North Korean Soldiers Fighting Ukraine are Shockingly Good Soldiers

Especially compared to the Russians

North Korean troops. Used without permission.

Note: I shared this piece earlier this week on Medium, and normally, I try not to repeat content here that I post over there to keep things fresh for my awesome Substack readers. But this is a story that I thought my Substack peeps would enjoy. So, I’m dropping it here as my Friday free article. Thanks for reading!

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As we now know, North Korean troops have joined the fray in Russia’s Kursk region, propping up an increasingly desperate Kremlin.

But don’t let the irony of Pyongyang’s soldiers operating thousands of miles from home overshadow a sobering reality: these troops are no pushovers.

According to Ukrainian soldiers, they’re disciplined, fearless, and annoyingly proficient at shooting down drones.

Let’s unpack this.

Ukrainian paratrooper Yuriy Bondar, a veteran of the elite 80th Airborne Assault Brigade — known as the “Galician Lions” — shared his harrowing experiences on Facebook.

Bondar described the North Koreans as “extremely resilient, well-trained, and morally stable.” That’s a polite way of saying, “They don’t flinch, even when facing hellfire.”

Bondar’s account sheds light on tactics that are as innovative as they are unnerving.

Imagine this: one soldier acts as bait to attract Ukrainian drones while others lie in ambush, ready to take them down with small arms. This has resulted in a shocking number of drones being shot down — proving that ten years of mandatory military service can yield impressive marksmanship.

Take it from me… Marksmanship is a skill painfully achieved only through repetition and dedication to performing key shooting drills.

In the Army, we used to practice our breathing control by balancing a dime on the end of the barrel of our M4s and gently pulling the trigger (with no ammo) until we heard the satisfying click. The goal was to pull the trigger gently enough so that the dime didn’t fall.

DoD image. Public domain.

As a veteran myself, having served in both the US Army infantry and Air Force, I can’t help but draw comparisons. Western militaries pride themselves on professionalism, adaptability, and individual initiative.

The North Koreans?

Their discipline is reminiscent of Soviet-era rigidity, but it’s propped up by an unsettling level of dedication. They’re like robots programmed for attrition warfare — an outdated but, when used en masse, occasionally effective approach.

To be successful at warfighting, I consider discipline, commitment, and skill as the three most essential elements.

Seriously… Without them, everything else that the Russians have failed at — effective communication, command and control, logistics — is all moot. These are fundamental.

So how do the Russians and North Koreans stack up?

Discipline

I’m not going to sugar-coat my infantry experience or look back with fond nostalgia — it sucked, plain and simple. Sure, I’m glad I did it as it gave me some very real advantages that will be with me for life: Composure under pressure, habitual goal orientation, and a diversity mindset, to name a few. And I do miss the camaraderie.

But imagine spending six hours obsessing over a uniform to ensure that every badge and insignia is positioned correctly down to the millimeter. Then imagine doing pushups until you vomit because one of your insignia was a quarter of a millimeter off.

The Army infantry’s noncommissioned officers didn’t do this simply because they were sadists — they were, but that’s beside the point. They did this to illustrate the value of “attention to detail” which is something that takes discipline to do correctly.

Discipline is arguably the very first lesson in basic training, boot camp, or the service academies.

A French soldier who deployed to Afghanistan alongside US Army soldiers during the Global War on Terror was shocked at the American’s level of discipline:

“Beyond the wearing of a combat kit that never seems to discomfort them (helmet strap, helmet, combat goggles, rifles etc.) the long hours of watch at the outpost never seem to annoy them in the slightest. On the one square meter wooden tower above the perimeter wall, they stand for five consecutive hours in full battle gear and night vision goggles, their sight unmoving in the direction of likely danger. No distractions, no pauses, they are like statues nights and days.”

From what we’re seeing in Ukraine, the Russians, on the other hand, seem to be undisciplined in terms of following orders, maintaining weapons, and using a precise amount of force when required.

Russia’s lack of discipline, either because their fighters are primarily conscripts, young, inexperienced, rushed through training, or a combination of all, shows by their utter lack of regard for life and property — not just Ukrainian life and property, but their own.

The North Korean troops, however, are surprisingly disciplined. It is becoming obvious that they were well-trained, albeit with outdated tactics and Soviet-era dogma. But they are quite good at the fundamentals of “shoot, move, and communicate.”

Commitment

Military professionalism also depends highly on commitment: to oneself, the country, your branch, your unit, and to your fellow soldiers, sailors, airmen, guardians, or Marines.

As defined by the US Army, commitment is “the resolve of Army professionals to contribute Honorable Service to the Nation, to perform their duties with discipline and to standards, and to strive to successfully and ethically accomplish the mission despite adversity, obstacles, and challenge.”

Put more simply, war is hard. Will you have the commitment necessary to complete the mission honorably and ethically, without quitting when things get tough?

Most of the Russians who are currently invading Ukraine have no such commitment. Many are deserting, sabotaging their own vehicles, or getting shot by their fellow soldiers when they refuse orders to fire on civilians.

Sure, some Russians may be committed… to committing war crimes. But one thing is becoming increasingly clear: Putin fielded perhaps the least committed ground force since America’s involvement in the Vietnam War. Although that quagmire wasn’t the soldiers’ fault, it was the politicians’ fault.

In contrast, the North Korean soldiers have a commitment level that shocks the conscious — with a cult-like devotion to making the “Dear Leader” proud. This includes sacrificing their lives willingly if it earns them a modicum of recognition from their diety-in-chief.

Skill

Finally, “skill” is where the rubber meets the road. Skill is what makes you good at your job, whether your job is loading bombs onto a Hornet on the deck of an aircraft carrier or cooking a killer omelet at the chow hall.

Unlike raw talent, skill is something we can actively improve with years of discipline and commitment to our trade. In the infantry, we went to the range every other day until we could confidently engage moving targets with small arms, repeatedly, at ranges of 50, 250, and 300 meters.

Lacking skill in the profession of arms means death; yours or someone you love — full stop.

An Air Force flightline maintainer who lacks skill while repairing an AWACS jeopardizes the lives of fifteen Americans who are depending on you so they can get home safely.

For the Russians in Ukraine, skill is a little more difficult to discern. For instance, are they firing on nuclear power plants and civilians because they lack basic soldiering skills? Or are they just assholes?

Regardless, without discipline and commitment, skill is hard to come by.

Again, the North Korean soldiers are a full 180 degrees from their Russian hosts. They appear to be extremely skilled and proficient at shooting small arms and all-around soldiering skills. It is likely that their training far exceeds the training that we perform in the West.

Reports from Ukrainian platoon leaders reinforce Bondar’s observations. Lieutenant Alex noted the Koreans’ unnerving skill in destroying drones, while Oleksii, another platoon leader, admitted that North Korean troops have intensified the conflict’s ferocity.

One Ukrainian commander’s blunt assessment? “Compared to DPRK soldiers, the 2022 Wagner mercenaries are just children.”

Harsh, but it tracks.

North Korean troops execute dynamic attacks, leveraging outdated Soviet tactics in innovative ways. They press Ukrainian defenses, exploit weak points, and often overrun positions despite being outnumbered.

Their sheer persistence forces Ukraine to fight smarter and harder. It’s like playing chess against someone who’s not particularly strategic but is relentlessly aggressive.

Estimates from South Korea suggest that around 12,000 North Korean soldiers have joined Russia’s war effort. Half have been killed or wounded, but even with significant losses, their presence has shifted the dynamic. Ukrainian soldiers now face relentless human waves, often outpacing available ammunition.

While this sounds straight out of a Cold War playbook, it’s also a reminder of how desperation can breed creativity — and chaos.

Russia, struggling to replenish its own ranks, appears content to rely on Kim Jong Un’s expendable manpower. Pyongyang, in turn, gets a chance to flex its military prowess on a global stage.

It’s a grim partnership, but one that’s undeniably effective in the short term.

To date, Ukraine has captured just three North Korean soldiers.

Two are in Kyiv for questioning, with South Korean intelligence lending a hand due to language barriers. One POW has reportedly expressed a desire to stay in Ukraine. The other? He wants to return to North Korea — a decision that defies logic unless you consider the brainwashing at play.

President Zelenskyy has suggested the possibility of exchanging captured North Koreans for Ukrainian prisoners held by Russia.

The contrast between Ukrainian and North Korean troops shows us the importance of balancing discipline with adaptability.

In Western militaries, discipline serves as a foundation for creativity and initiative. Soldiers are trained to think on their feet, a skill that’s often the difference between success and failure on the battlefield.

North Korean soldiers, by contrast, are rigidly disciplined but lack the ability to adapt. Their tactics, while effective against drones and in large numbers, are outdated and vulnerable in modern warfare.

It’s like bringing a knife to a gunfight — except that the knife is wielded by someone who’s spent a decade mastering its use.

Russia’s reliance on North Korean troops gives us a window into its increasingly dire position. Unable to sustain its own forces, Moscow has turned first to mercenaries, then to prisoners, and now foreign soldiers.

This patchwork approach is emblematic of a military that’s overstretched and under-resourced.

For Ukraine, the challenge lies in adapting to an evolving enemy. The arrival of disciplined, fearless troops like the North Koreans forces Kyiv to rethink its strategies and invest in more advanced technologies.

Drone warfare remains a cornerstone of Ukraine’s defense, but the loss of drones to small arms fire — however unlikely — is starting to become a costly problem.

The presence of North Korean troops in Russia’s Kursk region is a clash of ideologies, tactics, and levels of commitment.

For Ukraine, the fight isn’t just about reclaiming territory; it’s about proving that discipline, commitment, and skill can outmatch Russia’s brute force and outdated tactics.

And for Russia? Leaning on North Korea is like hiring a backup band when your headliner can’t perform.

It’ll get the job done for now, but the long-term prognosis is bleak.

Still, these DPRK soldiers in Kursk are giving many intelligence analysts in the West their first look at how these soldiers would actually fight in war.

They are shockingly good soldiers and should not be underestimated in future conflicts.

And thanks to Ukraine once again for giving us this crucial intelligence. I wish it were under better circumstances. But keep up the fight.

And as always, glory to Ukraine, glory to the heroes, Crimea is Ukraine.

Слава Україні!