They probably will bring in more over time, but North Korea has a population of only 26million and it is unlikely that Kim sends them all to die. Especially with South Korea having twice the population of North Korea.

But what will be fun, is Koreans being captured by Ukraine and South Korea buying them out.

[–] Buffalox 4 points 2 months ago (2 children)

They probably will bring in more over time,

Maybe they will, but I suspect this is some sort of PR stunt, probably to show a win for Putin. Maybe even to influence the US election, as Trump praises both Putin and Kim Jon Un.
Christianity is illegal in North Korea, owning or reading the bible is a capital offense. Yes you read that right, there is death penalty for participating in anything Christian.
Russia is a very Christian country, and there is not much chance those North Koreans won't be exposed to some Christianity.
This makes it doubtful these soldiers will ever be allowed back into North Korea. They are probably write offs in a political PR play.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago (1 children)

If it is a PR stunt it is dumb. Putin needing troops from another country to win the war is a sign of weakness.

Russia is hardly a deeply Christian country. 8% of Russians go to church on a regular bases. In the US it is 41%. The Soviet Union was hard on religion. There are believers, but most Russians are just members of the church, but really do not care too much.Also North Korea does not care that much. They send soldiers to Syria and Syria is much more religious and Iran who is deeply involved in this even more so.

[–] Buffalox 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

If it is a PR stunt it is dumb.

I think the idea is to show a further escalation, supporting the Russian narrative of a possible WW3.

Russia is hardly a deeply Christian country.

Russia has absolutely turned to Christianity a lot since 1991, even if they don't go to church. Putin has positioned FSB agents in the Russian Orthodox Church, and it's a key component of Russian state propaganda.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

That seems to be the government using the form of christianity, but it doesn't seem to be something people really care about.

[–] Buffalox 0 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

It absolutely is, people have clearly reacted according to the propaganda on for instance anti LGBT issues.
Ukraine too is widely Christian, but they have banned the Russian Orthodox Church, exactly because it's an arm of Russian propaganda.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_Russia

Christianity was the religious self-identification of 47.1% of the Russian population in 2012.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I suspect this is some sort of PR stunt

Hard to see it being a PR stunt given that neither country has publicly acknowledged the North Koreans being there...

[–] Buffalox 0 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

They don't have to acknowledge it, the evidence is there, and they'd probably have proffered if we thought more were coming.
Not giving information and misinformation are crucial parts of war strategy.

[–] ladicius 3 points 2 months ago

The proxy Chinese may even deplete faster as they come already starved and don't have to be mistreated that much by their "superiors" before they can't run away from drones and other attacks.