A gloomy mood has come over some North Koreans after the authorities held a memorial for North Korean soldiers who have died fighting in Ukraine.
“A solemn ceremony was held at the headquarters of the Central Committee in Pyongyang on Aug. 20 to issue state commendations to commanders and soldiers in units fighting in the Russia-Ukraine War and to honor the fallen. Most people in Hoeryong who heard about the ceremony were visibly upset,” a source in North Hamgyong province told Daily NK recently.
“The ceremony was portrayed as a glorious occasion for individuals who performed meritorious service in their honorable missions on the foreign front to receive personal commendation from Kim Jong Un. But everybody’s eyes were fixed on (the photographs of) the young men who had lost their lives on the battlefield. You couldn’t help feeling sorry for them,” the source said.
North Koreans were deeply grieved to hear Kim’s remarks about the soldiers who are still fighting overseas.
“I can’t help thinking of the valiant soldiers who fell in battle and the soldiers who are, at this very moment, focused on carrying out their mission, faithfully obeying the orders of the fatherland,” Kim said during the event.
This was when several North Koreans who have not heard from sons in the military broke into tears.
“Everybody has heard that troops have been deployed to Russia and that many have died there. But seeing wreaths being laid in front of the funeral portraits of the fallen soldiers brought those vague stories to life, making everybody feel hollow and disillusioned,” the source said.
Growing anger toward government sparks rare criticism
Those feelings have persisted because even now, the source said, North Koreans can be heard sadly sharing stories about the soldiers who died fighting in a foreign war.
Some North Koreans have even spoken critically of the government.
The source quoted some people driven to speak by their anger. “A few measly medals can’t substitute for the lives of our fallen soldiers,” one said.
“What’s the point of those young men getting themselves killed fighting for another country?”
“I wouldn’t feel so angry if they had died fighting for our country.”
Younger people raised questions about the real reason for the troop deployment.
“Why was our government so eager to send our soldiers overseas to be cannon fodder in another country’s war?”
“It wasn’t like they even needed to be sent.”
“Did they sell our boys down the river to earn hard currency?”
State security officers were reluctant to even address such questions, but they explained that since the Ukrainian army is backed by the United States, the Russia-Ukraine war is comparable to the confrontation between North Korea and the U.S.
In a related incident, a woman in Hoeryong was taken to the state security office on Aug. 21 after being heard saying, “My son doesn’t need to be a hero—I just want him to come back alive.”
The woman is wracked with anxiety because she has not heard anything from her son since he joined the army four years ago. Even now, the source said, the woman does not know for certain whether he is alive or dead.
