Kim Jong-un's regime has sent highly trained Special Forces units to Russia, but more than a thousand soldiers have been killed or injured in the first battles, The New York Times reported on Monday. In general, the President of Ukraine said, more than three thousand Koreans should have been killed in the war. As the American newspaper notes, such losses were caused by the poor preparation of Kim's soldiers for the war in the conditions that prevail on the front of Russia and Ukraine. The problem is, for example, the terrain or even the lack of knowledge of the language and the difficulty of communicating with Russians.
The North Korean army has 1.3 million soldiers and is one of the largest conventional armed forces in the world, “NYT” reports. However, the paper notes that North Korean special forces are trained for urban or mountain warfare, bomb disposal and infiltration missions. They were not prepared for the war against the infantry, in a different terrain and in conditions where the enemy uses drones, as in the front of Ukraine and Russia.
According to the President of Ukraine, more than three thousand Kim's soldiers have already been killed or wounded in battles on the Russian side. “There is a danger that North Korea will send additional forces and military equipment to the Russian army,” Zelensky said at Platform X after receiving a report from his top military commander Alexander Sirsky.
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North Korean soldiers are not united with Russian soldiers
Doo Jin Ho, an analyst at the Korea Institute for Defense Analysis in Seoul, explained in an interview with “NYT” that the North Korean soldiers who were rushed to Russia were not prepared for positional warfare, trench warfare or in battles. the plain
This rush also meant that North Korean soldiers could not join Russian units. They were taught only a few basic military phrases, such as “open fire” or “occupy position,” causing communication problems at the front, South Korean intelligence said.
Moreover, both commanders and rank-and-file soldiers lack actual combat experience for several decades, and generals were appointed when the young Kim Jong-un took power in 2011 after his father decided to subjugate the military. . “reign of terror”.
North Korean Army (image photo) Astraleok/Shutterstock
“For them, this expedition is a hope of great profit”
The North Korean military is the backbone of a brutal regime, but it also has a privileged position. The soldiers who are sent to Russia are not only highly trained, but also the most disciplined and resilient. For them, this expedition is a hope for big profits, a career and a quick entry into the ranks of the ruling party, which is a “very desirable status symbol,” noted “NYT.”
For the North Korean leader, providing such support to Russia is part of his efforts to gain a better diplomatic footing and an effort to use the war to train troops and acquire military know-how. Therefore, Pyongyang intends to send additional forces to Russia, writes the newspaper.
Ukrainian intelligence believes that North Korea's military support from Russia poses a threat not only to Ukraine, but also to South Korea and Japan, because although some soldiers die in Ukraine, others return with combat experience who can train further forces in the same way. modern military training.
North Korean soldier (image photo) Astraleok/Shutterstock
PAP, Reuters, New York Times
Main image credit: Astrelok/Shutterstock
