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Business Insider

Any North Korean troops sent to fight in Ukraine would be subject to harsh measures to ensure they do not desert, observers have said.
There are growing reports of a mass North Korean deployment in support of Russian troops.
On Wednesday, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said “there is evidence” that North Korean troops were training in Russia.
Scattered reports have claimed that smaller numbers of North Korean troops are already in Ukraine.
Ukrainian outlets Suspilne and Hromadske reported some early desertions, citing anonymous sources.
Business Insider could not independently confirm the reports, and Ukraine’s military-defence agency did not respond to a request for comment.
Committing large numbers of troops abroad is risky for Kim Jong-un, who oversees a totalitarian state that rarely lets people out.
But the prize for cooperating with Russia is great – technological advancement and help for North Korea’s cash-strapped economy.
Joseph S. Bermudez Jnr, an expert in North Korean defence at the Centre for International and Strategic Studies, said that those sent abroad would quickly see that even a life of poverty in Russia and Ukraine is better than what’s at home.
“It’s hard to imagine how tightly controlled North Korean society is,” he said.
North Korea operates a complex social hierarchy in which citizens are tracked and classed according to perceived loyalty. It’s often inherited from the actions of your parents or even grandparents, and has been described as effectively a form of caste system.


According to a landmark work on the subject by Mark Collins, an expert on North Korean security, only those classed as most loyal can become army officers.
Kim is likely to only send “politically reliable people” to fight, Bermudez said.
Those sent to aid Russia are likely accompanied by officials from the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, he added. “They file reports on everybody.”
“Are they drinking too much? Are they trying to acquire goods that they can’t get in North Korea and send them home?”
They’re also likely to have to undergo self-criticism sessions, Bermudez said – an intense group practice of confessing one’s shortcomings.
They might berate themselves by saying something like: “‘I didn’t think of the Kim family 20 times today,” said Bermudez. “‘I only did 15.’”
He said soldiers would be sent to a re-indoctrination camp on their return to North Korea to reaffirm their loyalty.
Those who return would likely be honoured and given greater privileges such as a better job. Families of those who die in battle also gain immense social respect and advantages, he said.
The North Korean state also has harsher means to keep its citizens abroad in check.
According to Bruce W. Bennett, a defence researcher and North Korea specialist at Rand, those who leave, like diplomats, are almost never allowed to bring their whole family with them.
“It is very typical for the Kims to insist that at least one member of any family operating overseas remain in Pyongyang as a hostage,” he said.
And anyone who does defect ensures that their whole family suffers, Bermudez said. “North Korea believes in generational punishment.”
In interviews with escapees and defectors, he said, “one of the greatest sorrows that they have is that they’ve left family.”
That is because their extended family would likely be sent to brutal work camps – described by Bermudez described as similar to a Nazi work camp or a Soviet gulag.

Kim is “scared to death” of information being brought back to North Korea from abroad, Bennett said.
The leader rails against culture from the outside world – like in 2021, when he called K-pop a “vicious cancer” – because he perceives it as a major threat, Bennett said.
An earlier assessment in The National Interest argued that South Korea, in particular, is well-positioned to exploit this anxiety.
On Tuesday, Kim’s sister Kim Yo-jong, who has been called his de facto second-in-command, lashed out at both Ukraine and South Korea, comparing them to “bad dogs bred by the US”.
Bennett said that the presence of North Korean troops in Ukraine could offer a rare opportunity to reach high-placed North Korean citizens.
“The question we’ve eventually got to ask is, why isn’t the US and the Western countries trying to use this situation more to our advantage?” he said.
Read the original article on Business Insider


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North Korea

How Kim Jong-un keeps Russia-bound North Korean troops on a tight leash to prevent desertion

North Korean soldiers march during a military parade in Pyongyang. Photo: AP

Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un toast during a reception in Pyongyang in June. Photo: AFP/Getty Images/TNS

North Korean troops willing to ‘fight and die’ for Russia alter Indo-Pacific security balance

North Korea has reportedly sent thousands of troops to Russia for possible deployment in Ukraine. Photo: AP

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin (right) and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ride a car in Pyongyang in June. Photo: KCNA via Reuters

Ukraine war: US confirms North Korean troops in Russia, Seoul warned against hasty reprisal

Members of Workers’ Solidarity protest in Seoul on Wednesday against South Korea’s plan to supply lethal weapons to Ukraine. Photo: EPA-EFE

South Koreans watch in Seoul a TV report on the alleged deployment of North Korean troops to Russia. Photo: EPA-EFE

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un posing with troops at an undisclosed location. Photo: AFP

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet at the Pyongyang Sunan International Airport in June. Photo: AP

Will South Korea give ‘lethal’ help to Kyiv if North Korean troops fight in Ukraine?

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects an army special forces training base. Photo: dpa

South Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun, right, meets with Russian ambassador to Seoul Georgy Zinoviev in Seoul on Monday. Photo: AP

A TV image of what is believed to be North Korean soldiers queuing to get supplies from Russia. Photo: AP

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un at an event to mark their new partnership in Pyongyang in June. Photo: AP

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects troops at an undisclosed location in March. Photo: EPA-EFE

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East Asia

Kim, who fears information from abroad entering his country, uses family hostages to ensure loyalty from soldiers sent to fight in Ukraine


Kim, who fears information from abroad entering his country, uses family hostages to ensure loyalty from soldiers sent to fight in Ukraine.
