Ukraine War: Prisoners and fallen North Koreans – “Reprisals against their families”
Military experts see the North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia in Ukraine in a “futile” mission. Thousands fall on the battlefield. So far, all prisoners have died – a US spokesman assumes that they cannot surrender.
According to the US government, the North Korean soldiers fighting on Russia’s side against Ukraine are being sent to their deaths in “futile” and costly missions. The Russian and North Korean army leadership apparently saw the North Korean soldiers as “dispensable” and sent them “in hopeless attacks on the Ukrainian defense lines,” said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on Friday in Washington.
Kirby was referring to the fighting in the Russian border region of Kursk, which is partly controlled by Ukrainian troops. The North Korean soldiers would be used “massively” against the Ukrainian positions there, Kirby said. “This human wave tactic is not particularly effective. “We expect them to result in heavy casualties for North Korean troops,” Kirby continued. The US government estimates that more than 1,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or injured in these operations in the past week.
These figures correspond to South Korean information. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenksyj spoke of 3,000 North Korean soldiers injured or killed in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Several seriously injured North Korean soldiers died in Ukrainian captivity. “Today there were reports of several soldiers from North Korea. Our soldiers captured them. But they were very seriously wounded and could not be resuscitated,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his daily video address. South Korean intelligence previously said an injured North Korean soldier captured by Ukraine had died.
Zelensky also said that North Korean soldiers would only be sent into combat with “minimal protection.” “They suffer a lot of losses. Many. We see that the Russian army and the North Korean commanders are not at all interested in the survival of these Koreans,” the Ukrainian president added. He had previously announced that 3,000 North Korean soldiers had been injured or killed in the war between Russia and Ukraine.
According to South Korean intelligence and the US government, this number is around 1,000. According to the US and South Korea, around 10,000 soldiers from North Korea are deployed in Russia. So far it is known that they are fighting in the Russian border region of Kursk, which is partly occupied by Ukraine.
According to Kirby, reports indicate that North Koreans are more likely to commit suicide than surrender to the Ukrainian army, “probably because they fear reprisals against their families in North Korea if they are captured.”
Russia and North Korea have increased their military cooperation since Russia’s attack on Ukraine in February 2022. In June, both countries signed a defense pact, and in mid-October there were the first reports of North Korean soldiers being sent to Russia. According to the USA and South Korea, around 10,000 soldiers from North Korea are deployed in Russia.
AFP/mp
Ukraine War: Prisoners and fallen North Koreans – “Reprisals against their families”
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Ukraine War: Prisoners and fallen North Koreans – “Reprisals against their families”
