'Mere cannon fodder'?

Somewhat conflicting notions of the North Korean youngsters joining Russia's war against Ukraine appear in a remarkable Wall Street Journal story today, confirming what I published last week. Using satellite imagery, the Journal confirms that the newcomers have been outfitted in Russian uniforms at a military base in the far east and are likely to go to Kursk, to maintain the fiction that they are aiding an ally to defend its own territory. They are "mere cannon fodder," according to one South Korean observer, though others say that the short, slender, and undernourished recruits are trained as special forces operatives. Ukraine, meanwhile, has apparently added a Korean-language staff to its "I Want To Live" hotline for Russian deserters.

The article confirms that Russian casualties now exceed 600,000 killed, wounded, and missing in action.