North Koreans feign tuberculosis to avoid being sent to fight in Russia’s war against Ukraine – media
North Korean families are willing to pay more than $500 for a fake certificate of tuberculosis diagnosis to protect their men from being sent to Russia's war against Ukraine. This amount is more than 100 times the average salary in the country.
According to Censor.NET, Newsweek reports.
According to US and South Korean estimates, Kim Jong-un's regime has sent up to 12,000 troops to Russia, where they joined the fighting in the Kursk region.
It is noted that despite poverty and limited resources due to failed government policies and international sanctions, North Korea has one of the largest armies in the world, and men in the country are required to serve for ten years and women for five years. This forces families to look for ways to avoid mobilization.
According to journalists, the price for a fake certificate has increased fivefold since last year, from $100 to $500, which is a huge sum for most families, given that the average salary of a civil servant in North Korea is only $1-3.
According to the newspaper, many families are willing to pay because they fear that their men will not return alive from the front.
"There is a great fear that if their sons join the army and are sent to Russia, their parents will never see them alive again," said a resident of Ryangang Province.
According to a captured North Korean soldier who was taken by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, he was not informed in advance that he was going to Russia.
Many North Koreans were surprised by this development and did not understand who they would have to fight against.
The publication adds that the relatives of the victims receive official death certificates with the wording "sacred military exercises in honor of the Motherland" without specifying the actual circumstances of the death.
