A group of nearly 200 North Korean defectors living in South Korea is pushing to deploy to Ukraine so they can launch a psychological warfare campaign against their former comrades, now reportedly assembling in Russia.
Drawing on their military backgrounds, this band of ex-soldiers – each with seven to 10 years of military experience – aim to leverage their insider knowledge of North Korea’s military to disrupt and demoralise the troops sent to fight in Ukraine, exploiting their psychological vulnerabilities.
“We are all military veterans who understand North Korea’s military culture and psychological state better than anyone else,” Ahn Chan-il, a 69-year-old defector and member of the group, told This Week in Asia.
Ahn, who leads the World Institute for North Korea Studies and also serves as chair professor emeritus at Open Cyber University of Korea, underlined the ex-soldiers’ readiness to deploy.
“We’re ready to go wherever needed to work as psychological warfare agents – through loudspeaker broadcasts, distributing leaflets, and even acting as interpreters,” he said.
Lee Min-bok, another key figure in the initiative, has taken his plea directly to the Ukrainian government. He has posted an open letter to Ukraine’s embassy in Seoul, appealing to President Volodymyr Zelensky for permission to assist in rescuing North Korean soldiers, whom he described as “cannon fodder”.
“North Korean soldiers are there essentially as mercenaries, but we would go as volunteers with a goodwill mission,” Lee said. “Simply our presence in Ukraine could significantly impact the morale of North Korean troops,” he added, expressing hope that the Ukrainian government would welcome their offer.
As of now, the Ukrainian embassy in Seoul has not responded to the proposal, and South Korea’s foreign ministry referred the matter to the Unification Ministry, which did not comment.
Lee, who defected to South Korea in 1995 via China and Russia, has become known in the years since for launching propaganda leaflets across the North Korean border using gas-filled balloons, leveraging his background as an agricultural scientist.
“North Korean soldiers could find hope and courage in our presence in Ukraine, inspiring them to cross over in search of freedom,” he wrote in his open letter, seen by This Week in Asia.
The defectors’ proposal reflects the collective outrage of the roughly 34,000 North Korean defectors in South Korea, many of whom are deeply disturbed by what Ahn’s group called Kim Jong-un’s “aggression and disregard for international law” in deploying troops to support Russia.
“As former North Korean soldiers, we are ready to go to the front, conduct psychological warfare, rescue these soldiers, and dismantle the North’s mercenary policies,” their mission statement reads.
Armed with their intimate understanding of North Korea’s military culture, these defectors believe they are uniquely positioned to create psychological disruptions that could encourage North Korean troops to “turn their guns around”.
Ahn – who defected in 1979, inspired by South Korean loudspeaker broadcasts and leaflets while serving at a North Korean frontline guard post – said that if North Korean soldiers were to fall into Ukrainian hands, their group could persuade them to defect to the South.
“Most North Korean soldiers, including elite special forces, suffer from food shortages and malnutrition,” he said. “The soldiers you see on televised parades are a carefully selected few – they’re the alpha of the entire population.”
The group’s proposal comes amid political turbulence in South Korea, fuelled by leaked Telegram messages between a high-ranking South Korean security officials and a conservative lawmaker, hinting at potential collaboration with Ukraine to target North Korean forces aiding Russia
President Yoon Suk-yeol recently suggested that South Korea might re-evaluate its long-standing policy against providing lethal aid to nations embroiled in conflict, depending on the extent of North Korea’s involvement.
Wi Sung-lac, an opposition lawmaker and former South Korean ambassador to Russia, advised caution.
“If these volunteers are captured by Russian forces, it would create a diplomatic tangle,” he warned, highlighting the ambiguity of their status.
President Yoon has made it clear that South Korea “will not sit idle” if North Korean troops are deployed in support of Russia, suggesting that Seoul may consider supplying arms to Ukraine should North Korean-Russian military collaboration deepen.
“It appears that Seoul may be moving towards a direct supply of weapons to Ukraine,” Wi told This Week in Asia, indicating that such support could include defensive systems like anti-aircraft missiles or even offensive artillery shells.