Table of Contents
image copyrightEPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
Article related information
- Reporters, Yuna Koo, Richard Kim
- Reporter, BBC Korea
- Reporting from Seoul
-
November 19, 2024
“(Deployed North Korean soldiers) can be deceived by what North Korea taught them and fight while thinking, ‘My death is a glorious death.’ “We need to make them realize (that that’s not the case).” (Shim Joo-il, North Korean Defector Christian Soldiers Association)
As reports emerge that approximately 10,000 North Korean soldiers have been dispatched to the Ukrainian-Russian front, the agitation among North Korean defectors regarding the situation is growing. Some of them are raising their voices calling for active assistance in the defection of dispatched North Korean soldiers.
‘Only North Korean defectors can enlighten North Korean soldiers’
Among former North Korean military defectors, there are those who risk their lives and ask to be sent to the Ukrainian front.
On the 28th of last month, the North Korean Military Defectors Christian Association and the Senior Army Defectors, which are domestic private organizations, said, “We sternly condemn the inhumane actions of the Kim Jong-un regime, which exposes the sons of the people to cannon fodder in order to raise funds for its rule and modernize its war equipment.” They issued a statement requesting that they be sent to the Ukrainian-Russian front.
Shim Joo-il, a former North Korean officer who leads the North Korean Soldiers Defector Christian Association, told BBC Korea, “(If you go to the front), it would be important to face soldiers with the same gun shells and live and die, but rather than that, it would be important to see them (in relation to the reality of war).” “We will focus on enlightening people,” he explained.
“We are people who do what we think is right… How nice it would be to go and contribute to something like that at the end of our lives.”
The purpose is that since North Korean defectors are well aware of the situation of North Korean special forces, if they are dispatched to the field and engage in psychological warfare against them, they can effectively induce North Korean soldiers to leave the battlefield and defect.
Ahn Chan-il, director of the World North Korea Research Center, who leads the North Korean Defector Senior Army, served for 10 years in the Civil Police Battalion under the Reconnaissance General Bureau. He said, “There is a big difference between the military units that North Korea puts out for propaganda purposes and the actual units, including in terms of physique, etc.,” and predicted that even though they looked like regular troops on the outside, elite special forces such as the 11th Corps (Storm Corps) may have actually participated in the war.
Major General Ahn said, “We declared war with the expectation that if two or three divisions of the North Korean army appear (in Russia), we will definitely have something to do.” “If we can get close to the front line, we will carry out psychological warfare that can be done in war, such as a bombing operation using a megaphone,” he explained.
Director Ahn said that he had conveyed his intentions to the Ukrainian Embassy in Korea.
However, this opinion still appears to be only a minority. Some point out that not only is it realistically difficult, but it could also provoke Russia and North Korea and further destabilize South Korea’s security situation.
Lee Min-bok, head of the Movement to Directly Help North Korean Compatriots, said, “It is good to make a declaration saying, ‘We will also go and fight,’ but sending troops is a strange part of the relationship between countries,” and expressed concern about the possible political and diplomatic repercussions of sending North Korean defectors to Ukraine.
Currently, the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a level 4 travel alert (no travel) to all parts of Ukraine.
According to the Domestic Passport Act, if the Minister of Foreign Affairs deems it necessary for travel for purposes specified by Presidential Decree, such as permanent residence, reporting, urgent humanitarian reasons, or public affairs, visitation and stay may be permitted. However, if you visit a country prohibited from traveling without permission, you may be granted permission to visit and stay for less than one year. You can be punished by imprisonment or a fine of up to 10 million won.
image copyrightReuters
Photo caption, North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency released the photo on September 11, saying North Korean special operations forces members were participating in training during North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s inspection.
‘Storm Corps, it will not be easy to persuade’
Woong-gil Lee, known as a member of the Storm Corps, expressed some skepticism about North Korean defectors going directly to the battlefield in Ukraine. South Korean intelligence authorities and some military experts are analyzing that the Storm Corps, the North Korean military’s most elite unit, was included in the troops dispatched to Russia this time.
Mr. Lee pointed out that North Korean defectors who have served in the military for a long time not only do not know much about the current internal situation of the North Korean military, but also that it will not be easy to persuade them if the dispatched unit is the Storm Corps. He was concerned, “Based on the level of loyalty and training (of the soldiers in the Storm Corps), if you say something like that, they will immediately hit you with a headshot.”
Mr. Sim also agreed that North Korea’s troop dispatches should not be underestimated. He said, “I wonder if (the dispatch of North Korean troops) was planned a day or two in advance. He said, “Kim Jong-un is a person who wants to hear stories like, ‘Hey, North Korea is not normal,’ because the (North Korean) troops go to the battlefield and fight well.” He pointed out that the capabilities of the dispatched North Korean military should not be overly underestimated.
“(The troops dispatched to North Korea) are people who are ready and determined to fight and die bravely for the leader and the party. “It’s not just that we didn’t have money or anything to eat, so we gathered together corrupt people and sent them there.”
Mr. Lee said that when he saw the video of the injured North Korean soldier released on the pro-Ukraine Telegram channel, he thought, “Just by hearing the way they spoke, those are soldiers from our unit.” He added, “They say he used the word ‘friend’ (so it’s not a real video), but North Korea “Comrade’ and ‘comrade’ are used among superiors and at events, but in everyday life, everyone is called a friend,” he said. The BBC was unable to separately determine the authenticity of the video.
He said, “I think it would be better to send a video or a recording than to go directly to the front line and blow into a loudspeaker.” “It would actually be much more helpful to send it that way,” he added.
Photo caption, The Ukrainian government released a video encouraging North Korean troops to surrender through YouTube and Telegram.
Will psychological warfare against North Korean defectors work?
Some argue that psychological warfare should be waged against the North Korean military using propaganda materials and loudspeakers.
In fact, it has been reported that some North Korean defectors recently formed a ‘North Korean defector propaganda group’ aimed at the defection of North Korean soldiers dispatched to Ukraine and delivered leaflets and audio files to Ukraine to induce North Korean soldiers to defect and guide them on how to escape from the front lines.
However, conducting psychological warfare on the battlefield is much more dangerous and difficult than distributing anti-North Korea leaflets in the domestic border area.
Doo Jin-ho, head of the International Strategy Research Department at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyzes, said, “The moment we turn on the loudspeaker (against North Korea), we will be hit by drones,” and analyzed that the effectiveness of psychological warfare in the Ukraine war, which is being fought as a modern war, will be limited.
The ways for North Korean soldiers to watch defection induction videos or play audio files also appear to be somewhat limited. Mr. Lee said that one way could be to send the video on an MP3 player or a used cell phone. He said that if this was possible, he had something to say to the North Korean military.
“If you go down that road again as mercenaries of invasion, the Ukrainian people will end up living under the feet of another dictatorship just like the people of North Korea. Do you really want that? If not, let us come to the embrace of freedom and stand together on the path to liberating our North Korea. When I first came to Korea, I was also scared when I was embraced by freedom… But I have been living happily here for seventeen years now.”
Previously, the Ukrainian government posted a propaganda video targeting the North Korean military under the title ‘A word to the soldiers of the Korean People’s Army’ on YouTube and Telegram, which are run by the Ukrainian government to induce the surrender of the Russian military.
BBC Korea asked the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Unification about their positions on the issue, but did not receive a response.
Q: What are your thoughts on the potential impact of North Korean defectors serving in Ukraine’s military against their own country’s troops?
A: Regarding the dispatch of North Korean troops to Ukraine, what measures do you think South Korea and the international community should take to address this situation and prevent further escalation?
Q: Do you believe that psychological warfare tactics, such as propaganda and loudspeakers, could be effective in persuading North Korean soldiers to defect during wartime conditions?
Q: How would you assess the capabilities of North Korea’s elite military units like the ”Storm Corps” and their potential role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine?
