North Korean soldiers see war against Ukraine as personal matter - Analyst
Illustrative photo: North Korean soldiers may fight against Ukraine (Getty Images)
Alina Hrytsenko, Senior Consultant at the National Institute for Strategic Studies, in a comment to RBC-Ukraine, stated that the motivations of North Korean soldiers who agreed to fight against Ukraine on Russia’s side vary. It’s a highly individual matter.
She believes that some North Korean soldiers may be interested in participating in the war against Ukraine because their leader, Kim Jong Un, has assigned them this task, and they are willing to follow the dictator's orders.
"On the other hand, some North Koreans might see this as an opportunity to flee the country. There have been periodic instances where people have escaped from North Korea to South Korea. However, there’s a nuance: some of those who fled later returned. So, this is truly a very individual situation," Hrytsenko added.
She noted that North Korean special forces are generally more loyal to the regime. They belong to an elite level and therefore already have a certain standard of living that they may not be willing to trade for anything else.
The expert suggested that these soldiers' mission is likely to be to "come to the front lines, observe how everything operates, and bring that knowledge back to North Korea." Most soldiers would be willing to carry out this task.
"It’s not so much about motivation or belief in a shared cause with Russia or in Russia’s 'holy war.' These are mostly pragmatic individuals, soldiers following orders as assigned," Hrytsenko believes.
North Korea will send soldiers to war
Recently, it became known that North Korea agreed to send its soldiers to bolster Russia in the war against Ukraine. According to RBC-Ukraine’s sources, these troops are already being trained at several military ranges in the Far East.
Ukraine's Head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, confirmed North Korea's plans to send its military forces to fight against Ukraine. According to him, 11,000 North Korean soldiers will be deployed against Ukraine by November.
In response, Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, urged Western countries to react strongly and support the implementation of the victory plan recently presented by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
