North Korea is facing an army recruitment crisis as thousands of high school leavers look to evade the annual draft over fears of being sent to fight in Russia. Pyongyang has sent around 11,000 soldiers to help Putin’s army repel an incursion by Ukraine’s military into the Kursk region in August.
The North Koreans are reported to have suffered heavy casualties, with some Western officials claiming as many as 1,000 have died in fierce fighting on the frontlines. South Korea’s intelligence agency said last week that Kim Jong Un had sent more troops to Russia to cover for the losses.
Military officials told South Korean media outlets that they believed at least another 1,000 have been dispatched.
News about the deployment of North Korean soldiers has seeped out despite strict censorship of the media, causing widespread panic among families in the country.
“Everyone knows our military is being sent to Russia now, even if we don’t know how many casualties there are,” one source from Hyesan told ASIAPRESS.
Spring is traditionally the time of year when the North Korean military holds its military enlistment.
High school boys normally enlist after graduating in April, but this year, there has been widespread evasion.
Reports are emerging of parents hiding their sons in regions around the country or bribing officials for fake medical exemptions, causing chaos in schools and army recruitment centres.
“Schools and Military Mobilisation Departments are in emergency mode,” another source told ASIAPRESS.
“Many parents want to delay enlistment by at least 1-2 years. Wealthy families are bribing major hospitals to issue diagnoses for infectious hepatitis or tuberculosis to submit to the Military Mobilisation Department.
“I know a child nearby who was exempted this way. Children from poorer families have no choice but to hide.”
Parents are coming under increasing pressure to ensure their sons report for enlistment, facing public criticism at work and expulsion from the Workers Party if they refuse.
It comes amid claims that North Korean soldiers in Russia prefer to die rather than surrender in order to protect their families back home.
The soldiers fear their parents will be executed if they are captured alive by the Ukrainians.
“Most soldiers will kill themselves before they’re killed by the enemy, it’s the biggest shame to be captured,” the former sergeant, Ryu Seong-hyeon, told ABC News.