Kyiv Project “I Want to Live” calls on North Korean soldiers to surrender to Ukrainian forces in new Korean-language video, as Pyongyang’s first troops arrived in combat zone in Russia’s Kursk border region .
Ukraine’s “I Want to Live” campaign has released a new Korean-language video, calling on North Korean soldiers to surrender to Ukrainian forces as they deploy to combat zones.
The video shows prisoner of war camps in Ukraine and promises that after their surrender, the soldiers will be held in accordance with the Geneva conventions, with guarantees of safe conditions, food and medical care from the Ukrainian side.
“No matter how many soldiers Pyongyang sends to help Russia, no matter the destination, Ukrainian prisoner of war camps are ready to accommodate soldiers of any nationality, religion and ideological opinion.”
“Surrender! Ukraine will shelter you, feed you and warm you! Thousands of Russian soldiers made the right choice and are now waiting for the end of the war in good conditions: comfortable barracks, three hot meals a day and medical care.”
According to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, the first North Korean military units arrived in the combat zone of Russia’s Kursk region on Wednesday.
What is “I want to live”?
Launched in September 2022 by the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine, the 24-hour hotline aimed to help Russian soldiers voluntarily surrender or hand over their units to the Ukrainian army.
In June, more than 300 Russian soldiers had already surrendered to Ukrainian captivity thanks to this initiative created by the government, Andriy Yusov, a representative of Ukraine’s defense intelligence service, said earlier this year.
“The number of people ready to surrender has increased. Within the framework of this project alone, more than 300 Russian occupiers have already surrendered to Ukrainian captivity,” he explained.
“Some of them immediately expressed their desire not to be exchanged or even to join the security and defense forces.”
According to Mr. Youssov, more than 35,000 requests were sent “mainly by serving Russian military personnel, as well as by people likely to find themselves in the Russian armed forces and wishing to protect themselves, not wishing to take part in the war aggression and not become war criminals.
The vast majority of them are willing to return to their home countries after the end of “hostilities”, but to avoid future problems with the law, they are recorded as captured and are not marked as having voluntarily defected or having surrendered.
Can North Korean troops access it?
North Korean citizens do not have access to the internet and very few own a computer.
In North Korea, smartphones have limited functions and are subject to surveillance and control measures that make them useful only for basic communications and consumption of state-sanctioned content.
In Russia, the “I want to live” project website was blocked nationwide less than a month after its launch. However, it is still possible to access it using a VPN or messengers, hotline and chatbot managed by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.
Addressing Pyongyang’s soldiers in Korean, the new video says: “You must not die senselessly in a foreign country. You must not repeat the fate of hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers who will never return home. “
Additional sources • adaptation: Serge Duchêne