North Korean soldiers come out to help Russia, not to talk about justice, but to sell their lives in exchange for food.
Ten thousand soldiers took 30 million dollars a month and all went to Pyongyang.
Those who were killed were sent money, but no one returned.
The topic of "North Korea sending troops to Ukraine to help Russia fight" has always been the focus of international attention, and it is well known to everyone.
Last year, Dzelensky spoke out, saying that Russia had deployed North Korean soldiers to the Kursk front. At the time, many people thought it could be a war of public opinion, and did not think that this year the KCNA itself acknowledged, that the North Korean army was indeed involved in the operation to recover the Kursk region, and also described this as "a witness to North-Russian friendship".
So the question is, why did North Korea send people all the way to fight in Ukraine? Is it really because of the iron relationship with Russia? In fact, looking at the surface, it is full of real exchange of interests.
To put it bluntly, this is a special "transnational job". Russia is short of manpower and North Korea is short of foreign exchange. The two sides hit it off.
Around 10,000 North Korean soldiers have been sent to Ukraine, Russia pays the North Korean government per capita, and foreign media reports report that a person can exchange $3,000 per month.
Most of the money went to Pyongyang's treasury, and the soldiers could only get their own hands.This is like North Korea sent construction workers abroad, servants, but this time it was sent to the military, and to the frontline.
These North Korean soldiers mainly perform some auxiliary tasks in Ukraine, such as guarding the defense line, patroling, really hard fighting or the Russian military itself.
But even so, the battlefield is not an exercise ground after all. There are already news that North Korean troops have suffered casualties, about 200 people. Although the DPRK promised to give pensions to those killed in battle, their lives could not be returned.
In fact, North Korea does this is also a helpless move, after the epidemic, the domestic economy is more difficult, international sanctions are not relaxed, and foreign exchange is urgently needed to buy oil, food and other necessary goods.
Both sides took what was needed: Russia got a human hand, North Korea got a hard currency, and it accompanied the troops to experience modern warfare.
The reaction of the international community to this is very interesting, the United States, South Korea is the mouth of a few words of criticism, there is no practical action; Ukraine is really angry, saying the West is too "double".
But backwards, did not NATO countries send mercenaries and military advisors to work in Ukraine?
When it comes to these North Korean soldiers, they are mostly professional soldiers sent by the state and have no choice. The official media says they are "fighting for friendship", but in fact they may not even speak Russian, and the equipment used does not necessarily go well. Imagine being thrown into a completely unfamiliar battlefield, listening to orders that do not understand, fighting battles that do not have anything to do with themselves, it tastes unpleasant.
Overall, it is hard to say how long this pattern will last.If the war continues, North Korea may turn troops, but if the casualties are too big, will the domestic people have an opinion?
Besides, although it can earn some foreign exchange at present, North Korea is more isolated internationally, and it may not be cost-effective in the long run.
Speaking of which, these North Korean soldiers are quite helpless, and their fate is completely out of their own control, but isn't war so cruel? They may have never traveled far in their lives, but they are sent thousands of kilometers away to fight a war that has nothing to do with their own country directly. After the war, their stories are probably just forgotten.
In fact, this type of “labour cooperation” between countries has long existed, the Swiss mercenaries and the Circular Corps are examples, but the special thing about North Korea this time is that it is one of the five constants of the United Nations and the cooperation between the sanctioned countries, and takes place in the high-tech battlefield of the 21st century.
This shows that even in modern warfare, the oldest resource, human power, still has irreplaceable value.
Now that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is not yet to be seen, this special cooperation may continue.But I sincerely hope that the war will end soon, and that these soldiers who are considered “foreign exchange tools” will be able to return home peacefully.
References:
Kim Jong-un personally welcomes the spirit! North Korea discloses details of sending troops to Kursk.--Luzhong Morning News
Ten thousand soldiers took 30 million dollars a month and all went to Pyongyang.
Those who were killed were sent money, but no one returned.
The topic of "North Korea sending troops to Ukraine to help Russia fight" has always been the focus of international attention, and it is well known to everyone.
Last year, Dzelensky spoke out, saying that Russia had deployed North Korean soldiers to the Kursk front. At the time, many people thought it could be a war of public opinion, and did not think that this year the KCNA itself acknowledged, that the North Korean army was indeed involved in the operation to recover the Kursk region, and also described this as "a witness to North-Russian friendship".
So the question is, why did North Korea send people all the way to fight in Ukraine? Is it really because of the iron relationship with Russia? In fact, looking at the surface, it is full of real exchange of interests.
To put it bluntly, this is a special "transnational job". Russia is short of manpower and North Korea is short of foreign exchange. The two sides hit it off.
Around 10,000 North Korean soldiers have been sent to Ukraine, Russia pays the North Korean government per capita, and foreign media reports report that a person can exchange $3,000 per month.
Most of the money went to Pyongyang's treasury, and the soldiers could only get their own hands.This is like North Korea sent construction workers abroad, servants, but this time it was sent to the military, and to the frontline.
These North Korean soldiers mainly perform some auxiliary tasks in Ukraine, such as guarding the defense line, patroling, really hard fighting or the Russian military itself.
But even so, the battlefield is not an exercise ground after all. There are already news that North Korean troops have suffered casualties, about 200 people. Although the DPRK promised to give pensions to those killed in battle, their lives could not be returned.
In fact, North Korea does this is also a helpless move, after the epidemic, the domestic economy is more difficult, international sanctions are not relaxed, and foreign exchange is urgently needed to buy oil, food and other necessary goods.
Both sides took what was needed: Russia got a human hand, North Korea got a hard currency, and it accompanied the troops to experience modern warfare.
The reaction of the international community to this is very interesting, the United States, South Korea is the mouth of a few words of criticism, there is no practical action; Ukraine is really angry, saying the West is too "double".
But backwards, did not NATO countries send mercenaries and military advisors to work in Ukraine?
When it comes to these North Korean soldiers, they are mostly professional soldiers sent by the state and have no choice. The official media says they are "fighting for friendship", but in fact they may not even speak Russian, and the equipment used does not necessarily go well. Imagine being thrown into a completely unfamiliar battlefield, listening to orders that do not understand, fighting battles that do not have anything to do with themselves, it tastes unpleasant.
Overall, it is hard to say how long this pattern will last.If the war continues, North Korea may turn troops, but if the casualties are too big, will the domestic people have an opinion?
Besides, although it can earn some foreign exchange at present, North Korea is more isolated internationally, and it may not be cost-effective in the long run.
Speaking of which, these North Korean soldiers are quite helpless, and their fate is completely out of their own control, but isn't war so cruel? They may have never traveled far in their lives, but they are sent thousands of kilometers away to fight a war that has nothing to do with their own country directly. After the war, their stories are probably just forgotten.
In fact, this type of “labour cooperation” between countries has long existed, the Swiss mercenaries and the Circular Corps are examples, but the special thing about North Korea this time is that it is one of the five constants of the United Nations and the cooperation between the sanctioned countries, and takes place in the high-tech battlefield of the 21st century.
This shows that even in modern warfare, the oldest resource, human power, still has irreplaceable value.
Now that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is not yet to be seen, this special cooperation may continue.But I sincerely hope that the war will end soon, and that these soldiers who are considered “foreign exchange tools” will be able to return home peacefully.
References:
Kim Jong-un personally welcomes the spirit! North Korea discloses details of sending troops to Kursk.--Luzhong Morning News