North Korean soldiers, when confronted with the realities of modern warfare, will fail to demonstrate the expected combat effectiveness, and their presence on the battlefield will symbolize grave strategic errors.

This opinion was expressed in a comment to France24 by former UN Panel of Experts Coordinator on North Korea, Hugh Griffiths. He added that North Korean forces will suffer a crushing defeat in Ukraine.

Войска КНДР

Kim Jong Un's army, while one of the largest in the world, relies on quantity rather than quality, and most soldiers have never participated in actual combat. According to Griffiths, Ukrainian military personnel have extensive experience in fighting against Russian units, which will undoubtedly lead to significant casualties among North Korean soldiers.

"The Ukrainians will bomb them, and you will witness North Korea's defeat. They will die without making any progress. They won’t reach Kyiv in Russian tanks," Griffiths emphasized.

The expert believes that the Russians may use North Korean troops as "cannon fodder," disregarding their basic needs such as food or water. The conditions in which North Korean forces will find themselves will be so harsh that it will result in mass desertions, posing a significant challenge for Kim Jong Un's regime.

КНДР, Война

At the same time, Edward Howell, an associate at the Korea Foundation at Chatham House, believes that Kim Jong Un understands the risks of such a decision, but the benefits for his regime outweigh the potential losses. In exchange for military support, Russia provides North Korea with food, military technology, as well as submarine missile launch systems and nuclear technologies.

However, Griffiths is confident that Kim Jong Un is seriously miscalculating his strategy.

"I think this is a miscalculation. Nothing good will come of this for either Kim or Putin," Griffiths concluded.

Source: france24 .