North Korean troops are employed in the war in Ukraine as allies of the Russian army. For the first time the soldiers had access to the internet. In North Korea most people can only use an intranet called Kwangmyong.
“I am convinced that if they removed all pornography from the internet…there would be only one site left on which it would be written: Give us porn back.” The words are from the doctor Perry Coxone of the characters who placed Scrubs among the best series of early 2000s. There Cox thesis seems discreetly confirmed by a series of rumors concerning North Korean soldiers. Gildeon Rachmanchief foreign commentator at the Financial Times, posted about X (it was Twitter) went quite viral.
“A usually reliable source tells me that North Korean soldiers deployed in Russia have never had free access to the Internet. As a result, they are binging on pornography.” Despite the rumor, the context is very serious. North Korea promised support to Russia for the war against Ukraine. Just a few days ago there Minister Choe Song Hui he explained that North Korea will remain “firmly alongside the Russian comrades until the day of victory.” The first fighting in Kursk also began in recent days. Not only that, from initial information there would also already be victims among the North Korean troops.
Now. The internet problem in North Korea it is known: in the dictatorship led by supreme leader Kim Jong Un it is not possible to freely access the network. There are broadband connections but access to the global internet from which you are reading this article is limited to a small group of people. All ordinary citizensapproximately 26 million people, can at most access Kwangmyonga government-controlled intranet.
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While Gildeon Rachman is a reliable, or at least authoritative, source, this is not possible do a cross-check on your internet habits of North Korean troops arriving in Russia. Of course, it must be clarified that even in Russia there are limitations on the use of the internet: although not as restrictive as there are in North Korea.
The story also reached the Pentagon. The Major Charlie Dietz explained that it is not possible to verify this rumor at the moment: “As for Internet access, it is a question that is best asked to Moscow. At the moment, our focus remains on supporting Ukraine and addressing the most significant regional security concerns.”
