In response to that Pyongyang announced early this week that it will be sending troops in the form of a military engineering unit to support Russian forces on the ground in the Donetsk region. The troops are expected to arrive on the battlefield as soon as next month.
One engineering unit isn’t much, but perhaps there is more to come. It didn’t say anything in the article about future commitments.
Ilya Ponomarev, a former Russian member of parliament told the UK’s Daily Express that North Korea has become an important bridge between the Kremlin and China. Beijing can indirectly transfer military equipment to Moscow through Pyongyang without falling foul of Western sanctions.
As he explained: “North Korea is one of key Russian partners and the meaning of the rationale behind them becoming such a partner is because they are acting as a bridge between China and Russia.
“Essentially all the military equipment that is delivered from North Korea was developed for the North Koreans by the Chinese.
Perhaps this is less about North Korea then it appears on the surface. I wonder what Russia is giving China for this help?
Sometime back kim was crying so that women make more babies, now he is sending men to his friend. And we know the mortality rate of North Korea. I have never seen a country run out of people, I think I will see it soon
Every picture of Putin and Kim together just looks like an adult tricking a kid.
Curious how many will defect once outside North Korea.
Very few, as North Korea hand picks everyone who gets to leave by essentially keeping their entire family hostage, and any “traitor family” will find them sentenced to life in prison/labour camp - including any children born in those camps.
And they are places you wouldn’t wish for anyone to end up in, especially your loved ones.
You haven’t met my family.
According to hexbear you would have to have some deranged lib mind to believe any would want to.
Those children are completely delusional. I saw a thread about why the entire country is unlit at night which was a parody of itself. I wonder what their demographics are, if not 100% bots.
Surprisingly a lot of them on the Lemmy communities are also trans.
I’m not sure they’re aware how LGBT people are treated in those countries. Either that or just willful ignorance I guess
NKers are simultaneously brainwashed morons who follow their leader with fanatical delusion and utterly naive children who can be lured to defection by a few pieces of candy and a charming smile.
The hexbears are too stupid to realize that all Koreans yearn for the unlimited freedom of their Southern neighbors and yet too wicked to believe the unvarnished truths of such media luminaries as Yeomni Park. They should all be sent to North Korea to eat grass and toil in the mines and get beaten to a pulp by Kim’s totalitarian police, then repatriated so that they can apologize for their ignorant beliefs.
Server blocking hexbear is the only way to stay sane on Lemmy.
We defederated them a while ago over here. Along with some right wing instances too. The extremists from either side of the political spectrum really spoil the experience.
They sure do love authoritarianism more than they like leftism.
Maybe on account of the communities I subscribe to, but I’ve personally not come across right wing extremism on Lemmy. The tankies, though … so prevalent. Anyways, by server blocking hexbear it’s reduced by 90%.
Look @ the tankie!
/s
deleted by creator
Most of the ones that do end up regretting it /shrugThis is wrong - it’s not that they end up regretting it so much as most of them never want to go to South Korea in the first place.
About 18% of North Korean defectors regret it.
The number one reason is wanting to see family and friends who are still trapped in North Korea.
About 18% of North Korean defectors regret it.
Around 20% of defectors have considered returning to North Korea. But that has less to do with the appeal of the North than the poor treatment of expats in the South.
The South Korean immigration and labor laws make finding work south of the border incredibly difficult. North Korean expats are confined to menial service sector and grueling industrial work while being largely cut out of South Korean social life due to heavy stigmas against them. Its an incredibly hard life and not remotely like the glamorous existence of social elites that Americans claim drive the periodic defections.
They need access to a better place. I suppose they just get financially stuck in S Korea? Or do the move on to other countries too, more willing to give them a chance?
North Korean expats are functionally stateless, so it is very difficult to leave South Korea even when they do have money.
The largest portion of the Korean diaspora live in China and Russia.
Why don’t we have a law for North Korea like the Cuban Adjustment Act that allows anyone who makes it out of the country to quickly become a permanent resident, without regard for how they got out of their country. The situation seems fairly similar, where encouraging more defectors makes the target country look bad, and it can deprive them of workers.
The 18% figure is a biased sample from an anti-DPRK NGO. More comprehensive research into North Korean defectors by Cho Cheon-hyeon for his book Defectors indicate that most North Korean defectors simply want to make money in China, with only about 40% of defectors wanting to go to South Korea.
So I did misremember, but my point still stands on the fact that most of them don’t want to defect to South Korea, even before taking into account that even at their 2009 peak defectors were a tiny fraction of a percent of North Korea’s population and the existence of them in no way implicates all of North Korean society in secretly wanting to escape.
That last statement is meaningless given the crazy levels of security they have on keeping people in. If they took away all the restrictions on leaving then the numbers would go through the roof.
If so few people want to leave, why are so many resources directed into preventing people from leaving? I can’t think of any other country that works so hard to keep their citizens from escaping. Usually the largest barrier to leaving a country is the policies of the country you’re entering.
The fact they’re called defectors says it all. Anywhere else they’d be called emigrants.
I’m sure you’ll be able to provide me with a sound study confirming this.
So does that mean that NATO can also start deploying troops there? I mean, so far we’ve kept out to not escalate this, but if actual foreign troops will set foot on that front line, you can only wait so long for the other side to do the same…
No, because Ukraine is not a NATO member because they cannot join while already at war. If the USA got involved directly then the international community in the UN and even NATO itself would have mixed responses, perhaps even leading to NATO withdrawals and economic sanctions.
However, the USA have started allowing private mercenary companies to participate directly in the conflict, and they’ve had indirect support specialists from the US Military in the region for a long time.
Pyongangbang
can we get 1 like for the brave soldiers
Not a single one of those support troops has any combat experience.
So good luck, guys.
And they’ll still be the most experienced combat troops Putin can field. At least they get lots of practice marching up and down the square.
North Korea has had surprisingly close ties with various African states going back to the Cold War and NK mercenaries have served in Syria, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Zanzibar, and South Africa in the relatively recent past.
NKers also have an active role in state-sanctioned smuggling and piracy. I think you’d be surprised how much combat experience they’ve accrued.
Ain’t this a good thing the more fudder sent to the front lines the high chance NK will have less capable soldiers in their country. Unless people being sent to front lines were potential issues in NK. I bet US intelligence would be interested on seeing how NK soldiers operates in actual combat.
So did I hear that the US is considering letting “contractors” take Ukrainian contracts? Blackrock would ruin these morons!
So did I hear that the US is considering letting “contractors” take Ukrainian contracts?
The US has been sending “advisers” into Ukraine since the war began. And we’ve had intelligence officers in this country for decades.
Blackrock would ruin these morons!
Mercenaries and auxiliaries are useless and dangerous; and if one holds his state based on these arms, he will stand neither firm nor safe; for they are disunited, ambitious, and without discipline, unfaithful, valiant before friends, cowardly before enemies; they have neither the fear of God nor fidelity to men, and destruction is deferred only so long as the attack is; for in peace one is robbed by them, and in war by the enemy. The fact is, they have no other attraction or reason for keeping the field than a trifle of stipend, which is not sufficient to make them willing to die for you.
Someone read the prince :P
Fuck mercenaries. Time for some good old sheep dipping.
Funny thing is the eventual survivor won’t be brought back to NK after having seen the lavish lifes the russians live…
Or the lavish living conditions of a Ukraine POW cell.
News in 30 days: Digestive Parasites are up 70,000% in Eastern Ukraine.
Not to worry! Li’l Kim’s Bestest Buddy and Honorary Number One Chief Saluter will be ready to help NK help Russia destroy Ukraine and NATO.
All you MAGA service “losers” and “suckers” got quite the cognitive dissonance jam rockin’ huh.
They’ll doublethink their way out of it somehow.
That military man looked really important. Even a king would salute.
To be fair, the orange rapist found some good speed on that trip
To be fair, the orange convicted felon and rapist found some good speed on that trip
I hate this dunk because it’s clearly shown in the original video that the DPRK officer saluted Trump first. The president salutes like fifty Marines every single day, it’s not strange for him to reflexively salute someone else without thinking about it.
50 US Marines, of which he is their Commander in Chief.
North Korea has been an American rival since 1950. Imagine if any other President had done this.
But you don’t even have to, just look at the response to Obama bowing to the emperor of Japan, an ally.
My point is that if you see people salute you and you salute them back, do it enough times and it will become a reflex. The response to Obama bowing to someone in a culture where bowing is totally normal was equally stupid, but it was conservatives doing it instead of liberals.
Probably best not to be running on autopilot around North Fucking Koreans though.
Eh, in Trump’s case it was best to be running in autopilot… His tweets were him “thinking”
It was a diplomatic meeting, what were they gonna do? Kidnap the president of the united states?
Biden broke all ties with North Korea after Trump. Reverting to the old demand to denuclearize before for any negotiations and imposing more sanctions.
As we have learned from Ukraine. no sane country should ever give up their nukes because they become a prime target for invasion. If Ukraine still had nukes Russia would never have invaded.
Biden has also imposed sanctions on NK which were undone by Trump
Now I’m not a an NK fan but I’m not sure why people think pushing NK away would make them more friendly. Unlike the past where American sanctions spelled doom and America could bend any country to their will, China and Russia are now picking up the countries America pushes away.
China and Russia are now picking up the countries America pushes away.
Pretty sure North Korea has been allied with China and Russia for way longer than the US has been “pushing them away”.
Well yes because America had been pushing North Korea away.
Trump tried to lay contact with NK. He might not have had pure motives for it. He usually doesn’t. But the action itself is not the problem.
Biden hitting NK with the “new number who dis” right after becoming president certainly doesn’t make them trust us more. And thus they have been pushed further into the arms of Russia.
The classic American imperialists refuse to accept that by sanctioning a country into oblivion they will now just join China and Russia’s side. They have alternative options.
Most Americans don’t even know why North Korea is so hostile. We bombed them into oblivion during the Korean war.
Well yes because America had been pushing North Korea away.
The classic American imperialists refuse to accept that by sanctioning a country into oblivion they will now just join China and Russia’s side.
Most Americans don’t even know why North Korea is so hostile. We bombed them into oblivion during the Korean war.
What the fuck is this revisionist history?
North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950, after the South refused Northern rule. The UN stepped in (90% American forces) pushing the North Koreans nearly to China’s borders, at which point China entered the war, and resulting in the 38th parallel armistice border we have today.
North Korea wasn’t pushed into China’s welcoming arms due to American anti-nuclear proliferation sanctions of the last twenty years, and “being bombed into oblivion” is often the result of picking on countries with bigger allies than you, just ask Germany and Japan.
China has propped up the Kim dictatorship dynasty for the last 70 years, feeding their starving masses while the Kims focus the country’s resources on military spending, including nuclear development to substantiate their annual saber rattling. Allowing China to maintain a buffer state, that’s kept the West at bay since 1951.
NK & SK were making historical progress towards reunification until Kim and Trump met. Look at the pics from the summit and the timeline of inter Korean relations and it’s clear as day. He’s the reason relations went downhill.
Does north korea have actually good military power? I’ve seen their parades here and there, but does anyone know if they have updated equipment, trained military personnel, good intelligence, etc?
They have massive amount of soldiers and are good and making artillery and missiles. It is a big black box however since they haven’t been engaged in a conflict recently so all their troops lack experience.
Their economy is practically built for conflict so it shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Yeah, I don’t think numbers is everything, lacking experience or leadership can tip the balance against you in a blink
Yeah, I have a feeling that they will have very low morale because of lack of motivating factors. Desertion might also become a massive problem since this is one of the few ways to get out of the DPRK.
Few will desert as their families back home will pay the price for that.
True, but we’ve already seen from Russia what sheer numbers can do, even under-equipped and untrained.
It is a big black box however since they haven’t been engaged in a conflict recently so all their troops lack experience.
They’ve been deployed to Syria since at least 2019 and assisted Hezbollah in its tunnel networks going back decades.
Military is the only thing they have. It might not be the most modern, but they have more artilery shells than any other country. Other stockpiles are huge AF as well. Almost 4% of their population are in active military service and 2% more are reservists. In terms of head count, they have almost as many active personel as Russia while having a fraction of population. Plenty of disposable meat!
Agreed that they have a pretty big military in terms of raw numbers. I’m not going to discuss quality because the biggest question mark here is force projection.
How are they planning on sending over any significant manpower and supplies across 2800km?
They don’t even have a navy capable of circumnavigating the korean peninsula, much less make the trip to Ukraine or the wrong side of Russia.
They have 2 transport aircraft, the bigger of the 2 has a max passenger capacity of 44 pax. Neither of those have the range to get near Ukraine when flying fully fueled, nevermind if it were fully loaded.
How are they planning on sending over any significant manpower and supplies across 2800km?
Rail? They border Russia and there’s a railroad over the border
I didn’t know this, damn, that’s moving a lot of troops across a length of ~8.000 km in rail
Kim Jong Un has a pretty cool train also to use the rail
There is rail and I’m pretty sure Russia still has plenty of cargo/transport planes that would be capable.
It’s all smoke and mirrors, the majority of their stockpiles would be bordering on defunct. Modern equipment they have is far and few between, their training is subpar.
Plenty of disposable meat is certainly correct though!
You may be right. We just saw how Russia performed in the war in Ukraine despite the prior years of flexing lol. It’s not impossible to believe that the North Korean military is the same.
Lmao
So it’s OK for Ukraine to invite friends along to help too?
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the US announced it would lift the ban on American contractors going to Ukraine at the same time as this. Russia reaps what it sows. Ukraine gets highly payed and skilled contractors, in return, Russia gets malnourished and untrained Korean conscripts.
I wonder if many will even fight? If I were from North Korea, I’d consider surrender to be a godsend. They would do terrible things to the family members, though… I guess that’s the true cruelty of regimes like this. They punish the people you love.
The best tactic Ukraine could have at this point would just be to encourage the North Koreans to defect. Can’t imagine it’ll be particularly difficult, “hey switch sides and we won’t kill you, and here’s a free house with electricity, water and indoor plumbing”.
It would be like trying to convince people to leave the 15th century.
… “and don’t worry about your family back home in North Korea who will be compressed into tinned meal”.
The defection rate will be low I suspect. It’s an automatic TFK (total family kill) to defect and I doubt they’ll send anyone who don’t have family at home in Glorious Motherland!
The North Koreans are perfect for the Russian tactic of forcing the Ukrainians to deplete their ammo by throwing meat at them.
I dont think it’s quite the same thing though. US contractors won’t be fighting, I think they’ll just be maintaining and repairing equipment.
Arguably, a much more critical job for a capital-intensive army.
Yes, it’s actually huge. Especially for maintaining a weapon as complicated as an Abrams tank. If it can be repaired close to the front lines then that has the potential to cut days off the turnaround time compared to towing it over to Poland.
I will never understand why the American military think it’s a good idea to send them tanks that are so complicated. Especially when they’re going up against cold war era relics.
Because it’s what we have to send. It’s not like we have a lot of extra Sherman tanks we can send anymore.
Do we have non-complicated tanks?
Long term investment. Same as in Israel. Trying to save democracies from annihilation.
Zerg swarm VS marines
Russia gets malnourished and untrained Korean conscripts.
Just offer them all plane tickets to South Korea. Problem solved.
According to Russian propaganda Ukraine has been doing just that the entire time, but if it actually happened that would be yet another red line to cross.
