Kim Jong Un’s Army of Inexperienced Teen Soldiers Sent to Fight for Russia in Ukraine War

North Korea’s deployment of a large contingent of young soldiers in their teens and twenties to the Russia-Ukraine war has shocked the international community.

According to South Korea’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), these troops are primarily inexperienced conscripts, mainly teenagers and young adults in their early twenties who recently enlisted. The JoongAng Ilbo exclusively reported this news on Thursday.

Analysts suggest North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may have opted to deploy only inexperienced soldiers to minimize the loss of skilled personnel. These young recruits are likely to become victims of Russia’s meat grinder tactics.

A military official stated, “The force structure mainly comprises young soldiers who enlisted only recently,” adding, “We understand there are not many seasoned veterans.”

South Korea and the United States have reported that approximately 3,000 North Korean troops have been sent to Russia so far. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) predicts that the total number of deployed troops could reach 10,000 by December.

The DIA assesses that most soldiers are in their late teens or early twenties. Given that North Korea begins conscription at age 17, a significant number of these troops could include teenagers born between 2005 and 2007, who would be considered minors in South Korea.

In response to questions from People Power Party Representative Kang Dae Sik during a National Assembly defense committee audit, Defense Minister Kim Yong Hwan commented on the stature and youthful appearance of the North Korean troops stationed in Russia, stating, “The government has announced that they primarily come from the 11th Corps, known as the Storm Corps, but we are limited in verifying whether they are indeed the same troops or replacements outfitted in Storm Corps uniforms.”

The NIS estimates that Russia is paying about $2,000 per month for each North Korean soldier. In exchange for the deployment, Russia may provide North Korea with satellite technology, nuclear submarines, or advanced weaponry. Oh Kyung Seob, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, argued that recently conscripted troops are less likely to desert in battle and are relatively easier to control.

Russia is likely to use these North Korean troops as cannon fodder. According to the British Ministry of Defense, Russian casualties averaged 1,271 per day last month, marking the highest toll since the war began.

The South Korean government believes that the first wave of North Korean troops may be deployed to the battlefront in Kursk. The New York Times also reported that Putin has turned to mercenaries to avoid angering the public with massive casualties among Russian citizens, suggesting that Russia has adopted a strategy of pushing soldiers into a meat grinder.

Defense Minister Kim also stated, “We assess that they are merely mercenaries serving as cannon fodder,” adding, “Kim Jong Un has sold his own army into an illegal war of aggression.” He remarked, “While it’s termed a deployment, mercenaries is more fitting.”

The government views these actions as a stark reflection of the brutality of Kim Jong Un’s regime, which remains fixated on maintaining power. Similar concerns were raised during an emergency National Security Council (NSC) standing committee meeting on Tuesday, chaired by National Security Advisor Shin Won Sik.

Following the NSC meeting, Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae Hyo stated, “The participants criticized the North Korean regime for neglecting its people’s livelihoods and human rights while focusing solely on nuclear and missile development. By pushing North Korean youth into a baseless war in Russia as mercenaries, the regime is admitting to being a criminal organization.”

A high-ranking official from the South Korean Presidential Office stated, “We will employ various means to appropriately inform North Korean residents about how their leadership is exploiting them.”

Meanwhile, South Korea’s National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee decided to refer a resolution condemning the deployment of North Korean combat troops to Russia and calling for international cooperation for world peace to a subcommittee. Representative Kim Kun of the People Power Party, who introduced the resolution, stressed the need to halt this deployment by generating international pressure before it becomes irreversible.