There was just a story about a group of surrendering Russian soldiers getting shelled by Russian artillery. It isn’t 100% clear that it was intentional, but its hard to not envision it as a throwback to the Soviet penal legions of old.
I’m sure by now they have figured out (or rediscovered, more likely) tactics to minimize the risk of their conscripts folding, sadly.
Or they just keep quiet and lie and do whatever they want. Hard to prove guilt in the sticks if there isn’t a game warden nearby.
Here’s an anecdote from an American outdoors industry leader where he admits he doesn’t give a shit about conservation laws and admits to seeking out and killing at least one bear, against the advice of fish and wildlife, because he deemed it to be dangerous. https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_list&c=108
One, it does give some room to dismiss accusations, even if just rhetorically.
Two, when you are able to coerce your subjects to say the sky is green, the sun sets in the East, and Dear Leader won the election, its an exercise of power over them. It feeds the ego and it becomes a litmus test for the disloyal.
It probably was fake. I’d imagine the people who are selected for these assignments are borderline or complete sociopaths who don’t have problems putting their mission above their entanglements.
If these kids are old enough to have any sense they aught to flee the first chance they get.
As an American I think that would all be reasonable…if the official US position was that Mexico has no right to exist, the Mexican people should be forcibly integrated into our society as 2nd class citizens, and the US Army was in the process of a “peacekeeping operation” in Mexico to carry all this out.
For all our flaws, we respect the borders of our neighbors and don’t have irridentist aspirations that belong in the 19th century. Russia is the aggressor here, and they have demonstrated that they have little interest in global peace or human rights, only increasing their sphere of influence.
Continually rolling over for thugs because it’s what avoids nuclear conflict will only lead to a global order based on thuggery, and it likely won’t even avoid nuclear conflict in the end.
I think DPRK’s hope is that at least some soldiers and officers will return with some modern combat experience, something that their military organization is dreadfully lacking. It could end up being a bigger problem down the road for ROK even if they lose a few thousand bodies.