North Korean troops sent to Russia may be happy to be there, even though the fighting is fierce.

SEOUL, South Korea — Thousands of young North Korea sent soldiers to Russiareportedly include many elite special forces to help fight Ukraine, but that hasn’t stopped rumors that they will be killed because they have no combat experience, are unfamiliar with the terrain and are likely to be thrown into the most brutal places . battlefields.

Perhaps this will turn out to be true, and soon. According to observers, some troops have already arrived at the front. From North Korea’s perspective, however, these soldiers may not be as unfortunate as outsiders think. In fact, former North Korean soldiers say they may view their tour of Russia with pride and as a rare chance to earn good money, see a foreign country for the first time and win preferential treatment for their families back home.

“They are too young and don’t understand what exactly it means. They will simply consider it an honor to be chosen to go to Russia among the many North Korean soldiers,” said Lee Un-gil, a former member of the same special forces unit, the Storm Corps. He came to South Korea in 2007. “But I think most of them are unlikely to come home alive.”

Worried about Possible North Korean involvement The Russia-Ukraine war was flagged this week when the Pentagon said North Korea had sent about 10,000 troops to Russia and that they would likely fight against Ukraine “within the next few weeks.” South Korea’s presidential office said Wednesday that more than 3,000 North Korean soldiers have been deployed close to battle lines in western Russia.

North Korean troop deployment could mean a major escalation of the nearly three-year war. This caught many outside observers by surprise, as North Korea has its own security headaches, simmering standoffs with the United States and South Korea over its nuclear program.

Large losses of North Korean soldiers will be a serious political blow for the 40-year-old ruler of the country. Kim Jong-unwhose government has not officially confirmed the deployment. But experts say Kim may see it as a way to get much-needed foreign currency and security support from Russia in exchange for joining Russia’s war against Ukraine.

“Kim Jong-un is taking risks. If there are no big losses, he will get what he wants to some extent. But the situation will change greatly if many of his soldiers die in battle,” said Ahn Chang-il, a former first lieutenant in the North Korean army who now heads the World Institute of North Korean Studies think tank in Seoul.

The Storm Corps, also known as the 11th Corps, is one of Kim’s top units. His main tasks will be to infiltrate agents into South Korea, blow up important installations in the south, and assassinate key figures in the event of war on the Korean Peninsula.

Lee, who served in the Storm Corps from 1998–2003, recalled that his unit received better food and supplies than other units, but many members still suffered from malnutrition and tuberculosis.

Despite the gradual economic recovery Defectors say that in North Korea over the past 30 years, average monthly wages for ordinary North Korean workers and soldiers have been less than $1. They say many people engage in capitalist market activities to earn a living because the country’s government rationing system is still largely broken.

Russia is expected to pay all costs associated with hosting North Korean troops, including their salaries, which observers estimate will be at least $2,000 a month per person. About 90-95% of their scholarships will likely go to Kim’s coffers, with the rest going to the soldiers. This means that one year of service in Russia would earn a North Korean soldier between $1,200 and $2,400. That’s enough to motivate many young soldiers to volunteer for risky tours in Russia, former soldiers say.

Ahn said North Korea would likely offer other incentives aimed at boosting soldiers’ social standing, such as membership in the ruling Workers’ Party and the right to move to Pyongyang, the country’s model capital. Kang Mi-jin, a defector who runs a company that analyzes North Korea’s economy, said even family members of soldiers sent to Russia could be given benefits such as good housing or admission to good universities.

Choi Jong-hoon, a former first lieutenant in North Korea’s army, said serving on foreign soil will attract many soldiers who want to see other countries for the first time.

North Koreans are denied access to foreign news and require government permission to move from one province to another within the country. North Korean construction workers, loggers and other workers sent overseas to bring in foreign currency are often referred to as “slaves” international human rights groups. But defectors testify that such jobs abroad are often better than remaining in North Korea, and many have used bribes and family connections to get them.

“North Korean soldiers see the trip to Russia as a unique opportunity,” Ahn said.

Ahn and other observers say such views could change if soldiers see their colleagues dying in greater numbers. They say many North Korean soldiers may surrender to Ukrainian forces and ask relocation to South Korea.

North Korean soldiers trained in the mountainous terrain of the Korean Peninsula and are unfamiliar with the largely flat and flat battlefields of the Russo-Ukrainian War. They also do not understand modern warfare, including the use of drones, since North Korea has not fought a major battle since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, experts say.

“My heart hurt,” said Choi, now the leader of an activist group in Seoul, when he saw Video released in Ukraine supposedly showing short North Korean soldiers, believed to be in their 20s.

“Nobody thinks they are going to Russia to die,” Choi said. “But I think they are cannon fodder because they will be sent to the most dangerous places and will definitely be killed.”

Leader Kim Jong Un may also be hoping his troop proposal will encourage Russia to share the complex and highly sensitive technologies he needs to improve his missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons. That transfer could depend on how long the war continues and how many more troops Kim sends.

Nam Seong-wook, the former director of a South Korean spy agency think tank, said North Korea would likely receive hundreds of millions of dollars because of soldiers’ salaries. Soldiers would gain first-hand experience of modern warfare, but would likely die in large numbers, and Russia would be reluctant to hand over its high-end missile technology, he said.

“North Korea will continue to hide the dispatch of its troops from its people because the public will be agitated if they find out that their soldiers are being sent to their deaths overseas,” said Nam, who is now a professor at Korea University in South Korea.