Kim sends soldiers to war with the slogan: Sacrifice yourself and you will live forever

North Korea is stepping up the ideological indoctrination of its soldiers deployed in Russia's war against Ukraine. Propaganda uses religious themes of martyrdom, with slogans such as 'If you sacrifice yourself, you will live forever' calling on soldiers to be loyal to the local leader, Kim Jong-un.

According to the Daily NK website, cited by Novinky.cz, Kim ordered the soldiers to blow themselves up rather than be captured. Twice a week, indoctrination lessons are held in which those who blew themselves up on the battlefield are celebrated.

The aim is to foster unquestioning loyalty to the leader while demonstrating greater bravery than their Russian comrades-in-arms. Since October 2024, North Korea has deployed some 13 thousand troops to Russia, admitting to the loss of 350 men, while South Korean intelligence estimates as many as 2 thousand dead.

According to Ukraine, North Korean troops are mainly involved in engineering tasks in the Kursk region.

(mja)