The Fort Worth Press - What would North Korean soldiers do in Ukraine?

USD -
AED 3.67303
AFN 67.838392
ALL 92.377753
AMD 386.688871
ANG 1.800698
AOA 913.502416
ARS 997.768799
AUD 1.531206
AWG 1.8015
AZN 1.696166
BAM 1.840129
BBD 2.017388
BDT 119.39484
BGN 1.84192
BHD 0.376919
BIF 2950.605261
BMD 1
BND 1.337248
BOB 6.928346
BRL 5.750197
BSD 0.999144
BTN 84.369678
BWP 13.59321
BYN 3.269728
BYR 19600
BZD 2.013907
CAD 1.39558
CDF 2868.999932
CHF 0.883035
CLF 0.03573
CLP 985.910202
CNY 7.217203
COP 4436.5
CRC 511.286119
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 103.742697
CZK 23.922016
DJF 177.924558
DKK 7.03025
DOP 60.208316
DZD 133.442029
EGP 49.2101
ETB 123.478326
EUR 0.94245
FJD 2.262987
GBP 0.78492
GEL 2.74026
GHS 16.285152
GMD 71.502227
GNF 8611.175145
GTQ 7.720606
GYD 209.01701
HKD 7.77921
HNL 25.215231
HTG 131.419485
HUF 387.44023
IDR 15775.3
ILS 3.760604
INR 84.398451
IQD 1308.851756
IRR 42105.000351
ISK 139.019898
JMD 158.767795
JOD 0.709102
JPY 155.062016
KES 129.249581
KGS 86.201889
KHR 4048.796323
KMF 460.374947
KRW 1407.180006
KWD 0.307503
KYD 0.832581
KZT 495.813105
LAK 21907.960971
LBP 89472.248097
LKR 292.168873
LRD 188.329711
LSL 18.052427
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 4.840941
MAD 9.911843
MDL 17.884664
MGA 4670.637273
MKD 57.970401
MMK 3247.960992
MOP 8.005344
MRU 39.705121
MUR 47.189429
MVR 15.459973
MWK 1732.200487
MXN 20.60015
MYR 4.45702
MZN 63.924983
NAD 18.051918
NGN 1676.550213
NIO 36.770621
NOK 11.092875
NPR 134.99873
NZD 1.687575
OMR 0.385029
PAB 0.999078
PEN 3.775893
PGK 4.01385
PHP 58.719841
PKR 277.683782
PLN 4.100974
PYG 7806.663468
QAR 3.64259
RON 4.690204
RSD 110.268975
RUB 97.750531
RWF 1371.17641
SAR 3.757184
SBD 8.351256
SCR 14.059865
SDG 601.498728
SEK 10.916545
SGD 1.338865
SLE 22.799618
SOS 571.033393
SRD 35.234985
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.742614
SZL 18.043677
THB 34.738062
TJS 10.620208
TMT 3.5
TND 3.141024
TOP 2.342098
TRY 34.383803
TTD 6.789548
TWD 32.495501
TZS 2663.729768
UAH 41.382279
UGX 3671.15761
UYU 42.122199
UZS 12792.683443
VES 44.872833
VND 25350
XAF 617.19122
XCD 2.70255
XDR 0.752722
XOF 617.19122
XPF 112.21355
YER 249.775034
ZAR 18.091397
ZMK 9001.201624
ZMW 27.201475
ZWL 321.999592
  • CMSC

    -0.1800

    24.54

    -0.73%

  • NGG

    -1.2400

    62.9

    -1.97%

  • RIO

    -1.4000

    61.2

    -2.29%

  • BCC

    -2.0100

    141.13

    -1.42%

  • RBGPF

    59.3400

    59.34

    +100%

  • BP

    -0.7600

    28.16

    -2.7%

  • SCS

    0.0200

    13.67

    +0.15%

  • GSK

    -0.8300

    35.52

    -2.34%

  • AZN

    0.4000

    65.19

    +0.61%

  • BTI

    0.0900

    35.24

    +0.26%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0500

    7.11

    -0.7%

  • CMSD

    -0.2100

    24.75

    -0.85%

  • RELX

    -1.2100

    46.59

    -2.6%

  • JRI

    -0.3000

    13.22

    -2.27%

  • VOD

    -0.8500

    8.47

    -10.04%

  • BCE

    -0.1600

    27.69

    -0.58%

What would North Korean soldiers do in Ukraine?
What would North Korean soldiers do in Ukraine? / Photo: © KCNA VIA KNS/AFP

What would North Korean soldiers do in Ukraine?

The presence of North Korean soldiers alongside Russians fighting Ukraine raises many tactical and military questions, leading some analysts to wonder about their effectiveness and ultimate objectives.

Text size:

North Korea had never sent troops into combat abroad before, primarily out of fear that they might defect or make unflattering comparisons between foreign armies and their own.

"The regime is worried that soldiers from the isolated country might pick up 'incorrect' ideas," wrote Fyodor Tertitskiy, a researcher at Seoul's Kookmin University.

- What type of units? -

Citing US intelligence, Secretary of State Antony Blinken had already previously mentioned a North Korean deployment in the Russian region of Kursk, which was attacked by Ukraine in August.

According to Blinken, they are equipped with Russian uniforms and trained in artillery, drones, and infantry operations, including trench clearing.

This, he said, showed that Moscow intends to use them in frontline operations.

But are they cannon fodder or special forces? South Korean analysts lean towards the latter option.

"While casualties are an inevitable part of war, what's the point of sending inexperienced and or incompetent soldiers to gain combat experience?", said Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

"North Korea must showcase the combat effectiveness and operational capabilities of its soldiers to maximise the outcomes of its deployments," added Lim Eul-chul at Kyungnam University.

- Limited volume -

Reliable figures are hard to come by, but Western sources say there are around 10,000 North Korean soldiers deployed, while Kyiv says there are 11,000.

This is the equivalent of current Russian losses in about 10 days of fighting.

"If Russia is having manpower issues, it will require far more North Koreans to address these challenges," observed Mick Ryan, a retired Australian general.

Others, however, argue that the contingent is non-negligible so long as the soldiers remain in the Kursk region.

"The strength of North Korean special operations forces lies in their ability to endure harsh conditions, even when food and other resources are in short supply," said Lim. "They have strong mental resilience."

- Language barrier -

Can Russians and North Koreans jointly wage a war that depends on translators?

"While translators will be helpful, this kind of communication gap can, and will, be a problem during combat operations," said Ryan.

Meanwhile, there remains a plethora of organisational questions: will the North Koreans deploy rank-and-file soldiers as well as command structures? Will they be autonomous or integrated into Russian units? For what tasks?

"Ukrainian intelligence has stated that the North Koreans arrived in Russia with 500 officers and three generals," said Ivan Klyszcz, a research fellow at the International Centre for Defence and Security in Estonia.

"This could facilitate communication if the Russian and North Korean generals manage to work together, but there are too many unknowns at this stage to be conclusive," he said.

- Limited experience -

Pyongyang's special forces are primarily trained to prevent a coup d'etat at home.

"Their complicated chain of command emerged from a system in which political commissars signed off on every military decision," wrote Tertitskiy.

"It's an open question whether this cumbersome system will be modified for the purposes of the war in Ukraine. Either way, such a change would be impossible without the personal agreement of Kim Jong Un," North Korea's leader, he said.

Moreover, North Korean troops who have not fought since 1953 would likely struggle against Ukrainians who have been at war for two-and-a-half years.

Kim's army relies on 20th-Century-style mass mobilisation with around a third of the population involved in the military, either actively or in reserve or paramilitary units, said Klyszcz.

But "despite their Communist regime being a throwback of sorts to the Soviet model, their military focus on mass power has become oddly relevant again in the 21st Century", he said.

- Valuable lessons -

The deployment will be monitored and analysed from all angles.

"Sharing lessons on modern combat, particularly on the integrated use of drones, cruise and ballistic missiles will be of great interest to North Korea," said Ryan, also pointing to valuable lessons to be learnt about "electronic warfare, countering air defences, and insights gleaned from captured Western weapons in Ukraine".

But the reverse also appears true, according to Tertitskiy, who wrote that "Seoul seems to sense an opportunity to acquire intelligence on its longstanding foe".

This is especially valuable since the pandemic-related border closure significantly reduced the number of refugees from the North reaching the South, who constitute "the main source of information" for Seoul about its neighbour.

L.Coleman--TFWP