Make your own conclusions, but I think it seems pretty believable that there are DPRK troops in Ukraine. Doesn’t seem like it changes the war regardless, but interesting update.
edit: according to a comrade of mine that speaks Korean, they said it’s kinda hard to say. The last translation seems a bit off, like the person is overstating that he wants to stay in Ukraine, but it’s still overall unverified that they are actually DPRK soldiers.
I’m kinda stumped on this one
Russia has been using DPRK military equipment for over a year now. First Hwasong-11A (Mars Type-11A in English, KN-23 NATO designation) ballistic missile attack was in January last year. DPRK military equipment, including howitzers (in the Koksan M1989 “Juche Cannon”), tactical ballistic missiles (in the Pukguksong-2/Polaris-2/KN-15), and air defence systems (in the Tor-NK) have been spotted in rail transit within Russia since November last year, and spotted in combat positions (presumably in Kursk) in the last few days.
I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that North Korean troops are in Kursk, I’d say that it’s likely at this point. Are Russians operating all of this equipment on their own? I’d find that unlikely given that the equipment was first spotted in November - December of last year. You don’t need any POW videos or Ukrainian gore videos of Korean or East Asian looking dead troops to come to the conclusion that there are DPRK troops in Kursk. There’s enough evidence otherwise. The response to the ridiculous Ukrainian propaganda about how North Korean hordes are overrunning Ukraine and dying in their thousands should not be to deny the situation completely, it should be to try uncover the truth of the situation.
Obviously this POW interview does not hold any value, they never do for any side in any war as there is always influence by the interrogators, torture, incentives, etc. The only interesting thing here is that the POW appears to be speaking Korean in an unique accent. I don’t see how that would be possible if the POW was Russian.
This is a weird dichotomy to make up. Makes it sound like denial of a shoddy narrative coming out of the mouths of pathological liars is somehow uninterested in the truth. We don’t need to give them credit for maybe being kind of accurate via vague inferences and speculation. There needs to be actual evidence, not “I find this likely or unlikely”.
What makes you think people are incapable of operating equipment they got from another source, without the source people there? It’s one of the primary things that happens on a daily basis in the capitalist world. And even if there were a contingent there to teach them how to operate certain equipment, that would not inherently be the same thing as having an active troop presence who is meant to be taking part in combat. That’d essentially just be a knowledge exchange thing between allies.