Ukraine attacks North Korean troops with psychological warfare

The Ukrainian military is conducting psychological warfare against North Korean troops fighting alongside Russian forces, seeking to persuade them to surrender rather than needlessly lose their lives on the battlefield.

Euronews reported Tuesday that under a project called “I Want to Live,” the Ukrainian military produced leaflets and videos to encourage the North Korean leader Kim Jong Uns troops to surrender. Newsweek contacted the Ukrainian and Russian defense ministries as well as the North Korean embassy in Beijing via email for comment outside normal business hours.

North Koreawhich is an ally of Russiahas allegedly deployed up to 12,000 soldiers to the western Russian region of Kursk, where Ukraine has seized some of the territory to support Moscow’s war effort, according to South Korean, US and Ukrainian intelligence agencies.

While confirming that the first North Korean troops had been killed in the conflict, the Ukrainian president said Volodymyr Zelensky warned that they will be “cannon fodder.” This came after one Russian military blogger claimed that “highly trained and motivated“forces were not deployed to combat directly.

In return for Pyongyang’s military assistance, Russia will deliver combat aircraft to North Korea, Admiral Samuel Paparo, head of the US Indo-Pacific Command, told reporters recently.

According to Euronews, the Ukrainian intelligence service launched the “I Want to Live” project after the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion of the country on February 24, 2022. By dropping flyers on the battlefield, enemy troops are encouraged to surrender to the Ukrainian side.

The project was initially aimed at Russian soldiers who refused to join the president Vladimir Putin‘s war. It is claimed that 350 of Putin’s troops have laid down their weapons through this project.

The new leaflets, written in Korean and printed with illustrations, are being distributed along the front line. They instruct North Korean troops on how to surrender: lie face down on the ground, hold up a white sheet or leaflet, and drop any weapons.

Vitaliy Matvienko, a volunteer working for the project, argued that many North Korean troops may see the combat deployment as a chance to escape Kim’s regime and live in another country.

The Ukrainian military posted a video on a Telegram channel earlier, also called “I Want to Live,” South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported. The video attempts to convince North Korean troops to surrender as they will be provided with shelter, food and warmth while they are prisoners of war.