The ROK is informing North Korean Soldiers along the DMZ that they could potentially become cannon fodder in Putin’s war in Ukraine:
The South Korean loudspeakers blaring at the Demilitarized Zone are causing pain for the residents of the nearby Unification Village, the village chief told Stars and Stripes by phone Tuesday. Since Monday, the South Korean armed forces’ “Voice of Freedom” has been broadcasting around-the-clock to North Koreans that their troops are deployed to Russia to support the invasion of Ukraine, Lee Wanbae said.
“Not only me but also my villagers have been hearing the anti-Pyongyang loudspeaker broadcasts all day long every day,” he said. “The military broadcasts it from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. … and it is very loud. So, our ears are starting to hurt.” Unification Village, in a buffer zone just outside the DMZ, is just over a mile from the no-man’s land dividing the two countries.
N Korean soldiers picking up gear, water etc. in Russian Far East before deployment to Ukraine. N Korean officer heard uttering, "Step out of the way," "Follow closely [man in front of you]," "Hey, take the water," etc in unmistakable N Korean intonation & accent. @TokyoTom2020https://t.co/HM9dtNczdo
North Korea kind of does have a point, it can do what it wants with things on their sovereign territory:
North Korea accused U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of “double standards” Sunday, saying he urged Pyongyang to exercise restraint following its destruction of inter-Korean roads while remaining silent about South Korea’s alleged drone infiltration into the North.
Kim Son-gyong, North Korea’s vice foreign minister for international organizations, issued the statement after Guterres called for efforts to ease tensions and resume dialogue after the North blew up roads and rail lines on its side of the heavily fortified border on Tuesday.
“I express deep displeasure over and categorically reject the remarks of interfering in the internal affairs” of North Korea, Kim said in the statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency.
Kim claimed the destruction of roads and rail lines within its territory falls under North Korea’s “sovereign right from A to Z” and should not be subject to interference from the U.N. secretary-general.
It might be time for the ROK to start flying propaganda drones over Pyongyang again in response. This has clearly been something that got the Kim regime’s attention the last time they did it:
This picture shows trash-carrying balloons floating over Mount Nam in Seoul, Oct. 12. Yonhap
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the trash-loaded balloons were sent across the border between Saturday night and early Sunday and the fallen objects were household waste, such as paper and vinyl, and included no hazardous items.
The number of dropped items does not necessarily correspond to the number of balloons, as each balloon, which measures approximately 2 to 3 meters in diameter and 3 to 4 meters in length, usually contains several smaller bags.
It will be interesting to see when these large formations of North Korean Soldiers begin appearing on the frontlines in Ukraine:
A satellite image provided by the National Intelligence Service on Oct. 18, 2024, shows a Russian naval vessel suspected of transporting North Korean troops from the northeastern port of Chongjin.
One of the three pictures that South Korea’s intelligence agency disclosed as evidence of North Korea’s troop deployment to Russia was captured by a satellite that the South has been operating, a government source said Sunday.
Two of the three photos were attributed to Airbus, a global satellite imagery provider, but the third was not attributed when the National Intelligence Service (NIS) presented them Friday while confirming the North’s deployment of troops to Russia for its war in Ukraine.
Disclosing the satellite images, the NIS said that the North has decided to send around 12,000 troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine and has already deployed 1,500 special forces troops to Vladivostok.
It looks like the North Korean cannon fodder for Putin’s war in Ukraine may be more than originally believed:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that North Korea is preparing to send around 10,000 soldiers to Russia to support its war against Ukraine, calling the development “a big problem.”
Zelenskyy cited Ukrainian intelligence reports indicating that North Korean personnel have already been deployed in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, with additional troops being prepared to join the fight.
“We know about 10,000 soldiers of North Korea that they are preparing to send to fight against us,” Zelenskyy said during a press conference in Brussels after the European Union summit. “That’s really, I think, a big problem.”
Zelenskyy suggested that Russia is relying on North Korean forces to compensate for its substantial troop losses, as many young Russians seek to avoid conscription.
“(Russian President Vladimir) Putin is afraid of mobilization very much because social opinion is against his,” he said. “That’s why he (Putin) is trying to involve other participants of this war.”
It looks like North Koreans are getting closer to becoming cannon fodder in Putin’s war in Ukraine:
The defense ministry said Wednesday it is “closely” monitoring for signs of North Korea possibly sending troops to support Russia in its war against Ukraine, following media reports of Russia forming a battalion of North Koreans.
Ukrainian media outlets earlier reported that Russia is organizing a special battalion that is expected to include up to 3,000 North Koreans due to manpower shortages amid concerns over deepening military cooperation between the two countries.
“As there is a possibility of (North Korea) providing troops or civilian personnel, this is being closely monitored,” a ministry official said when asked about the reports.
N. Korean youths’ petitions to join, rejoin Army This photo, provided by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency on Oct. 16, 2024, shows North Korean youths and students signing petitions to voluntarily join or rejoin the North Korean Army. According to the news agency, more than 1.4 million young people across the country signed the petitions between Oct. 14-15, amid rising inter-Korean tensions. (Yonhap)
"Trump, by contrast, has made no secret of his affinity for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and would likely want to restart his “love letter” exchanges once Kim initiates with a congratulatory salutation," writes @CSIS Ellen Kim.https://t.co/LrK4Cjcxo2
In my opinion the blowing up of the two roads by North Korea is more performative for the ROK and international media than anything of substance between the two Koreas. I doubt President Yoon is going to lose any sleep over this:
North Korea blew up the northern sections of two inter-Korean roads, Tuesday, in an apparent attempt to sever all ties with South Korea and formalize a hostile, two-state system on the Korean Peninsula.
“North Korea exploded parts of the Gyeongui and Donghae roads north of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) at around noon,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a message sent to reporters.
Gyeongui Road, which linked the two Koreas in the western part of the country, was primarily used by businesspeople operating factories at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in the North. Meanwhile, Donghae Road along the east coast was utilized by tourists visiting North Korea’s Mount Geumgang.
The JCS said it fired several shots south of the MDL after the road explosions, adding it has intensified its readiness and surveillance posture. South Korea’s military had already observed on Monday that Pyongyang was preparing to destroy the road.
You can read more at the link, but these two roads have not been used for many years after the closing of the Kaesong Industrial Complex near Panmunjom and the ending of tours to the Kumgang Resort on the east coast. So blowing them up is meaningless and if for some reason one of these two inter-Korean projects were to get restarted the road can easily be repaired probably with ROK money.
North Korea had nothing to lose from this provocation and gained yet again wide media attention which means they achieved thier objective with this stunt.