Kim Jong-un is reportedly profiting handsomely from North Korean soldiers fighting as “cannon fodder” in Putin’s war in Ukraine. The dictator is allegedly pocketing the $2,000 monthly salaries of troops sent to support Russia. North Korean defector Hyun-Seung Lee, who was drafted into the army at 17, claims that these soldiers were misled into believing they would serve as support units in Ukraine, only to find themselves on the front lines.
Hyun-Seung, a former member of the elite Storm Core unit dispatched to Ukraine before his defection in 2014, stated: “Most of the soldiers were supposed to die in this battlefield and Kim Jong-Un is making huge amounts money off those sacrifices,” reports the Daily Star. Speaking to the Guardian’s Today in Focus podcast, Hyun-Seung revealed: “According to media reports, soldiers get paid $2,000 a month. North Korea never shared this money with the family members or soldiers. So Kim Jong-un is making a huge amount of money.”
He further explained the stark contrast in military pay within North Korea, noting: “Even when I was in the military, I got paid 50 North Korean Won per month, with which I could purchase a single ice cream and even general in North Korea are not paid enough. Their salary would be $1 per month and mostly they relied on the government’s rations.”
Approximately 4,000 of the 14,000 North Korean soldiers stationed at the front lines in Russia’s conflict with Ukraine are reported to have sustained injuries, with about 600 fatalities. Many troops were under the impression they were either heading to Russia for training or to engage South Koreans in combat.
North Korean specialist Jean Lee commented on a podcast that the Soviet Union was modern North Korea’s initial patron, and ties between the nations were rekindled when “Mad Vlad” sought Kim’s assistance in his unlawful incursion into Ukraine.
She remarked: “For the first time in many, many years, maybe ever, North Korea had something that Russia needed and that was a friend and a partner in this campaign in Ukraine.
Lee said: “And the value for Vladimir Putin of having foot soldiers who might well be cannon fodder probably saves him some bodies, but also gives him a little bit of leverage in terms of selling this to the Russian people.”
She added: “In that sense I think the troops on the ground do play that frontline role that could help him prolong the conflict. But also there are very few countries that have that Soviet era ammunition that Putin needs, other than North Korea. They still have stockpiles of it.”
She concluded: “I do think Kim Jong-un is going to milk this relationship for as long as he can, as long as it is useful. And it has been very useful for a couple of years now.”
Last week, Kim met with the grieving families of soldiers who lost their lives fighting for Russia against Ukraine. He expressed his “deep condolences” and presented them with portraits of their deceased loved ones, draped in the North Korean flag.
Today, Kim was seen alongside Putin in Beijing following China’s military parade commemorating 80 years since the country’s victory over Japan in World War Two.
After a two-and-a-half-hour meeting on the sidelines of the parade, Putin extended an invitation to Kim to visit Russia. The Russian leader praised North Korean soldiers for their efforts fighting alongside his forces in Ukraine.