The Ukrainian navy is dropping Korean-language leaflets urging North Korean troops combating on Russia’s aspect of the struggle to “Give up in the present day and be a part of South Korea tomorrow,” Radio Free Asia has realized.
The leaflets seem in a video shared on the Telegram social media web site by InformNapalm, a corporation that has been reporting on the state of affairs in Ukraine.
In the meantime, the Ukrainian web site evocation.information additionally revealed on Telegram proof that North Korean troopers are supplied with Russian ID, prone to cover their nationality within the occasion they’re killed.
The 2 social media posts are amongst many experiences of North Korean participation within the struggle, which Pyongyang and Moscow haven’t outwardly confirmed.
InformNapalm’s leaflet video reveals a drone with a digital camera flying the leaflets over a wooded space. A caption in Ukrainian says, “Leaflets are dropped into the woods the place North Korean troopers are hiding.”
RFA beforehand reported {that a} related sort of drone engaged North Korean troops in a battle within the Kursk area, killing 50 of them.
However this time it was simply leaflets. Along with the “give up” leaflet, there’s one other that claims “You’ve been bought!”
South Korean intelligence reported that Russia is paying each North Korean soldier about US$2,000 per 30 days, however observers imagine that similar to North Korea’s dispatched employees, a lot of the cash is probably going despatched to the cash-strapped North Korean authorities.
RFA has not independently verified the authenticity of the video.
In line with InformNapalm, as soon as North Korean troopers give up or are captured, their identities are protected and they’re supplied with assist to go to South Korea to begin a brand new life, nevertheless it acknowledged that it’s nonetheless too early to inform how efficient the leaflet marketing campaign shall be.
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In the meantime, a Russian navy ID with a bullet gap and blood stains on it was discovered on a lifeless North Korean soldier within the Kursk area, the photograph revealed by evocation.io purports to indicate.
The ID card is legible within the photograph. It says the deceased soldier is Kim Kan-Bolat Albertovich, a local of Russia’s Tuva Republic, in southern Siberia, born on April 13, 1997.
RFA can’t independently confirm the authenticity of the photograph.
In line with the ID, Pvt. Kim was allegedly born within the village of Bayan-Tala, graduated secondary faculty in 2016, labored as a roofer, after which entered navy service within the Tuvan fifty fifth Mountain Infantry Brigade.
However an individual with that identify and birthdate doesn’t exist in Russian information, the evocation.io reported. The soldier’s Korean signature additionally seems on the primary web page, suggesting his actual identify is Ri Dae Hyok.
The doc has extra inconsistencies. It lacks images, order numbers and official seals. Moreover, “Kim” has allegedly been a soldier since 2016, however he first obtained a weapon on Oct. 10, 2024, and a private tag (AB-175311) a day later.
If reputable, this photograph would verify what South Korean intelligence revealed in October, that North Korean troops despatched to Russia had been issued faux Russian identification playing cards that stated they had been residents of southern Siberia, which is residence to a people who find themselves racially much like East Asians.
It’s tough to inform if the photograph is reputable or whether it is propaganda, David Maxwell, vp on the U.S.-based Heart for Asia Pacific Technique, informed RFA.
“If Russia or North Korea is making an attempt to cover their troopers’ identities, it is unnecessary. They’ll inevitably be uncovered,” Maxwell stated. “It’s one other silly transfer by the Russians and North Koreans as a result of when these troopers are captured or killed, their identities shall be revealed.”
He stated it’s already well-known that North Korea is supporting Russia, so efforts to move North Koreans off as a special Russian ethnic group was pointless.
“Perhaps it makes them really feel higher, however I don’t discover this crucial or credible.”
Translated by Claire S. Lee and Jay Park. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.
