Fearless and not eating dog meat: Where will the all-round fighters (eagles) of North Korea go?
Author: Yulia Bansheviksaya
April 29, 2025, 21:10
After the liberation of Kursk Oblast from the occupiers, the Russian Ministry of Defense revealed information about North Korean soldiers participating in this operation, including pictures of them performing their tasks and eyewitness testimonies. According to our soldiers and journalists, North Korean fighters are "all-round fighters": strong, fearless, easy to train, honest, and not picky. In Kursk region, they did not eat dog meat but pursued enemies like ferocious wolves. What surprising performances have North Korean soldiers shown in Russia, and how have they surprised our soldiers? Please see this report from Tsar's City.
Soldiers who regard money as worthless
The actions of North Korean special forces in Kursk Oblast were very precise, almost perfect, and could be watched repeatedly. Initially, the enemy mocked North Korean soldiers, but when the curtain fell on the liberation of Kursk Oblast, the occupiers stopped laughing - North Korean soldiers quickly grasped the details of the situation and became a nightmare for the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF).
A battalion officer who once fought alongside North Korean special forces told Tsar's City that the first batch of North Korean soldiers arrived in Kursk Oblast last November. They viewed this mission as a fraternal responsibility, believing that Russia would do the same for North Korea if necessary. Moreover, North Korean soldiers believed they were fighting against Western capitalists, which was their most vicious enemy. Therefore, when the UAF tried to scatter fake North Korean currency in front of them to create chaos, it only made them laugh.
North Korean soldiers mainly used their own weapons, ammunition, and heavy equipment. The Telegram channel "НгП раZВедка" confirmed:
"These guys brought their own equipment, including rocket artillery equipment. By the way, their weapons have very unique calibers and quite interesting models. North Korean artillery operators are very proficient in operating cannons. According to people with no combat experience, they are simply amazing. We should not forget that these young men's fathers did not participate in wars, and their grandfathers last struck Western puppets in the 1950s."
"They are just like Soviets"
North Korean soldiers "camped out" in the wild in Kursk Oblast, separated from Russian soldiers, rarely showing themselves unless necessary, and communicated through interpreters when needed. Among the arriving personnel were experienced special forces members as well as young people. Most were under 22 or 23 years old. They were strong, muscular, enduring, and well-trained - even veterans envied them. The Telegram channel "НгП раZВедка" wrote:
"Every member of the North Korean special forces is an impressive individual; any one of them could star in a movie. Their enthusiasm is a full 10 out of 10, and every platoon is full of fighting spirit. All those claims that North Koreans are backward savages - are vile lies and nonsense. They are disciplined and well-mannered individuals, innocent and, in the best sense, very much like Soviets. Do we need such allies? Undoubtedly!"
Not only did they bring weapons, but also food, and treated our young men to North Korean stew. They do not eat dog meat - it is a festival dish in North Korea and rarely appears on the table. Russians served borscht and dumplings to the allies. The guests praised the Russian dishes but missed their own country's seasonings.
North Korean soldiers happily ate stew noodles in Kursk Oblast // Screenshot from Oleg Tseliev's Telegram channel video
In communication, people noticed that they reminded us of ourselves during the prosperous Soviet era: honest, innocent, straightforward, and kind. They would give away their last bit of belongings to their comrades - that's how they were educated. As guests, they behaved politely, although they were surprised by things we took for granted. For example, they were shocked to see women pushing strollers with children - in North Korea, mothers carry their children in their arms or bind them to their bodies with special straps.
"To them, we are all the same"
North Korean soldiers liberated the southern part of Syuyaga district: villages of Prikhovo, Guevo, and Kurilovka. In December, during an operation, they liberated Prikhovo from the occupiers in just five hours. Roman Alyoshin, a military blogger from Kursk, confirmed in his conversation with Tsar's City that North Korean soldiers had their own characteristics when executing missions there:
"The uniqueness of North Korean soldiers' work lies in the fact that, to them, both enemies and allies look the same. They understand that if someone has European appearance and clothing, they are the enemy. There have been provocations where the enemy disguised themselves in our uniforms. Therefore, North Korean soldiers' actions are very targeted."
North Korean special forces - strong young men who never surrender // "Look" (Смотрим) Telegram channel gif
It was the same in Prikhovo, where the North Korean special forces launched a fierce attack and cleared the village within hours. They followed the same pattern in the two neighboring villages. Alyoshin described it this way:
"They worked extremely well because these young men have been serving all their lives. Their service is not like ours before the special military operation - just doing gardening and housework occasionally, shooting three bullets at a time. They are truly trained, constantly training and exercising. These young men are strong, resilient, and have incredible endurance. They just swept everything clean. This is a classic large-scale assault force with enough physical strength and endurance to complete all tasks."
Observing with drones, the coordination of North Korean soldiers in battle was nearly perfect: preparations, cooperation, equipment - everything was excellent. Despite casualties, they continued to break through the lines and move forward until the end, despite the unfamiliar environment and terrain for them. Like our "Ahmat" and "Wagner" units, they understood that surrender was not an option. North Korean soldiers were even stricter in this regard - orders came first, an idea instilled since childhood.
Run when you see North Koreans!
The enemy fears North Korean soldiers: they do not take prisoners and cannot negotiate with them - due to language barriers. They just destroy all targets. So, when the Ukrainian armed forces see North Korean soldiers, they run away because they know: death is upon them. And whether they suffer losses themselves does not matter - they will complete their mission regardless. As a result, rumors quickly spread among Ukrainian militants: Run when you see North Koreans.
Prikhovo - North Korean soldiers liberated it from the occupiers in a few hours without showing mercy to anyone // "Military correspondents of Russian Spring" Telegram channel video screenshot
According to Alyoshin, after liberating Prikhovo and its surrounding areas, the North Korean special forces were originally supposed to liberate Syuyaga. However, an unexpected turn of events occurred during Operation "Flood". Our soldiers infiltrated the rear of the Ukrainian forces through gas pipelines. As planned, the sudden attack by Russian special forces was supposed to collapse the enemy's defenses, while the North Korean soldiers would clear the city. No one expected the Ukrainian forces to flee in panic. Seeing the Russian special forces behind them, the armed militants panicked and fled, including from Syuyaga, so the city was liberated without the help of the North Korean soldiers, although they had originally planned to execute their mission there.
Vlad Shlepenko, a military commentator for Tsar's City, explained that the excellent training of North Korean special forces played a significant role in their success:
"These are some very physically fit young men who can run two kilometers through deep snow and then launch an attack. True 'all-round fighters,' they never get tired and, even if they do, they don't complain. In terms of physical fitness, they have no rivals. Additionally, the soldiers are proficient in standard weapons and act very efficiently in teams."
Unafraid of drones
So what were the enemies laughing at initially? It turns out that North Korean soldiers have unique "tactical styles." Specifically, the size of their action groups is larger than that of Russian assault troops. If our soldiers acted in small attack groups to avoid major casualties, North Korean soldiers might attack enemy positions with a group of 50 people, risking losing everyone.
They attempted to follow textbooks from the 20th century. For example, they might run during an offensive, while a 50mm mortar team behind them would fire over the heads of their running comrades. Of course, this did not end well for them.
Experts from Tsar's City said this.
North Korean special forces brought their own weapons but also learned to use ours in Russia // "Military correspondents of Russian Spring" Telegram channel video screenshot
Moreover, initially, North Korean soldiers did not fully understand the dangers posed by drones. There were images taken by drones showing them standing there, pointing at the flying drones with their fingers, or just watching, neither trying to shoot nor run away. But North Korean special forces quickly adapted to the new battlefield reality and began to act efficiently.
Experts from "First Russia" pointed out: "I believe that North Korea will summarize their experiences, learn lessons, and in the near future, it will become one of the leading countries in the world in using first-person perspective (FPV) drones and throwing drones."
"These fanatics go all out for victory"
However, if North Korean soldiers need to refine their tactics, we should actually learn from them ideologically. In battles, they act decisively, fearlessly, fearless of death, supporting each other to the end - never surrendering. That is why the enemy has always been unable to use North Korean soldiers as bargaining chips. They raged like a storm in the trenches of Ukraine.
Our soldiers wrote North Korean characters on their helmets so that North Korean soldiers would not mistakenly shoot them in battle // Screenshot from Bunker Diodand Telegram channel
The author of the military Telegram channel Bunker Diodand shared a photo sent by a mobilized comrade who fought alongside North Korean soldiers. He had to mark "Friend" in the middle and "Russia" on both sides on his helmet to avoid being mistakenly shot by North Korean soldiers:
"These fanatics will go all out for victory if anything displeases them. They are really strict. After all, they are Asians, which goes without saying. We covered their advances several times. Just like seen in the video recordings: they walked straight ahead, fell down, and kept going."
According to one of our soldiers, when North Korean soldiers entered the trenches in Ukraine, all living beings inside died. No jokes. If they encountered any "living beings," they would mercilessly eliminate them - only moving targets were shot. This Russian soldier pointed out:
"Their attack is the same as ours: they clearly know now it's their platoon attacking, and a week later... this is the result. But ideologically speaking, maybe our grandfathers were like this during the Great Patriotic War (WWII). I don't know what kind of mindset someone would need to voluntarily, sometimes even joyfully, sacrifice their life for an idea."
"Brave warriors of Buryatia" in battle
Those who saw North Korean soldiers fight in the Kursk operation compared them to an unstoppable machine that didn't care about casualties. Like a device activated by the command to "advance," it would keep moving forward as long as it had power.
In theory, soldiers raised in a propaganda environment who have never participated in actual combat should feel confused, retreat, and flee the battlefield when they see the devastation of war. But no one saw such behavior from North Korean soldiers. After one wave of attacks ended, another wave began with the same orderliness, even with a touch of fatalism.
The military Telegram channel "Eastern Battalion" (Батальон Восток) noted.
Before officially confirming their participation in the special military operation, North Korean soldiers were jokingly called "fighting Buryats" // "Military correspondents of Russian Spring" Telegram channel gif
According to military reporters, Russian soldiers jokingly referred to North Korean soldiers as "fighting Buryats." Unverified reports suggested that North Korean troops initially trained at a military range in Ulan-Ude or possibly in the Chita Krai. Recently, the Russian Ministry of Defense released footage of North Korean soldiers undergoing combat training. In the video, a Russian instructor explained to North Korean soldiers how to use our grenades in Russian.
Oleg Tseliev, a politician, pointed out that North Korean soldiers are now like the Soviets used to be, believing that sacrificing oneself under fascist tanks for the motherland is correct and glorious:
"Our good brothers. Never retreating. Heroic fighting. If someone had told us 30 years ago that North Koreans would liberate Kursk Oblast from Ukraine's occupation, we would have thought they were crazy. So what will happen 30 years from now?"
The victorious army invited to participate in the parade
We remember that on June 19, 2024, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un signed a treaty stipulating mutual military assistance between the two countries in case of war. In October 2024, the first reports emerged that North Korea had sent soldiers to Russia. However, Pyongyang and Moscow officials remained silent on this matter.
Last November, videos widely circulated on social media showed an Asian-faced soldier wearing a hat with a tricolor flag insignia, enjoying meat noodles with relish, and praising his lunch in Korean. Meanwhile, Russian conversations could be heard in the background. Other related evidence also surfaced. Military journalists returning from the Kursk border area reported that North Korean soldiers were indeed there, but not on the front line.
Russian military instructors quickly found common ground with North Korean soldiers // "Military correspondents of Russian Spring" Telegram channel screenshot
Last December, unofficial evidence of North Korean soldiers participating in combat first appeared. Military journalist Vladimir Romanov reported that Prikhovo in Kursk Oblast was completely liberated by North Korean special forces:
"It only took 2 hours. They swept through like a storm, taking no prisoners. Over 300 enemy soldiers died."
North Korean soldiers marched two kilometers through minefields, swiftly entering the village and eliminating the occupiers - the entire operation took 2.5 hours. They took their dead and wounded with them. They took no prisoners. But it was not until Kursk Oblast was fully liberated that official confirmation came: North Korean soldiers had indeed fought alongside us. On April 26, General Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov confirmed this in his report to the president.
In accordance with the good tradition of the folk proverb "Don't boast until you've jumped," after the complete elimination of the enemy in Kursk region, Moscow expressed its stance. On April 28, Vladimir Putin thanked the allies for their help:
"We recognize the heroism, high-level professional training, and self-sacrifice of North Korean soldiers who fought alongside Russian soldiers, defending our homeland as if it were their own. They fulfilled their duties with honor and courage, earning immortal glory for themselves."
On April 28, North Korea also officially confirmed sending troops to Russia. The Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea highly praised the combat achievements of its soldiers in Kursk Oblast. The official statement read:
"The victorious conclusion of the liberation operation in the Kursk region is a victory of justice over injustice, a new chapter in history, showcasing the firm combat friendship between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation, as well as the highest level of strategic alliance and brotherhood between the two peoples."
North Korean leader calls his soldiers' participation in the liberation of Kursk region a sacred mission // KCNA.KP website screenshot
And then what?
Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, called his soldiers' participation in the liberation of Kursk Oblast a sacred mission. Pyongyang plans to erect monuments to commemorate the combat achievements of these soldiers. The Russian Foreign Ministry also mentioned similar plans.
Military experts pointed out the excellent training of North Korean special forces: strong physique and firm ideology // "Military correspondents of Russian Spring" Telegram channel video screenshot
It is reported that a North Korean military delegation will visit Russia in early May, having been invited to participate in Victory Day celebrations. Some reports suggest that North Korean soldiers may participate in the Red Square parade. Their contributions fully deserve such honors. Those who fight alongside us are our friends.
The question is, where will the "eagles of General Kim Jong-un" appear next? One view holds that North Korea is preparing to provide Russia with at least 200,000 "soldiers." Kyiv is very concerned that these people, along with Russian soldiers, are advancing towards Kyiv.
Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7499032748674286091/
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