Ukraine Should Drop Notes Onto Battlefield Urging North Korean Soldiers To Defect, Says Peer
3 min read
Ukraine should drop notes to North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia guaranteeing them South Korean citizenship should they defect, a sanctioned peer has said.
NATO on Monday confirmed that North Korea had sent troops to Ukraine to support Vladimir Putin's ongoing assault on the country. NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte said the development represented "a significant escalation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's ongoing involvement in Russia's illegal war", as well as a "dangerous expansion of Russia's war".
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin last week said there was "highly concerning probability" that soldiers sent to Russia by North Korea, estimated by the US to number least 3,000, would go on to fight in Ukraine for Putin.
With North Korean troops believed to be heading for Russia's Kursk region, the UK should urge the Ukrainian army to communicate with North Korean soldiers on the battlefield, assuring them of safe haven in South Korea if they defect, according to Lord Alton.
Alton, who co-chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on North Korea and is currently sanctioned by Iran, China and North Korea, last week asked the Government whether Ukraine could “reach over the heads” of Russian armed forces commanders to “make sure” that North Korean soldiers receive messages in Korean, so they know that they are “entitled to take up Korean citizenship in the Republic of Korea should they defect”.
He later told PoliticsHome that messages on “printed paper” could be “dropped” onto the battlefield in Korean for soldiers to read, informing them of their freedom and “guaranteed citizenship" in South Korea. Sending text messages to North Korean soldiers would be another option, he said.
Having previously travelled to North Korea, Lord Alton said he has seen the “high levels of malnutrition” and “stunted growth” of the North Korean soldiers who, like the wider North Korean population, face food shortages under leader Kim Jong Un’s repressive regime.
“There will be many young people who would also break for freedom if they are given half a chance”, the crossbench peer said.
“Although Putin and Kim Jong Un may see this military alliance through the eyes of dictators, if you start to look at it through the eyes of some of those who are likely to be sacrificed on the front line, you can see how this could actually backfire – that it could work against them.
"And we must give these young conscripts every chance of breaking for freedom,” he added.
In response to Lord Alton’s comments in the Chamber last week, Labour's Baroness Chapman said we have “known for a long time that the people of North Korea are not masters of their own destiny and do not make their choices freely and willingly”.
She said it is “desperately sad that we now seem likely to see further decisions made on their behalf, but not in their interests”.
A Foreign Office spokesperson told PoliticsHome the UK will “continue to stand with Ukraine against Russian aggression for as long as it takes”.
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