Instructions are clear: soldiers must commit suicide to prevent capture by the Ukrainians
“Becoming a prisoner of war means betrayal. Being captured means you’re a traitor. Leave one last bullet, that’s what we’re talking about in the army.” This is how Kim, now 32, describes his stay in the North Korean army, from where he fled in 2022 in search of a better life.
Now he sees his compatriots fighting a real war, in Ukraine, and regrets what they are instructed to do, following Pyongyang’s rules that could end in death.
The most obvious case is that of a North Korean soldier who committed suicide before Ukrainian troops could reach him. After a fight that ended with 17 North Koreans dead in Kursk, the man found himself alone in the face of the enemy, preferring to detonate a grenade rather than remain prisoner.
“Self-detonation and suicides: this is the reality about North Korea,” continues Kim, speaking to Reuters.
The defector, who asked to be called only by his nickname to avoid any reprisal, regrets that his compatriots are fighting in a war that is not theirs. “These soldiers have left their homes and been brainwashed, they are truly prepared to sacrifice themselves for Kim Jong-un,” he adds.
Yes, by the North Korean leader, and not by the President of Russia, since many do not know, according to South Korean intelligence, that they are fighting a real war. One possibility that has gained weight is that Pyongyang sent around 11,000 soldiers to Russia not to help Moscow, but to train in a real scenario for an eventual invasion of South Korea.
Of the thousands who arrived in Kursk to help liberate the Russian region where Ukraine has been present since August, South Korean secrets point out that around three thousand were disabled, including almost 300 dead.
Numbers that emerge after much denial from Russia and North Korea regarding the presence of North Korean soldiers in the territory. It was “fake news”, they said, but a video released by the Ukrainian presidency this weekend removed all doubts.
It shows two soldiers captured by Ukraine, two who were unable or unwilling to carry out Pyongyang’s order: suicide before capture.
Kim’s fears were confirmed by a South Korean lawmaker who was present at the meeting where Seoul secret officials briefed lawmakers on what was happening on the ground. In Kursk, the North Koreans are . But among the conclusions drawn is also that of the instruction to commit suicide rather than allow capture.
“Recently, it was confirmed that a North Korean soldier who was in danger of being captured by the Ukrainian army shouted for General Kim Jong-un and pulled out a grenade to try to blow himself up, but he was killed. [antes]”, said Lee Seong-kweun, deputy of the South Korean Information Services Commission.
And it’s not just that. The secret South Koreans also found papers with notes emphasizing self-destruction and suicide before capture, which shows a high level of loyalty to Pyongyang.
