many members still suffered from malnutrition and tuberculosis.

Despite the gradual economic recovery in North Korea over the past 30 years, defectors say the average monthly wage for ordinary North Korean workers and soldiers is less than $1. They say many people engage in capitalist market activities to make a living because the country’s state food rationing system remains largely broken.

Russia is expected to cover all costs associated with the deployment of North Korean troops, including their salaries, which observers estimate will be at least $2,000 per month per person. About 90-95% of their stipends will likely go to Kim’s coffers, with the rest going to the soldiers. This means that one year of service in Russia will earn a North Korean soldier between $1,200 and $2,400. That’s enough to prompt many young soldiers to volunteer for risky trips to Russia, former soldiers say.

Ahn said North Korea would likely offer other incentives to raise the soldiers’ social standing, such as membership in the ruling Workers’ Party and the right to move to Pyongyang, the country’s showcase capital. Kang Mi-Jin, a defector who runs a company that analyzes North Korea’s economy, said even family members of soldiers sent to Russia could receive benefits in the form of good homes or admission to good universities.

Choi Jung-hoon, a former North Korean army lieutenant, said serving on foreign soil will attract many soldiers who are looking forward to seeing other countries for the first time.

North Koreans do not have access to foreign news and need state permission to move from one province to another in the country. North Korean construction workers, logging workers and other workers sent abroad were often called in to bring back foreign currency “slaves” by international human rights groups. But defectors testify that such jobs abroad are often better than staying in North Korea, and many of them used bribery and family connections to get them.

“North Korean soldiers would see going to Russia as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Ahn said.

Ahn and other observers say such views may change if soldiers see their colleagues die en masse. They say many North Korean soldiers could surrender to Ukrainian forces and ask for it resettlement to South Korea.

North Korean soldiers don’t know the terrain

North Korean soldiers were trained in the mountainous terrain of the Korean Peninsula and are unfamiliar with the mostly flat, plain battlefields of the Russia-Ukraine war. They also don’t understand modern warfare, including the use of drones, because North Korea hasn’t fought a major battle since the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War, experts say.

“My heart ached,” Choi, now the leader of an activist group in Seoul, said when he saw it Film released in Ukraine purportedly depicting undersized North Korean soldiers, possibly in their late teens or early 20s.

“No one would think they were going to Russia to die,” Choi said. “But I think they are cannon fodder because they will be sent to the most dangerous places and they will definitely be killed.”

Leader Kim Jong Un may also hope that his offer of troops will encourage Russia to share the sophisticated and highly sensitive technology it needs to improve its missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons. That transfer could depend on how long the war lasts and how many additional troops Kim sends.

Nam Sung-wook, former director of a think tank run by South Korea’s spy agency, said North Korea would likely receive hundreds of millions of dollars in soldiers’ salaries. Soldiers will gain direct experience in modern warfare, but they will likely die en masse, and Russia will be reluctant to transfer its high-tech missile technology, he added.

“North Korea will continue to hide its troops from its own people because the public will be outraged to learn that its soldiers are being sent abroad to kill,” said Nam, who is now a professor at Korea University in South Korea.