While North Korean media recently published images of Kim Jong Un holding back tears as he held coffins containing the remains of North Koreans who died in battle in Ukraine, the parents of deployed soldiers still anxiously await information about what has happened to their children and when they will return home.
“A,” a resident of North Pyongan province, said she is exhausted by constant changes in the story. “Nobody will tell us when he’s coming home. We were initially told it would be a year, but now we’re hearing that the deployment has been extended,” she told Daily NK.
“B,” from South Hamgyong province, didn’t learn about her son’s deployment until after the fact. She told Daily NK she no longer trusts the North Korean government.
“Even members of his unit seem to be in the dark. The whole thing is being kept top secret. I’ve been seeking out stories about the war in Russia, and I keep hearing that our troops have to stay because the war isn’t going well. For all I know, my son may already have been cremated and turned to ash,” the anxious woman said.
Particularly nerve-wracking for the parents of North Korean soldiers is the fact that no deployed soldiers have returned home and no parents have been notified about deaths on the battlefield.
“I’ve never seen or heard of any wounded soldiers coming back home. Any death notices or certificates sent to families since last year are probably from ordinary soldiers, not soldiers deployed to Russia,” “A” said.
“B” expressed deep cynicism during her interview. “I heard from the unit that no death notices have been sent yet. I have no way of knowing whether my son is dead or alive, whether he’s been wounded, or even whether he’s in Russia. I can’t trust his unit, and I can’t trust the government either,” she said.
These remarks suggest that North Korea is not providing the families of deployed soldiers with any news about their circumstances. Every day is agonizing for parents who have no way of knowing whether their children are in Russia or Korea, whether they are healthy or wounded, or even whether they are alive or dead.
Parents desperate to know why their children have not returned
Even now, the parents of deployed soldiers are begging the government to share some information. There are also signs that the trust and loyalty of parents who sent their children to the army are giving way to despair.
“I sent my son off to defend his country. When I entrusted my son to the party, I hoped he’d return safely, but I also want the Party to spare a thought for parents’ feelings,” “A” said.
“If he died in battle, it’s only right to learn how he died and receive his last effects and letters. Since we willingly gave our child into the care of the state, the state needs to keep its promises about providing compensation and bringing his remains home,” she said.
“B” spoke more sternly. “My son, who is in his twenties, was sent to the war, but nobody knows whether he’s dead or alive. Instead of offering hints about a memorial, they need to publish a list of the dead so that parents can learn about their children’s fate,” she said.
“B” also said, “We don’t need to know any military secrets—just tell us whether our children are dead or alive, and whether they’ve been injured. Parents who trusted the party to take care of their children are overcome with sorrow and fear.”
At the same time, these parents harbor hopes that their children’s experience overseas will bring career opportunities, provided they return home in good health.
“What I’m told is that when the soldiers return home, they’ll all be admitted to the party and given training to join the government,” “A” said.
“B” remarked, “I hope my son will return home alive and later on get to travel overseas as a trade official or state security agent and get to see how the world works. If the government doesn’t do that for him after he risked his life to fight in this war, I will feel, as a parent, that he’s been badly mistreated.”
The North Korean government has received tens of millions of dollars in exchange for sending troops under its pact with Russia, but it remains silent, refusing to fulfill its ethical responsibilities. Amid the long silence, the parents of the deployed soldiers burn with anguish.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service estimated that as of April 2025, North Korean troops deployed to Russia’s war against Ukraine had suffered around 4,700 total casualties, including around 600 fatalities.
In a recent article, Daily NK quoted a source inside North Korea as saying the regime plans to glorify the fallen soldiers as heroes for domestic propaganda purposes in a burial ceremony around July 27, celebrated as Victory Day in North Korea.
