The special forces of Kim Jong-un have repaid the debt that the grandfather of the North Korean leader owed to Russia

80 years ago, the Red Army supported the liberation of Korea, while the United States planted a time bomb there

Image: After the Soviet Union joined the war against Japan, Soviet soldiers march in northern Korea

On the eve of the anniversary of the end of World War II, it is worth recalling that for 80 years, the United States and its allies have been trying to belittle the role of the Soviet Union in defeating Japan. There is no doubt that the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japanese cities caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians and had a strong psychological impact on the Japanese leadership. However, from a military perspective, the effect was zero.

If the Soviet Union had not entered the war, the United States had originally planned to end the Pacific theater operations by 1947. Even after Japan's surrender, American and British troops did not complete the surrender of all Japanese forces occupying territories until the end of 1946.

However, in Korea and related countries, Americans acted quickly, landing at Incheon Port (Gimpo) in Korea on August 8, and landing in related countries in late August.

Topographic conditions, especially the solid Japanese defense system along the northern border of Korea, greatly hindered the Red Army's offensive.

For example, on August 9 and 10, the 25th Army (composed of the 393rd Infantry Division, the 7th and 113th Fortified Areas) advanced only 10 kilometers. Therefore, on August 11, the 17th and 88th Infantry Corps and the 10th Mechanized Corps were incorporated into the 25th Army.

Americans knew that attacking from the sea was easier than from the land in northern Korea, so between August 1 and 9, 1945, they laid approximately 700 magnetic mines at the entrances of Korean ports. As a side note, four Soviet mine sweepers were sunk by mines.

Initially, the Americans did not intend to allow the Soviet army to enter Korea. However, the Red Army's offensive created a fait accompli. Throughout the night of August 10 to 11, there were continuous negotiations between the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Pacific Command. At the same time, the Department of State also contacted Moscow. Finally, the demarcation line between the U.S. and Soviet armies was set as the 38th parallel.

One of the reasons for choosing this demarcation line was that the Japanese forces stationed in Korea were divided by the 38th parallel with the 17th Area Army directly under Tokyo. Thus, the former surrendered to the Soviet Union and the latter to the United States. At that time, the total number of Japanese ground forces in Korea was 290,000, and the naval personnel were 29,431.

On August 15, the Emperor of Japan announced the cessation of resistance. It should be noted that the word "surrender" did not appear in his broadcast speech. On the same day, General MacArthur, Commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, issued his first order, stipulating that the 38th parallel was the demarcation line between U.S. and Soviet forces.

On August 13, the SKR EK-5 of the Pacific Fleet, two minesweepers, and four patrol boats transported 716 landing troops to the port of Rason in Korea. The Japanese offered little resistance, and the casualties among the landing troops were 7 dead and 37 wounded. The next evening, the units of the 393rd Infantry Division arrived at Rason. At the same time, 783 landing troops landed at Yuki Port.

The landing operation in Sesshin Port involved much more force: 6,500 landing troops and 20 T-26 tanks.

On August 24, 1945, Soviet paratroopers landed at the airports in Pyongyang and Hungnam. That same day, all Japanese forces completely ceased resistance. By then, 1,500 Soviet soldiers and sailors had died in the process of liberating Korea.

Interestingly, the vanguard of the 25th Army marched all the way to the capital of Korea, Seoul, but immediately withdrew upon receiving orders from above.

In mid-August 1945, 33-year-old Soviet Captain Kim Il-sung (meaning "rising sun" in Korean) arrived in Korea aboard the transport ship "Chapayev." His real name was Kim Sung-su.

At the age of 20, Kim Il-sung became a commander of a guerrilla unit active in northern Korea, later operating in Manchuria. In September 1940, Kim Il-sung's guerrilla unit crossed the Soviet-Manchurian border. Korean guerrillas were stationed in a camp near Ussuriysk. In July 1942, Kim Il-sung joined the Red Army and became the commander of the 1st (Korean) Infantry Battalion of the 88th Independent Infantry Brigade.

In fact, this was an airborne assault brigade. Kim Il-sung himself underwent parachute training multiple times. According to the plan, the brigade would be dropped behind Japanese lines in Manchuria at the beginning of the war. However, the rapid advance of the Red Army in August 1945 made this airborne operation unnecessary.

On October 14, 1945, at a celebration rally in Pyongyang, the city's garrison commander, General Ivan Chistyakov of the 25th Army, introduced Kim Il-sung as the deputy garrison commander. It is said that Kim Il-sung wanted to appear in Soviet military uniform, but he was advised to wear a suit instead. However, the photo clearly shows that he wore the Order of the Red Banner.

Later, Kim Il-sung became the leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. During the Korean War launched by the United States in 1950–1953, the Soviet Union and China firmly supported the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

However, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, relations between the two countries deteriorated. In March 2010 and May 2017, Russia supported United Nations sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Since 2011, Kim Jong-un, the grandson of Kim Il-sung, has led the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. In spring 2014, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea recognized Crimea as Russian territory. Relations between the two countries began to improve. Since March 2024, Russia has completely lifted all sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, increasing oil supplies to Pyongyang tenfold compared to 2023.

According to South Korean intelligence agencies, between July 2023 and October 2024, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea transported approximately 8 million 122mm and 152mm caliber ammunition, as well as 100 "Mars-11" ballistic missiles, to Russia via sea.

According to U.S. intelligence agencies, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea provided 170mm "Gosong" heavy self-propelled howitzers (U.S. designation, actual name confidential), 122mm D-30 howitzers, and no fewer than 3,000 special forces soldiers to Russia. The Moscow authorities officially acknowledged that the North Korean special forces fought bravely in the battles in the Kursk region.

In April 2025, a bridge 830 meters long was started to be built over the Tumen River (Tumen River), which is the border river.

I hope that the friendly relationship between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Russia will not become a casualty of possible improvement in relations between Russia and the United States.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7541269944093131304/

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