Of the 12,000 North Korean troops to have been deployed in support of the Russian army since October 2024, some 300 are thought to have been killed and 2,700 wounded, according to Lee Seong-kweun, a South Korean MP who was briefed by Seoul's intelligence services on January 13. The personal diary of a soldier from a North Korean unit, who died on the Ukrainian front, and the testimonies of two prisoners have revealed disturbing facets of the combat tactics used by Pyongyang's troops.

In the diary, which has been authenticated by South Korean intelligence, a soldier wrote that, to deal with an enemy drone, North Korean units have used "human bait": One soldier comes out of hiding to lure the drone toward him, while two of his companions remain hidden. "When the bait becomes immobile, the drone hovers and can be shot down," he wrote, adding a drawing to back the entry up. However, the drones are often faster than the two soldiers lying in ambush, and the human bait gets shot down. "Even at the cost of my life, I will unhesitatingly follow the orders of our supreme leader," wrote the young soldier.

You have 76.92% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.