On the Russian-Ukrainian front, the North Korean army’s trial by fire

With more than 1.3 million conscripts and 7.6 million reservists, the North Korean army is one of the largest in the world relative to its population (around 26 million inhabitants), but it remains inexperienced. . His presence on the Ukrainian front – which Emmanuel Macron described, Tuesday November 12, as« escalade grave » of the conflict, during a press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte – is his first experience of a modern war, seventy-one years after the end of the Korean War (1950-1953 ). What are the value, on the ground, of these soldiers who, during major events, parade for hours on Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang, some units of whom go goose-stepping, their heads turned towards the platform where the “supreme leader” is surrounded by a crowd of officers with their chests covered in decorations?

Fighting alongside the Russians is, for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), a sort of homecoming. Its army was created in 1948 by the Soviets, who occupied the northern part of the peninsula after the partition of the Korean peninsula in 38^e parallel by the Americans, victors of the Pacific War in 1945. The latter occupied the southern part.

Support decided secretly

The deployment of North Korean soldiers to the Ukrainian front is the first breach opened by Kim Jong-un in his isolationist policy reinforced during the three years of pandemic, which allowed him to take control of the population and stifle an embryonic economy. market. North Korean support for Russia would have been decided secretly, during the signing, in June in Pyongyang, by Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un, of a strategic partnership, suggests the Wall Street Journalciting a former Russian intelligence agent.

In the DPRK, the military is closely linked to the cult of personality. Since the 1970s, soldiers have served less the motherland than the “well-liked and respected leader”. A quarter of the national GDP would be devoted to the army, which owns, within its sphere, businesses, trading houses, fisheries and mines. The conscription, eight to ten years for men and five years for women, is the longest in the world. Only the privileged who enter university escape this long interlude under the flag. The time spent in the army depends on the social status of the conscript’s family, which is a function of their loyalty to the regime. For the majority, spending ten years in the army is the best way to become a member of the Workers’ Party of Korea and obtain some benefits.

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