North Korean soldiers have freer access to the internet in Russia for the first time: “They indulge in porn”

An estimated 12,000 soldiers have been sent from North Korea to Russia’s Kursk border region in recent months, following an agreement between Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un to cooperate militarily if either country is in danger. They help the Russian soldiers there against the Ukrainian army, which has also crossed the border in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

North Korea is a dictatorship in which access to the Internet is very tightly regulated, so soldiers in Russia come into contact with many websites that they never had access to before. The internet is also regulated in that country, but much less strictly. And so the soldiers look up a lot, writes The Financial Times based on a reliable source. “Those North Korean soldiers have never had free access to the internet before. And as a result, they watch porn en masse,” he said.

Attacked for the first time

That remarkable article was also read in the Pentagon, but the spokesperson for the US Department of Defense said on Thursday that he could not confirm this. “I can’t comment on North Korea’s internet habits or virtual extracurricular activities,” Charlie Dietz said. According to him, the Pentagon is only concerned with the “more serious” aspects of military relations between North Korea and Russia. “A question about internet access is best asked to Moscow. At this time, our focus remains on supporting Ukraine and addressing the more important regional security challenges.”

“Those North Korean soldiers have never had free access to the internet before. And as a result, they watch porn en masse”

The Financial Times

On Wednesday, Ukraine reported that North Korean troops had been attacked in Russia for the first time. That happened in the Kursk border region where they took part in the fighting for the first time, said Andri Kovalenko, a member of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, that first battle opens the door wide to “new instability in the world”. “Ukraine will do everything in its power to ensure that this Russian attempt to expand and fully escalate the war fails,” he said on Wednesday.