North Korea’s decision to send troops to Russia’s war with Ukraine will certainly strengthen Pyongyang’s partnership with Moscow but will also expose thousands of North Korean soldiers to foreign ideas and a different way of life.
While exact numbers are hard to verify, Western intelligence says more than 10,000 North Korean troops have been sent to the Kursk region to counter Ukraine’s offensive into Russia.
Even if they were traveling to a war zone, they were bound to see the relative wealth of Russian cities and towns at some point during their long journey between Russia’s eastern border in Asia and its western border in Europe. They will also get better food and wages than they would expect in their homeland.
“Many of these soldiers are just humble farm boys from the countryside or junior officers who will see the world beyond the borders of North Korea for the first time. That will certainly make people understand that the country is isolated and very poor,” Andrei Lankov, a Professor of history and international relations born Russia in Seoul Kookmin Universityto DW.
“Although most of what he sees will be on the front lines, war-torn villages and so on, he will still see the Russian countryside before he gets there. He will surely ask himself why his country is not rich. like Russia.”
Back to ‘heroes’
Those who survived the front line will return home with ideas that contradict the regime’s propaganda, which asserts that North Korea is one of the happiest and most advanced countries in the world. However, analysts caution soldiers against expressing critical sentiments, even to their family and friends. North Korea’s secret police are notorious for treating critics of the regime or the public as traitors and handing out harsh punishments.
“These people have grown up knowing what they can’t say, and they’re not going to be suicidal heroes and talk about their experiences,” Lankov said. “He will also benefit from the aura of being a national hero, and Kim Jong Un (North Korean leader) will reward him handsomely.
“There will be an impact on these soldiers from what they see and do in Russia, but we can’t expect it to have any political significance for a few decades, at least.”
The regime escalates the clampdown on foreign influence
For decades, the North Korean government has tried to distance its people from foreign ideas. And this campaign has only grown fiercer in recent years, with authorities cracking down on anyone caught with foreign films or music and handing out longer prison terms to citizens who try to flee to China. Certain clothes or hairstyles – if officials think they are influenced by foreign countries – are also used as pretexts to arrest people in remote countries.
In Russia, however, officers and supervisors will not be able to keep North Korean soldiers safe from outside influence, said Dan Pinkston, a professor of international relations at Troy University’s Seoul campus.
“There are reports that North Korean troops have been flown from a training facility in the Far East of Russia, and it is possible that they decided to fly only because they did not want to see Russian cities from the train when crossing the country,” he told DW, adding that it is very likely that the first many people have taken the plane.
“They will quickly understand North Korea’s setbacks, although I imagine officers will try to keep them separated from the general population as much as possible to limit their interactions.”
The captain became a general
Given the regime’s record of those already overseas, including those sent to work at construction sites and logging camps in Russia or restaurants and factories in China, returning troops are likely to undergo a period of assessment and re-education beforehand. they were allowed to return to North Korean society.
Lankov, a Kookmin University professor, agreed that returning soldiers would be “closely monitored.”
“It may be more difficult when they are in Russia, and they are going through a war situation, but those who come back will know that if they talk about what they saw, it can be dangerous for them.”
However, Lankov believes that the experience of life outside of North Korea and the “obvious prosperity” of other countries will take time.
“I don’t expect him to start a revolution right away, of course, but the captain who served in Ukraine will become a general in a few years, and he will continue to doubt. the system can be useful.”
