"Late last month, North Korean state media broadcast a documentary detailing the actions of troops serving in Ukraine, which did not shy away from the deaths of its military personnel. According to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency, the program told of two soldiers Yun Jong-hyuk, 20 and Woo Wi-hyuk, 19 who found themselves surrounded but chose to kill themselves by detonating a grenade rather than be captured. The soundtrack described the young men's deaths as "heroic sacrifices.""
""It's what the North does: ideological indoctrination to educate both current soldiers and the next generation," Min Seong-jae, a professor of communication and media studies at Pace University in New York, told DW. The program depicted other similarly sacrificial suicides, which have become more prevalent since two injured North Korean soldiers surrendered to Ukrainian troops shortly after they were first deployed. "They show footage of troops committing suicide because it fits squarely into the regime's longstanding narrative of ultimate loyalty and sacrifice," Min said."
The death toll is rising among North Korean troops sent to fight for Russia against Ukraine. North Korean state media broadcast a documentary that depicted military deaths and presented suicides as heroic sacrifices. The program recounted two young soldiers who detonated a grenade to avoid capture and labeled their deaths as heroic. Propaganda emphasizes ultimate loyalty and encourages enlistment framed as self-sacrifice. Analysts attribute the narrative's reach to tight state control over domestic media that leaves few alternative perspectives. Coverage has included footage of the leader bowing before portraits of the dead and embracing grieving families.
Read at www.dw.com
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