Cairo: Hani Kamal El-Din
A report published by the New York Post (NYP) has revealed an unusual situation involving North Korean soldiers deployed in Russia to participate in military operations in Ukraine. According to the article, these soldiers were given unprecedented unrestricted access to the internet for the first time, which led to them actively watching pornographic content.
Gideon Rachman, an international affairs journalist for the Financial Times, cited a reliable source stating that North Korean soldiers deployed in Russia had never previously had full internet access. Once they were granted this privilege, they began consuming pornography in significant amounts.
Rachman reported that the source emphasized the unprecedented nature of the internet access for these soldiers, who had never experienced such freedom before. This newfound access appears to have influenced their behavior, with many of them immersing themselves in explicit content.
Later, the NYP reached out to Charles Ditz, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Defense, for a formal comment. However, Ditz could not confirm the information provided by the New York Post, choosing instead to focus on the more serious aspects of North Korea’s involvement in Russia’s military operations in Ukraine. He stated, “As fascinating as this may sound, I cannot confirm any internet habits or extracurricular virtual activities of North Korean soldiers in Russia.”
Additionally, the NYP pointed out that the psychological and cultural impact of internet access on these North Korean soldiers, who have been raised in a highly controlled environment, remains uncertain. North Korea has long imposed severe restrictions on internet access within the country, allowing only limited access to state-approved information. As a result, the experience of these soldiers in Russia, with its wide-open access to the internet, is both unexpected and unique.
This development raises questions about how unrestricted internet access could affect North Korean soldiers, who are among the most tightly controlled military personnel in the world. The effects on their personal behavior, as well as on their morale and military performance in Ukraine, remain to be seen.
While this issue may seem distant from the main focus of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, it highlights the influence of modern technology on soldiers from countries with closed regimes like North Korea. This experience could lead to significant behavioral changes among these soldiers, which might, in turn, affect their interactions with their Russian counterparts and even their performance in the ongoing conflict.
