TAIPEI, Taiwan – Some of the thousands of soldiers North Korea sent to Russia to fight in Moscow’s war against Ukraine were family members of defectors and other people with “issues” in the North, South Korean media reported.
Candidates were selected primarily from troops belonging to North Korea’s Storm Corps, a special forces unit, in October of last year, Seoul-based Sand Times reported on Monday, citing a source inside the North.
But during this process, some personnel who had been disciplined for offenses during military service, as well as those from “complex social backgrounds” were also included, the report said.
People with “complex social backgrounds” refers to families of defectors who have fled to countries such as South Korea or China, according to the report.
Family members of North Korean defectors often face severe consequences imposed by the state, including intense surveillance, forced relocation to remote areas, imprisonment in labor camps, or even public execution, especially if the defector is seen as politically significant or has shared sensitive information.
The North punishes families under the principle of guilt by association, holding them responsible for the actions of their relatives who fled the country. In some cases, families may also face social ostracism and lose access to education and employment, according to testimonies from defectors.
Separately, the source told Sand Times that death notices for North Korean soldiers who died after being deployed began to be delivered to their families at the end of November last year.
South Korea and the U.S. estimate that Pyongyang has sent as many as 12,000 troops to serve in Russia’s Kursk region, which was partly occupied by a Ukrainian counteroffensive.
Ukraine said that about 4,000 of them had been killed or wounded. Its leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy estimated that an additional 20,000 to 25,000 North Korean soldiers could be sent to Russia. Neither Russia nor North Korea has acknowledged the presence of the North Korean troops on the battlefield.
“The bodies of the fallen soldiers started arriving in the homeland via trains from Moscow to Pyongyang,” the source said, adding that funerals were conducted secretly as soon as the bodies arrived.
North Korean authorities instructed the bereaved families not to disclose the deaths and to remain quiet without expressing grief, the source said.
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In February, Radio Free Asia reported that North Korean authorities had threatened to punish citizens who spread “rumors” about the country’s soldiers dying in Russia’s war against Ukraine and ordered people to report such incidents.
State media has not reported that North Korean troops are fighting in Russia, but news of the deployment has spread by word of mouth – including reports that some have died and their bodies have not been returned.
But the source told Sand Times that news related to the deployment to Russia is rapidly spreading among North Korean residents, fueling growing discontent despite Pyongyang’s efforts to suppress it.
A French travel blogger who was among the first group of Western tourists to visit North Korea in five years told RFA that his tour guides knew that the country’s soldiers were fighting in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Edited by Mike Firn and Stephen Wright.