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A military parade fills Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang on Feb. 8, 2023, which marked the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Army. (KCNA/Yonhap)

“North Korean troops haven’t engaged in fighting yet, so how are there deaths?”

This was the reaction from a South Korean intelligence official upon hearing the news that the night before 40 North Korean soldiers were discovered dead in Ukraine.

On Monday night, domestic media outlets reported that 40 North Korean soldiers died in combat.  Earlier in the afternoon that day, Andrii Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, posted on Telegram: “The first North Korean troops have already come under fire in Kursk Oblast.” Shortly afterward, a high-ranking figure in the Ukrainian presidential office told a South Korean media outlet that North Korean soldiers had begun fighting, and that deaths had already occurred. 

What’s important is that the initial report came from the head of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council’s Center for Countering Disinformation. Disinformation refers to doctored or false information deliberately propagated by a state actor to maliciously influence another country. In the initial stages of the war, the Ukrainian government posted a video of the “Ghost of Kyiv,” a legendary fighter pilot who allegedly shot down six Russian fighter jets in 30 hours. Yet the actual existence of such a pilot has never been confirmed. 

Considering such developments, South Korean intelligence officials have adopted a skeptical stance when it comes to reports from Ukraine. It’s gotten to the point where Korean intelligence officials are telling reporters to hold off on relaying reports about North Korean troops from Ukrainian officials until they receive third-party confirmation, because Ukraine makes “fake news” at the state level. This means we have to carefully consider the source of the information and the intentions behind it. 

People who have experience in gathering military intelligence say that when it comes to reports about North Korean soldiers fighting in Ukraine, it’s only when Russian and North Korean authorities officially confirm them that we can accept them as fact. 

However, we can make exceptions under the following conditions: If troops at the company or battalion level or higher participate in the fighting and the identities of North Korean troops are confirmed among the dead; if a North Korean prisoner of war directly testifies about North Korean troops fighting in Ukraine; if North Korean military documents containing operational orders, combat orders, or tactical training plans are confiscated; or if wiretaps containing confirmation about North Korean troops in combat are leaked.

By Kwon Hyuk-chul, senior staff writer; Seo Young-ji, staff reporter

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