North Korea's Human Weapons 'Storm Corps,' Military Expert 'Putin Will Self-Filled'

YTN Radio (FM 94.5) [YTN News FM Wise Radio Life]
□ Broadcast Date: October 21, 2024 (Mon.)
□ Host: Park Gui-bin Announcer
□ Castor: Kim Dae-young, Military Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for National Strategy

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information.

◆ Announcer Park Gui-bin (hereinafter referred to as Park Gui-bin): The international community's concerns are growing as the news that the North Korean military sent large-scale troops to support the Russian military during the war in Ukraine. In particular, Ukraine even mentioned the possibility that North Korea's recent moves could lead to World War III. Let's talk to experts about why North Korea decided to send large-scale troops for the first time and what the storm division of sending troops to the Russian war was. I'm calling Kim Dae-young, a military critic at the Korea Institute for National Strategy. Hello, Commissioner.

◇Kim Dae-young, a military researcher at the Korea Institute for National Strategy (hereinafter referred to as Kim Dae-young): Yes, hello.

◆Park Gui-bin: It seems that Russia and North Korea have not announced their position yet. However, several circumstances of the North Korean military's dispatch have been disclosed. First of all, where do you think is the background of the dispatch?

◇Kim Dae-young: There may be many analyses, but it seems to me that the most important thing is money. The reason why I'm telling you with money is that it's highly likely that North Korean troops who have been dispatched will be used as mercenaries because they are not officially mentioned about the dispatch. In the case of the Russian military, in addition to this North Korean army, many mercenaries are now being received from China, Africa, India, and Nepal. These mercenaries are basically paying at least $3,000 to as much as $5,000 a month. Now, of course, the purpose is to gain hands-on experience in the North's current deployment to Russia, and another is to try to transfer Russia's advanced weapons technology, but the key factor is that Pyongyang can in some ways acquire such dollars, ranging from at least $3,000 to $5,000 per person a month at the government level. And at least a third of the money will be given to the North Korean soldiers, but the rest will probably be taken by the North Korean government. Now, when you look at the workers who were in Russia in the past, it is highly likely that this is the case, and in fact, it seems that serious economic difficulties are the main reason behind North Korea's large-scale dispatch of mercenaries.

◆Park Gui-bin: When it comes to mercenaries, it means that they paid to hire soldiers. Has North Korea ever sent mercenaries to other countries? Like this?

◇Kim Dae-young: I've sent military advisers, and I've actually sent troops like that who are mercenaries. 6. After the 25th War, for example, the North Korean Air Force participated in the Vietnam War, and even the Middle East War and the recent Syrian Civil War, we have not been interested in many cases, but many North Korean soldiers have intervened in these major conflict areas.

◆Park Gui-bin: If you look at the identity of the unit that dispatched troops, it is called the Storm Corps. Looking at it coming out, I think I saw an article that this corps is made of the best soldiers like special forces, but did this storm troop go to this storm troop as a mercenary? In the meantime

◇Kim Dae-young: There have been many cases in which North Korea's army, navy, and air forces have gone to various wars during the Cold War after the Korean War in the form of torture or actual combat troops. After that, there are many cases where special forces are actually military advisors or directly involved. However, in the case of this storm division, in fact, a lot of people in North Korea say that it is a special operation force, but you can think of it like this. Isn't there four types of marine forces in Korea? However, North Korea excluded the special forces as a special operations force. So, it can be said that it has the same personality as Korea's army. So now it can be called a kind of nickname for the Storm Corps, so you can think of it as a unit that combines various special forces of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and operational forces. Therefore, the total number of troops is estimated to be about 40,000 to 80,000, and it is known that it is headquartered in Deokcheon-si, Pyongannam-do, and it is estimated that about 10,000 people went among the special operations forces, mainly for soldiers with superior physical strength and combat power.

◆Park Gui-bin: There are a lot of articles. It is also reported that the troops belonging to this storm troop are human weapons. I'm also curious about what kind of operations you've been carrying out, and how much combat power can you see?

◇ Kim Dae-young: Now that North Korea is coming up with its own unique military doctrine after the end of the Korean War, it's a great war, so in addition to the general army, navy, and air forces, the large-scale operation of these special forces as plus alpha, these things have actually been made into their own military doctrine. So when a war broke out, a large number of special forces made a lot of such penetration measures to penetrate deep into our South Korean region, and the representative example is the An-2 aircraft that is not well under radar, and the hovercraft airlift that can now rapidly occupy the northwestern islands, unlike other countries. In a way, it should be considered that the role of the special forces is very important, and in the past, the unit that attacked the Blue House on January 21, 68 was actually the mother of this unit, and then infiltrated various armed spies until the 1980s. It's directly or indirectly related to these things, and in the case of joint warfare, especially called the Storm Corps, it's known that in North Korea, the people with the best training and the soldiers with high loyalty to Kim Jong-un go first.

◆Park Gui-bin: The unit that launched the January 21 attack on Cheong Wa Dae in 1968 was also the parent of the Special Operations Force, nicknamed the storm brigade, which has continued since then.

◇Kim Dae-young: Yes, I've repeatedly said that since the Korean War, North Korea has studied its own unique ways of conducting war, and we should increase the number of special forces. So you can think of it as continuously increasing it.

◆Park Gui-bin: It has been continuously increasing. But when I looked up articles during the COVID-19 pandemic, Storm squads were also deployed to block the border between North Korea and China. At the time, the storm troop soldier shot and killed a border guard soldier. So, what kind of conflict was there, but how was this reported within the North Korean military at the time?

◇Kim Dae-young: So during the COVID-19 period, Kim Jong-un strengthened border security, saying that COVID-19 could be introduced from China. At this time, it is said that a large number of special operation forces have already been deployed, and as I said earlier, in the case of senior generals' careers, first of all, they are loyal to Kim Jong-un, and then another soldier along with North Korea's land, sea, and air forces, so their status can be beyond our imagination. That's why these border guards can say they're the best there, but they can't play a game with this. Special operations forces have a much higher position and authority, and in a way, they used that to carry out Kim Jong-un's mission. As a result, I wonder if these merciless shootings and then attacks the border guard.

◆Park Gui-bin: So it's one of the most important troops for Kim Jong-un, and it's very powerful even among North Korean soldiers. According to the news this time, Russia's troops have been dispatched mainly to this unit. So, what role will they play in the Russian war specifically?

◇ Kim Dae-young: If you look closely at Ukraine, Russia, etc., the front line is quite stagnant, and I don't know if this comparison is correct, but in the second half of the Korean War, the communist army and the U.N. forces changed their owners as day and night changed over a mountain. So now, the movie high ground can be said to be a representative example, but it's just like that right now. So Ukraine doesn't have mountains. That's why we're fighting like that for several square kilometers on the plains. As a result, Russia is losing a lot of money in terms of career, so I told you at the beginning that they are bringing mercenaries from various countries. One of the reasons is that these North Korean soldiers will probably be deployed to some important combat areas in the fierce front and will probably play a major role in the charge unit.

◆Park Gui-bin: But if you look at the contents of military experts inside Russia, they say that the North Korean military does not have enough combat experience and will not be of decisive help to the situation. What do you think?

◇Kim Dae-young: In fact, it seems that if you do something wrong, you can become a self-destruct, but in fact, the war in Ukraine, Russia, is very different from the war environment in which North Korean troops fight. There are many mountains on the Korean Peninsula. So, in the case of North Korean military special forces, they train a lot in mountain marches and things like this, and because the confrontation distance between the two Koreas is short, they usually use An-2 or hovercraft hovercrafts to penetrate quickly, but if you look closely at Ukraine, there is no time now. It's all flat. And another thing that controls the war in Ukraine now is drones, which fly thousands and tens of thousands of them a day. So one of the reasons why the war in Ukraine is going to be a long-term war is that if you see any signs of it, you can shell the spot with drones, so it's virtually impossible for one of them to turn the tide in the battle now. It is very questionable whether the North Korean military will be able to exert proper combat power in such a situation, and another thing is that if the damage is accumulated, desertion could occur within the dispatched North Korean military, or even if I am fighting to death like this, for example, wouldn't this happen even if the party or the state only gives me this much money? Then, in a way, this could lead to an internal rebellion, and Russia, as you know, is not a controlled society like North Korea. If you look at the videos related to North Korea that were leaked this time, they all came out through Russian SNS. I think it will be more counterproductive if I encounter these things.

◆Park Gui-bin: This is not the case in local media in Ukraine. There are also reports that the North Korean military, which has already been deployed to the war, has deserted. I think that's why you said that, and you don't officially admit that you sent troops to Russia and North Korea, but you think it's a mercenary. Then, of course, you paid for it and hired it, but do you think Russia promised North Korea something else?

◇Kim Dae-young: First of all, in my opinion, it's most likely the dollar, it's the cash aid, for example, North Korea gave a lot of ammunition and missiles after Russia's North Korean weapons, which is probably now replaced by food or energy that North Korea needs, and soldiers are a little different in character. Basically, it's supposed to be paid anyway, so from that point of view, maybe it's using mercenaries now as a kind of means to officially acquire dollars.

◆Park Gui-bin: I think this is the part that people who watch the news pay most attention to and are a little concerned. Now, Ukraine is so concerned that it mentions World War III. Do you think there's a possibility that it's actually confirmed as World War III?

◇ Kim Dae-young: I think that's actually a little bit unlikely, but actually Ukraine's mention of World War III may be proof in a way that the situation is actually not going the way Ukraine wants. That's why I think I should get more support from the international community, but in fact, we are providing various non-lethal weapons support or material support from Ukraine as well as Korea, and I expect it to be around the beginning of next month. We are now seeing the time when the North Korean military is deployed to the front line after some training, and if videos or photos of the North Korean military's activities or sacrifices on the front line in Ukraine start to come out, this will be a factor that puts a lot of pressure on the South Korean government. As an example, then this Ukraine is going to talk directly. You can ask Korea to provide weapons of destruction, and then NATO and the United States are actually providing a lot of weapons to Ukraine, but as the years go by, this is actually being restricted. Last but not least, there is only Korea that can support you. Since there are countries that can provide a large amount of support, now, NATO members, the United States, and if the North Korean military is operating in video pictures, the South Korean government's North Korea is doing this, and the Republic of Korea is also under pressure. In addition, Ukraine doesn't have many people who speak Korean or anything, right? In fact, the important thing is that we have to conduct psychological warfare with North Korean soldiers who have been deployed to this front, and we can ask for this. In that case, our military has no choice but to intervene indirectly, even if it is not a dispatch. So now I would like to say that these two situations are quite concerning.

◆Park Gui-bin: How should our government cope?

◇Kim Dae-young: I think we're in a very difficult situation, but if you see the real North Korean military really operating. So if we don't actually support lethal weapons, then the probability of having to support lethal weapons increases, right? And another thing is that we need to help with psychological warfare against the North Korean military, so I think the South Korean government needs to find a lot of worries and ideas in this regard.

◆Park Gwi-bin: Yes, I see. Kim Dae-young, a military critic at the Korea Institute for National Strategy, was a military critic. Thank you.

◇Kim Dae-young: Yes, thank you.