At the end of last year, a briefing from the U.S. White House on the casualties of more than 1,000 North Korean soldiers dispatched to Russia shocked the international community. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service also estimated that about 10,000 North Korean soldiers were deployed to the Kursk front and that casualties were expected to reach about 1,000. Concerns that North Korean soldiers mobilized for the Russia-Ukraine war will end up as cannon fodder appear to be becoming a reality.
The videos and photos appearing on the Ukrainian military and various social media platforms are even more shocking. Experts pay attention to the image of soldiers being attacked by drones while passing through a snow-covered field, as well as the scene of the face of a dead soldier being mutilated. It is pointed out that this is a behavior that reveals North Korean-style barbarism, with soldiers deployed with insufficient actual combat experience losing their lives in vain and committing inhumane acts in the name of ‘security’.
In particular, with the Ukrainian Special Operations Command releasing the diary of a North Korean soldier, many experts are criticizing the North Korean authorities’ disregard for the right to life. Given that this soldier mentioned “an act of ingratitude” and “the path to rebirth,” the analysis is that the North Korean authorities may have driven him to his death by promising him a pardon or commutation of his sentence upon his return to Korea.
Daily NK recently contacted a high-ranking military official within North Korea to ask about the authorities’ perception, measures, and future plans regarding the deaths of North Korean soldiers dispatched to Russia.
The following is a Q&A with high-ranking military officer A.
-Do the North Korean authorities know that a North Korean soldier deployed to the Russian war died?
“The state has already been informed of this condition and is being communicated and reported normally through the military command system. “Relevant information is thoroughly managed by the military at every hour and through regular reporting lines to the Supreme Command and the Central Military Commission once a month.”
-I wonder if the news of the soldier’s death has spread within the North Korean military.
“In the local units of the Storm Corps or in the divisions where combatants dispatched to Russia live, we are planning and carrying out educational projects, predicting that there may be personal turmoil or backlash.”
-If the death of a soldier becomes known, there will likely be unrest within the company. What is the North Korean government’s position on the possibility of unrest and what are the countermeasures?
“There has yet to be an official comprehensive report from the administrative, political, and security agencies that there is internal turmoil over this issue. Our principles and goals remain unchanged and we are taking every step to achieve them. In order to stabilize the psychology of the entire population, once the war is over, we are planning events to arouse patriotism in designated areas at the 3rd to 4th level internally, by specialty, by unit, and nationally, and by utilizing political work plans and propaganda and education projects to improve the situation. will be controlled.”
-How do we deal with those killed in action?
“The principle is that their bodies will never be returned, and it has been decided that their remains will be returned as crematorium. (But) depending on the state of war, there may be cases where it is difficult to process it quickly.”
-It appears that they are using methods that make it impossible to identify personal information, such as disguising identities and removing the faces of the deceased. Have any instructions been given in this regard?
“This is a military strategy to prevent and hinder the enemy’s information collection, and it is something that combatants dispatched to enemy territory also approved with an oath and oath in front of the military flag before being dispatched while still alive.”
-It appears that casualties are increasing, so why haven’t they decided to withdraw?
“(The insertion of combat troops into the battlefield) is a decision to maintain international North Korea-Russia military relations and guarantee the strategic national interests of the people of Korea and Russia, and withdrawal is not a consideration.”
-There is also talk that North Korea is preparing to dispatch additional personnel. What unit do you plan to send, when and how many people?
“The dispatch of new personnel has already been decided based on military needs and strategic cooperation. Although we cannot disclose specific information, we will be in the same camp with our Russian comrades until the end of the war, and we will dispatch additional combatants and whether we conduct synchronous training in the unit or in the Russian trenches in actual combat, we believe that it is an important experience in completing our fighting preparations. there is.”
-Isn’t reducing the possibility of electromagnetic radiation occurring the biggest problem? What preparations is North Korea currently making in relation to this?
“Currently, efforts are being made to maximize operational capability communication between RO soldiers by strengthening tactical training, reinforcing military equipment, and doubling the number of Lower (Russian) military interpreters compared to the first deployment.”
Source: www.dailynk.com
