# U.S. intelligence says several thousand North Korean troops are training in eastern Russia **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 24, 2024, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intelligence-says-several-thousand-north-korean-troops-are-training-in-eastern-russia/1009131 "2024-10-24T05:04:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intelligence-says-several-thousand-north-korean-troops-are-training-in-eastern-russia/1009131/1 "2024-10-24T05:04:50Z")
Further reports say that it’s believed they’re being sent to Ukraine. Okay, I’ll believe it when I see it, but I have a feeling that if this is true, the Russian military has been so depleted, they’re having to import soldiers from other countries - so why not North Korea? They’ve had a lifetime of not even knowing that they can question authority! Yeah, let’s bring them on. [https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/north-korea-has-sent-3000-troops-russia-ukraine-war-south-korean-lawmakers-say-2024-10-23/](https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/north-korea-has-sent-3000-troops-russia-ukraine-war-south-korean-lawmakers-say-2024-10-23/) ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intelligence-says-several-thousand-north-korean-troops-are-training-in-eastern-russia/1009131/2 "2024-10-24T05:10:12Z")
I think some NK soldiers have already defected once they got to Russia. As far as I know, the NK army doesn’t really have a lot of combat experience. I expect they’re going to get chewed up in Ukraine if they actually fight. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intelligence-says-several-thousand-north-korean-troops-are-training-in-eastern-russia/1009131/3 "2024-10-24T06:20:17Z")
By sending a number of men, even “just” a few thousand or tens of thousands, North Korea might also alleviate its food burden. I would imagine that even feeding North Korea’s army may be a strain on its food supply, and so if Pyongyang can send some men to fight and die for Russia while getting some aid and food in return, it would be favorable for the regime. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intelligence-says-several-thousand-north-korean-troops-are-training-in-eastern-russia/1009131/4 "2024-10-24T08:36:18Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I think some NK soldiers have already defected once they got to Russia. Last I heard, the eighteen North Korean soldier who deserted their posts in Russia have been apprehended by the Russian authorities. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intelligence-says-several-thousand-north-korean-troops-are-training-in-eastern-russia/1009131/5 "2024-10-24T18:04:58Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > As far as I know, the NK army doesn’t really have a lot of combat experience. They will by this time next year, which is something the South Korean military should be worried about. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intelligence-says-several-thousand-north-korean-troops-are-training-in-eastern-russia/1009131/6 "2024-10-24T19:14:02Z")
The families North Korean soldiers sent abroad are being sequestered by the regime; that should cut down on defections. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intelligence-says-several-thousand-north-korean-troops-are-training-in-eastern-russia/1009131/7 "2024-10-24T20:10:59Z")
Aren’t they all sequestered? Meaning the entire country. The NK solders might get some food. Might. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intelligence-says-several-thousand-north-korean-troops-are-training-in-eastern-russia/1009131/8 "2024-10-24T20:32:33Z")
Doesn’t this make North Korea a co-belligerent in this war, no less than if Belarus sent troops across the common border with Ukraine? In the diplomatic processes surrounding warfare, these things matter. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intelligence-says-several-thousand-north-korean-troops-are-training-in-eastern-russia/1009131/9 "2024-10-24T20:34:41Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > They will by this time next year, which is something the South Korean military should be worried about. Given the massive advantage in conventional warfare that the South has over the North, I doubt military experience would particularly make a difference in a Korean war either way. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intelligence-says-several-thousand-north-korean-troops-are-training-in-eastern-russia/1009131/10 "2024-10-25T03:52:47Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I think some NK soldiers have already defected once they got to Russia. They should have waited. Supposedly, Ukraine is going to offer a deal to any North Korean soldiers who surrender once they are on the front line: - they will be reported as killed-in-action by Ukraine and dog tags sent back. - they will be given South Korea immigration papers (which Ukraine is getting from South Korea). With false names. - they will be transported to South Korea. That might prove attractive to many North Korean conscripts fighting in a foreign land. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intelligence-says-several-thousand-north-korean-troops-are-training-in-eastern-russia/1009131/11 "2024-10-25T03:59:58Z")
I’m thinking these boys were given one-way tickets ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intelligence-says-several-thousand-north-korean-troops-are-training-in-eastern-russia/1009131/12 "2024-10-26T01:45:00Z")
Those soldiers must have been people who had no known families, because the North Korean government is NOT kind of to relatives of defectors or dissidents. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intelligence-says-several-thousand-north-korean-troops-are-training-in-eastern-russia/1009131/13 "2024-10-26T02:15:26Z")
And apparently, the Russian soldiers aren’t terribly thrilled about the North Koreans being there: > **[‘What the f\*\*k to do with them?’ Russian soldiers heard condemning North...](https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/25/europe/russian-soldiers-north-korean-recruits-intercepts-intl/index.html)** > > Russian soldiers have been heard raising concerns about how North Korean soldiers will be commanded and provided with ammunition and military kit, leaked intercepts obtained by the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine and released on Friday show. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intelligence-says-several-thousand-north-korean-troops-are-training-in-eastern-russia/1009131/14 "2024-10-26T06:43:43Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Those soldiers must have been people who had no known families, because the North Korean government is NOT kind of to relatives of defectors or dissidents. I read the reason they abandoned their posts was they simply were not provided any food. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intelligence-says-several-thousand-north-korean-troops-are-training-in-eastern-russia/1009131/15 "2024-10-26T22:21:50Z")
Wow. Just. Wow. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intelligence-says-several-thousand-north-korean-troops-are-training-in-eastern-russia/1009131/16 "2024-10-26T23:05:58Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > They will by this time next year, which is something the South Korean military should be worried about. None of these men will ever be allowed to come home. If they did, they’d be able to tell others that conditions in the rest of the world aren’t as abysmal as they are in North Korea, which is something that the North Korean leadership absolutely won’t allow. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intelligence-says-several-thousand-north-korean-troops-are-training-in-eastern-russia/1009131/17 "2024-10-26T23:16:51Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > None of these men will ever be allowed to come home. If they did, they’d be able to tell others that conditions in the rest of the world aren’t as abysmal as they are in North Korea What “rest of the world”? They are going to a war zone or, at best, wartime Russia. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2024, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intelligence-says-several-thousand-north-korean-troops-are-training-in-eastern-russia/1009131/18 "2024-10-26T23:48:04Z")
I watched a documentary that took a hard look at NK’s finances. One of the things I remember vividly is that NK sent a _great number_ of its citizens to any number of other countries to work – in whatever their normal field was, from laborer to physician – and basically confiscated nearly all of their wages to – y’know – fuel the machine. I wonder if that’s at the heart of this. One quick source: > **[Why does secretive North Korea have no problem sending workers overseas?](https://theweek.com/politics/north-korea-sending-workers-overseas)** > > The hermit state commonly outsources forced labor to China, Russia and other countries Basically, a North Korean version of Labor Ready (roughly: 노동 준비 완료) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intelligence-says-several-thousand-north-korean-troops-are-training-in-eastern-russia/1009131/19 "2024-10-27T00:13:34Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > What “rest of the world”? They are going to a war zone or, at best, wartime Russia. Both of which are still better than North Korea. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intelligence-says-several-thousand-north-korean-troops-are-training-in-eastern-russia/1009131/20 "2024-10-27T12:40:19Z")
South Korea clears it’s throat… > **[South Korea warns it can send arms to Ukraine after reports of North's troops...](https://apnews.com/article/north-korea-south-russia-troops-ukraine-3bf74624cfa6856edd4f15fb3992bfa0)** > > South Korea warns it could consider supplying weapons to Ukraine in response to North Korea allegedly dispatching troops to Russia. SK is worried NK will be rewarded not with food aid from Russia, but advanced technology to fortify it’s nuclear weapon program. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-intelligence-says-several-thousand-north-korean-troops-are-training-in-eastern-russia/1009131.md?page=2)