North Koreans Fake Sickness to Avoid Being Drafted in Russia’s War Against Ukraine

Residents of North Korea are resorting to purchasing forged medical documents to avoid mandatory military deployment to Russia, according to a report by Newsweek. Families are reportedly spending over 100 times the average monthly salary to secure fraudulent tuberculosis diagnoses in an effort to keep their male relatives from being sent to the front lines.

According to estimates from the United States and South Korea, North Korean authorities have already sent up to 12,000 soldiers to Russia. These troops are reportedly engaged in combat near Kursk, assisting Russian forces in countering Ukrainian military operations. Despite these reports, both Moscow and Pyongyang have not officially acknowledged the presence of North Korean troops in the Russia’s war.

As reported by Radio Free Asia, the price of bribing medical professionals for a falsified tuberculosis certificate has increased fivefold within the past year, from $100 to $500. Given that the average monthly salary for a North Korean state employee is between $1 and $3, this represents a significant financial burden. However, many families are willing to pay to prevent their relatives from being sent to the battlefield.

Families of deceased soldiers receive official death certificates stating that their relatives perished during “sacred combat training in honor of the Motherland”, without specifying the actual circumstances of their deaths.

According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, North Korea is preparing for another wave of military deployments. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) anticipates that additional troops may be sent as early as mid-March, with potential monthly casualties reaching up to 45,000.

Alina Hrytsenko, an analyst at Ukraine’s National Institute for Strategic Studies, noted that North Korea’s involvement appears to be more about bolstering its own military capabilities rather than supporting Russia’s broader objectives.

Earlier, The New York Times reported that North Korean troops deployed to support Russian forces had vanished from the front lines after suffering heavy losses. According to Ukrainian and US officials, they have not been seen near the battlefield for about two weeks.