More than 11,000 North Korean soldiers have been dispatched to the front, where they are expected to support Russian troops in their fight against Ukraine.
However, the reality of combat has proven to be far from what they were prepared for, writes Choe Sang-Hun, a reporter for The New York Times. The North Korean forces belong to the elite "Storm" corps, one of the most trained units in the DPRK army. Yet, despite their high qualifications in their home country, North Korean soldiers have found themselves vulnerable on the battlefield. In the initial battles, over 100 of them were killed, and another thousand were injured.
Du Jin Ho, a senior analyst at the Korea Defense Analysis Institute in Seoul, states that the reason for such significant losses lies in the inadequate preparation for combat and trench warfare along open and flat front lines. Additionally, they lack experience in using drones. Another serious issue, according to the expert, is the hasty deployment of troops. They were sent to the front lines after only minimal training and familiarization with basic military terms in Russian, complicating communication on the battlefield.
"North Korean military personnel have not had real combat experience for decades. The troops likely underwent an accelerated training course in drone usage and infantry tactics, but the question remains how well they are familiar with it," emphasized An Chang Il, a former sergeant of the North Korean army now residing in South Korea.
Source: nytimes .
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