because the regime does not contemplate the capture

During the korean warin the 50s, some military reports Americans described how certain communist fighters carried grenades with a very specific purpose in case of being surrounded, a practice that baffled Western commanders and was interpreted as part of a way of fighting where surrender was not part of the calculations.

Opaque deployment and more questions than answers. We have been counting it over the months: the presence of North Korean troops in the Ukrainian war has been surrounded by secrecy from the beginning. Although it was known that thousands of soldiers were sent to fight in the Kursk region in support of Russia, with figures high casualtiesthere were very few prisoners confirmed by the Ukrainian side.

That same absence caught the attention of analysts and military personnel from the first moment. With the passage of time, the testimonies on the front they started to point to a pattern hard to ignore.

Giving up is not an option. The data has been clarified after the own Kim Jong Un’s statementswhose speech over the weekend ended up clarifying the enigma. The North Korean leader has publicly praised his soldiers for opt for self-destruction rather than fall prisoner, describing them as heroes who prioritize honor even in the final moment.

This doctrine explains why there were hardly any captured people on the battlefield, but it also reveals a shocking reality. This is not a coincidence or an exception, but rather a norm assumed as part of military duty: ending one’s own life.

Confirmation on the battlefield. They counted on Insider that Ukraine had already detected this behavior months before it was officially recognized. wounded soldiers detonating grenades on themselves to avoid capture or attack by drones became a documented phenomenon by Ukrainian forces.

Not only that. It was also observed that these units fought more aggressive waywith frontal assaults and less concern for individual survival. All this made it even more difficult to capture combatants alive.

Propaganda, sacrifice and control. In parallel, the regime has constructed a story that somehow glorifies said sacrifice. Last week the inauguration of the first memorial museum and tribute to those who fell in North Korea. This, together with support for their families, is part of a strategy to reinforce internal cohesion.

The message from the regime is brutal: dying in combat is an act of honor absolute. Furthermore, they remembered in the Financial Times that this approach also helps to contain possible criticism within the country and justify the high human cost of the intervention.

An alliance that goes beyond the battlefield. we have been counting also. North Korean participation in the Ukrainian war is not limited to sending troops. Pyongyang has supplied artillery, ammunition and missiles to Russia, while receive in return economic aid and access to advanced military technology.

In fact, this relationship has increased the international weight of North Korea and has reinforced your strategic link with Moscow. At the same time, it has offered its forces real combat experience that could have implications in future conflicts.

The human cost of an extreme doctrine. The estimates point to thousands of casualties among North Korean troops, many of them attributed to the lack of experience and to the harsh conditions of modern combat, especially against drones and artillery. However and after the words of the North Korean leader, this high mortality seems assumed within the logic of the regime. The priority, from that perspective, is not to preserve the soldiers, but to accomplish the mission without leaving a trace in the hands of the enemy.

What this war reveals about the North Korean model. If you like, the case of Ukraine also shows to what extent the ideology and control political can shape behavior in combat.

The absence of North Korean prisoners is neither an accident nor an anomaly, but the direct result of a brutal doctrine which eliminates that possibility from the beginning. In this context, each confrontation is not only a military battle, but a “lucky” extension of a system where capture is not part of the possible outcome.

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