While North Korean troops are preparing to join the Russian occupiers in the war against Ukraine, Kyiv is stepping up its information and psychological campaign against North Korean soldiers. This was stated by a high-ranking Ukrainian official, Voice of America reports, UNN writes.
Details
It is noted that these efforts may be supported by a group of South Korean military observers, who, according to South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, will go to Ukraine this week to observe and analyze the actions of North Korean troops on the battlefield.
Південна Корея має намір відправити в Україну групу для моніторингу за військами КНДР30.10.24, 09:59
Last week, the Ukrainian military intelligence project "I Want to Live" released a video message in Korean on YouTube and published a message in Korean on Telegram.
The messages urge North Korean soldiers to surrender, saying they should not "die senselessly in a foreign land." They offered to provide them with food, shelter, and medical services.
The head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council, Andriy Kovalenko, told the Ukrainian service of the Voice of America that "additional videos with the participation of North Koreans will be published in the future.
The goal of the Russian army is to "de-occupy", as they call it, Suji, and the North Koreans will be used in real battles. They will first train them in modern warfare and then use them in combat in parallel. That's why there will also be evidence of their participation in the war from Kursk region
"We (the National Security and Defense Council's Center for Countering Disinformation) are involved in identifying the people who have arrived and which units they are joining," Kovalenko added.
Influence campaign
It is noted that Ukraine has been conducting similar psychological operations against Russian soldiers since the beginning of the Russian invasion, according to American experts.
"Ukraine did this with the Russians at the beginning of the war. They got a lot of Russians to flee, and I suspect they will try to do the same with the North Koreans," Bruce Bennett, a senior defense analyst at RAND Corporation, told VOA.
Bennett added that the drones could also be used to send messages in postcards and audio form to North Korean soldiers in the war zone.
U.S. Special Forces Lt. Col. David Maxwell, who served in the U.S.-South Korean Joint Forces Command, said it could be a "great opportunity" to learn how to use psychological tactics against North Korean forces in a time of war.
Earlier this week, South Korean President Yun Suk-yeol and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed in a phone call to "intensify the exchange of intelligence and experience" and "develop a strategy of action and a list of countermeasures.
Представник України найближчим часом відвідає Південну Корею: буде говорити про зброю31.10.24, 19:10
Some experts in South Korea have said that the group of South Korean military observers heading to Ukraine is likely to include experts in information and psychological warfare who can advise Ukrainian officials.
Cho Han-bum, a senior researcher at the state-run Korean Institute for National Unification, said that psychological warfare could be a real threat to the North Korean army.
"In the case of the North Korean soldiers, they have now been mobilized for war without any reason. They hardly have a strong will or high morale," he said.
США і НАТО мають розглянути можливість удару по військах КНДР в Україні - конгресмен01.11.24, 10:08
Cho said that the South Korean government could help Ukraine develop psychological warfare tactics against North Korean soldiers, as the country "has the know-how of a long-term psychological war with North Korea.