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Ukraine makes videos and distributes pamphlets about North Korean troops to persuade them to surrender.
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Sources say North Korea has sent thousands of soldiers to help Russia in its war against Ukraine.
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“Many see it as an opportunity to escape the regime,” the project spokesperson told Euronews.
Ukraine is trying to convince North Korean soldiers to surrender rather than fight alongside Russia.
According to Euronews, Ukrainian intelligence services are distributing leaflets via drones and projectiles and making videos calling on North Korean troops to desert.
Vitality Matvienko, spokesperson for the “I Want to Live” project, told Euronews that “of course not everyone wants to fight.”
“We know the living conditions in North Korea very well,” he said. “That’s why many see it as an opportunity to escape the regime and go to another country.”
Ukraine is conducting its efforts under “I Want to Live,” a service that has facilitated the surrender of Russian soldiers. In October 2022, Russia blocked access to his country hotline and chatbotalthough it can still be accessed in the country via VPN.
North Korea has sent thousands of troops to help Russia in its fight against Ukraine, officials from South Korea, Ukraine and the US said.
Dmytro Ponomarenko, Ukraine’s ambassador to South Korea, told Voice of America last month that this number could reach 15,000, with troops rotating every two to three months, and a total of 100,000 North Korean soldiers within a year would serve in Russia.
The Ukrainian “I Want to Live” project told Business Insider that the leaflets state that Kim Il Sung, the founder of North Korea, does not want North Korean soldiers to fight for Russian “imperialists.”
The leaflets also include step-by-step instructions on how to surrender, with guarantees and benefits for the POWs, the report said.
It declined to disclose other methods used to convince North Korean forces to surrender.
“I Want to Live” posted a video on its Telegram channel earlier this month in which a North Korean volunteer in the Ukrainian army called on his fellow countrymen to seize their chance.
“We will not only welcome you, but also help you start a new life,” he said. “Support, work and the chance to live a decent life are waiting for you here. Even money, so you can start your journey with a clean slate.”
The text accompanying the video stated that Ukraine guaranteed humane treatment of all prisoners. “Far from ‘Big Brother’ who watches over all the citizens of North Korea, it is a sin not to take advantage of this unique opportunity,” the report said.
In October, Ukrainian military intelligence released a statement promising to provide comfortable beds and hot meals to North Korean soldiers who surrendered.
It also published a Korean-language video showing the POW camps as well as the meals served there.
Last month, South Korean intelligence estimated that Russia was paying about $2,000 a month for each soldier.
But Bruce W. Bennett, a defense researcher and North Korea specialist at RAND, told BI that he suspects the money is going directly to North Korea’s ruling elite.
“Maybe only a small amount or even nothing” goes to the soldiers themselves, he said.
Read the original article on Business Insider
