North Korea is working to keep soldiers wounded in combat in Russia out of the public eye, spreading them across remote military hospitals and sanatoriums while concealing the true nature of their injuries.
The wounded soldiers are currently being treated at military hospitals in Pyongsong (South Pyongan province), Kanggye (Jagang province) and Wonsan (Kangwon province), with some undergoing long-term convalescence, a source said.
“Soldiers injured on the Russian front have been spread out for treatment in sanatoriums in various areas. The main management centers are the military hospital district on the outskirts of Pyongyang, support hospitals in Pyongsong and Kanggye and an evacuation sanatorium near Wonsan,” a source in North Korea told Daily NK recently.
While the soldiers are officially being treated as “wounded in action,” some of them have been administratively processed as having “suffered an accident during training.” These efforts appear aimed at concealing the fact that North Korean troops are fighting in Russia’s war against Ukraine while also downplaying the number of wounded soldiers.
The North Korean regime appears concerned that allowing these facts to come to light could dampen public opinion and lower morale inside the military.
‘Dangerous witnesses’ kept under wraps
The North Korean authorities appear set on managing the injured soldiers discreetly and giving them a low profile instead of hailing them as war heroes, presumably with the goal of maintaining security and stabilizing the regime.
“The government is taking steps to preserve their livelihood while keeping them out of sight with the goal of protecting their identities. Fellow soldiers respect [the wounded] but are opting not to visit them, regarding them as ‘dangerous witnesses,’” the source said.
Even during their convalescence, the wounded soldiers are attending regular ideological study sessions. They have also taken an oath of secrecy and are being watched to ensure they do not tell outsiders the story behind their injury or the details of their operations.
“Under orders to maintain secrecy, we’re waiting for orders from our superiors about these soldiers’ post-recovery assignments. The General Political Bureau of the Korean People’s Army, along with the operations and medical bureaus, plan to reach a decision by mid-November about redeploying soldiers who have recovered from their injuries,” the source said.
The North Korean military is considering the option of appointing wounded soldiers with a notable record as military instructors at Kim Il Sung Military University or various military, political and security universities or as aides to commanders at the battalion level.
“The military seems to have decided it would be more effective for soldiers with war experience to convey their impressions about combat to younger soldiers during field training. In fact, there’s a trial program underway in which officers without combat experience are receiving training and guidance from these wounded soldiers,” the source said.
These moves would seem to coincide with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s recent admonishment about basing military drills on real combat.
The authorities also appear determined to boost morale in the military by presenting the wounded soldiers as being part of “the generation that fought overseas” and to bolster the country’s image as a military power.
“Our cooperation with Russia isn’t just about exchanging weapons or equipment—it has reached the stage of elevating the military’s actual fighting capabilities through combat experience,” the source said.
“The management and reassignment of these wounded soldiers is part of that process. It reflects a drive to incorporate lessons learned on the battlefield into military manuals and training programs as we seek to ground command and training on actual combat and upgrade our combat doctrine.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: dailynk.com
