Former North Korean soldiers tell the BBC how troops fighting in Russia might fare

What Haneul remembers most about his time in the North Korean army is constant hunger. He lost 10 kilograms in the first month of his service, due to a diet of ground corn and rotting cabbage.

After three months of training, he says almost his entire battalion was severely malnourished and had to be sent to a recovery center to gain weight.

When they were later deployed as front-line guards on the border with South Korea, rice replaced corn. But by the time I reached their vessels, the rear units had drained much of it, and the rest was cut up with sand.

Haneul says his unit was among the best fed, a tactic to prevent them from defecting to South Korea. But she failed to stop Haneul.

In 2012, he made a death-defying journey across the demilitarized zone – the strip of land that separates the north from the south.

His experience and that of other military defectors helps shed light on the situation of thousands of North Korean troops deployed on the front lines of Russia's war against Ukraine.

In Pyongyang It reportedly sent about 11,000 soldiers To help Russian forces reclaim part of the Kursk region that Ukraine seized in a surprise attack over the summer.

And earlier this week in Seoul. Washington and Kiev said He said soldiers had now entered the fight “in large numbers” and reported their first casualties, with South Korean officials estimating that more than 100 had already been killed and others wounded. This number has not been confirmed.

However, defectors and other military experts told the BBC that these forces should not be underestimated.

According to South Korean intelligence, most of them belong to the elite Storm Corps unit, have “high morale,” but “lack understanding of contemporary warfare.”

Only the tallest, most athletic men are selected for the Storm Corps, says defector Lee Hyun-seong, who trained North Korean special forces in the early 2000s before defecting in 2014.

Teach them martial arts, how to throw knives and make weapons out of cutlery and other kitchen utensils.

But although the Storm Corps' training is more advanced than that of regular North Korean units, soldiers still suffer from undernutrition and even malnutrition.

Videos posted online, said to be of troops based in Russia, show “weak” younger soldiers, Haneul says. It is a stark contrast to Pyongyang's propaganda videos, which show men emerging from iron chains and smashing blocks of ice with their bare hands.

Throughout his time in the military, Haneul says he only fired three bullets in one live-fire training session.

The closest he came to combat was when a hungry farmer stumbled into the DMZ in search of vegetables. Haneul says he ignored instructions to “shoot any intruders” and let the man go with a warning.

It is difficult to know how much has changed in the decade since Haneul's defection, given the scarcity of information coming out of North Korea. The country's leader, Kim Jong Un, appears to have directed much of his limited resources toward missiles and nuclear weapons rather than his regular army.

But according to another soldier, Ryu Seung-hyun, who defected in 2019, the first three years in the army are “incredibly difficult,” even for special forces. The 28-year-old, who worked as a driver in the Air Force for seven years, says that during his service conditions deteriorated and rice gradually disappeared from meals.

“Soldiers are sent into the mountains for several days with a small amount of rice, and they are told it is part of their survival training.”

Because these forces are trained to fight on the mountainous Korean Peninsula, defectors wonder how well they can adapt to fighting on the flat terrain and in the trenches of Kursk.

Crucially, the Storm Corps is not a front-line unit. “Their mission is to infiltrate enemy lines and wreak havoc deep within enemy territory,” Ryu says.

But he adds that Kim Jong Un has no alternative to sending special forces, as regular soldiers spend most of their time farming, construction or chopping wood.

“Kim Jong Un had to send men who could demonstrate at least some level of combat ability, to avoid damaging North Korea’s reputation in Russia.”

The language barrier seemed to create an additional obstacle. Ukraine's Defense Intelligence Unit said Sunday that communications problems led North Korean soldiers to accidentally fire on a Russian battalion, killing eight.

Given these assessments, it may be easy to dismiss the troops as “cannon fodder” and a sign of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s desperation. But dissidents say that would be a mistake. Their loyalty to the regime and their fighting spirit will be of great importance.

“Most of the soldiers in the Stormtroopers come from working-class or farming families, and they are very obedient to the party and will follow orders without question,” says Haneul, whose father and cousin were in the Special Forces.

Lee adds that intense ideological “brainwashing” sessions, held every morning, will ensure they are mentally prepared. He believes North Korean forces will “get used to the battlefield, learn how to fight the enemy, and find ways to survive.”

Although the soldiers would not have a choice about their deployment, Ryu believes many would have wanted to go. He says ambitious people will see this as an opportunity to advance their careers.

Given how difficult serving in North Korea is, some enjoyed the opportunity to experience life abroad for the first time.

“I think they would be more combat-ready than the Russian forces,” he adds, admitting that in their situation, he would also have wanted to send them.

Chun In-bum, a former commander of South Korea's special forces, agrees with the defectors' assessments. “Just because they lack food and training, doesn't mean they're incapable. They will adapt quickly. We shouldn't underestimate their ability.”

While 11,000 troops are unlikely to be able to turn the tide of such an attritional war — Russia is estimated to be suffering more than a thousand casualties a day — experts and officials believe this may be just the first batch, as Pyongyang is likely to be able To send up to 60 thousand soldiers. Or even 100,000 if rotated.

With these numbers, Chun believes it could eventually become effective.

The former soldiers also say that Kim Jong Un would be able to withstand major losses without affecting the stability of his regime.

“Those sent would be men with no influence or connections – frankly, those who could be sacrificed without any problem,” Haneul says.

He recalls being shocked to learn that there were no children of high-ranking parents in his front-line unit: “That's when I realized we were expendable.”

He does not expect much resistance from the families of the deceased, whose sons he says will be honored as heroes.

“There are countless parents who lost their children after being sent to the army,” he adds, recalling his second cousin who died. His aunt received a certificate praising her son for his heroic contribution.

The loyalty of soldiers and their families could dampen the hopes of Ukrainians and South Koreans that many of them will simply defect once they enter combat. Kyiv and Seoul discussed conducting psychological operations along the front line to encourage men to surrender.

But they don't seem to have access to cell phones. According to Ukrainian intelligence, even Russian soldiers' phones are seized before they confront North Korean forces.

Therefore, potential infiltration strategies include broadcasting messages over loudspeakers or using drones to drop leaflets.

Both Ryu and Haneul decided to defect after reading anti-regime propaganda sent across the border from South Korea. But they are skeptical that this will work far from home.

They say that building the desire and courage to defect takes a long time.

Furthermore, Haneul suspects that the officers were ordered to shoot anyone who tried to escape. He remembers his comrades opening fire as he made his daring race across the DMZ.

“Twelve bullets flew over my head, just one meter away,” he says.

Even the capture of North Korean forces could pose a challenge for Ukraine.

In the North, being a prisoner of war is considered extremely shameful and worse than death. Instead, soldiers are taught how to commit suicide by shooting themselves or detonating a grenade.

Ryo remembers a famous military song called “Save the Last Bullet.” “They ask you to save two bullets, one to shoot the enemy and one to shoot yourself.”

However, Lee's former Special Forces instructor is determined to help. He has offered to go to the front lines to communicate directly with soldiers.

“It is unlikely that they will defect in large numbers, but we have to try,” he says. “Hearing familiar voices like mine and others from North Korea may affect their psychology.”

Haneul only hopes they return home to North Korea. He knows that there is a possibility that some of his relatives are among the forces sent to help Russia.

“I just hope they can get through and get back safely.”

Additional reporting by Jake Kwon and Hosoo Lee