North Korea’s military is using stories of soldiers who detonated themselves in the Russia-Ukraine war as indoctrination material, telling troops “if you give your life, you’ll live forever.”
According to a Daily NK source in the North Korean military recently, the North Korean army has emphasized the “heroic services” of North Korean soldiers who chose to blow themselves up in the war against Ukraine during political classes held at least twice a week.
At their heart, the lessons emphasize the loyalty of the soldiers who gave their lives to carry out North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s orders. They also promote the propaganda message that the soldiers “achieved a record of distinction unmatched even by the Russian soldiers.”
In particular, the North Korean army openly highlights the soldiers’ sacrifices with the message, “If you give your life, you live forever.” A new slogan has even emerged — “Let’s learn from the warriors who blew themselves up.”
“The indoctrination activities differ little in method from the past, but they have clearly emphasized expressions like, ‘You’ll live forever if you face death,'” the source said.
In fact, the North Korean authorities have glorified soldiers who have fallen in the Russia-Ukraine war for their “death-defying” spirit, calling them “heroes who took up the Supreme Leader’s orders.” This demonstrates how the authorities emphasize sacrifice without ensuring the right to survival of individual soldiers.
‘Eternal life’ doctrine extends Kim family ideology to war dead
In particular, the slogan, “If you give your life, you’ll live forever,” is along the same lines as North Korea’s longstanding doctrine that its leadership lives forever, an idea that has continued since the Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il era. By elevating North Korea’s former leaders to transcendent status and packaging the loyalty that binds them to the public as a religious concept of “eternal life,” North Korea has emphasized personal sacrifice as a virtue.
“Nowadays, if you look at what they say in the army, everything is tied to heroic tales of blowing yourself up in the Russia-Ukraine war and being ready to die, and ultimately, this means they don’t care about the lives of their soldiers,” the source said. “Adding the concept of eternal life to this, it feels increasingly like they’re trying to turn death into a badge of loyalty.”
Within the military, this indoctrination is seen entirely as a way to boost unity and loyalty.
“Even military officials say propaganda aimed at the outside world appears in the Rodong Sinmun or Korea Central TV, but that this sort of indoctrination is organized to promote internal loyalty,” the source said. “In the indoctrination, they only mention that participation in the Russia-Ukraine war bolsters friendship between Pyongyang and Moscow. They mostly focus on achieving dedicated loyalty to repay the Supreme Commander’s confidence in them.”
Soldiers in their early 20s have largely resigned themselves to participating in these indoctrination efforts perfunctorily. However, some soldiers express their loyalty and willingness to sacrifice themselves due to a long period of repeated brainwashing.
The North Korean military also appears to be concerned about whether this sort of repeated indoctrination can boost the willingness of soldiers to take part in the war.
“Army officials don’t believe that their indoctrination activities pursued using the same methods for decades have been 100% successful,” the source said. “The important thing is whether soldiers can go to war and give their lives, and since this is no easy matter, officials believe adjustments to the method of content of indoctrination activities are unavoidable.”
