On the Russian-Ukrainian front, the North Korean army’s trial by fire

Training at a Korean People’s Army special operations forces base in the western region, North Korea, October 2, 2024. (Photo provided by the North Korean News Agency.) STR/AFP With more of 1.3 million conscripts and 7.6 million reservists, the North Korean army is one of the largest in the world in relation to its population (around 26 million inhabitants), but it remains inexperienced. His presence on the Ukrainian front – which Emmanuel Macron described, Tuesday November 12, as a “serious escalation” of the conflict, during a press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte – is his first experience of a modern war, seventy-one years after the end of the Korean War (1950-1953). What are the value, on the ground, of these soldiers who, during major events, parade for hours on Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang, some of whose units go goose-stepping, their heads turned towards the platform where the “supreme leader” is surrounded by a crowd of officers with their chests covered in decorations? Fighting alongside the Russians is, for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), a sort of homecoming. Its army was created in 1948 by the Soviets, who occupied the northern part of the peninsula after the partition of the Korean peninsula at the 38th parallel by the Americans, victors of the Pacific War in 1945. The latter occupied the southern part . Support decided secretly The deployment of North Korean soldiers to the Ukrainian front is the first breach opened by Kim Jong-un in his isolationist policy reinforced during the three years of pandemic, which allowed him to take control of the population and suffocate an embryonic market economy. North Korean support for Russia was decided secretly during the signing of a strategic partnership in Pyongyang in June by Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un, the Wall Street Journal suggests, citing a former intelligence agent. Russians. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers The presence of North Korean troops alongside Russia illustrates Pyongyang’s new global ambitions Read later In the DPRK, the army is closely linked to the cult of personality. Since the 1970s, soldiers have served less the motherland than the “well-loved and respected leader”. A quarter of the national GDP would be devoted to the army, which owns, within its sphere, businesses, trading houses, fisheries and mines. Conscription, eight to ten years for men and five years for women, is the longest in the world. Only the privileged who enter university escape this long interlude under the flag. The time spent in the army depends on the social status of the conscript’s family, which is a function of their loyalty to the regime. For the majority, spending ten years in the army is the best way to become a member of the Workers’ Party of Korea and obtain some benefits. You have 62.9% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.



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