What do we know about north korean military doctrine?
I know, at least at the start of the war in Ukraine, russia very much suffered from how little agency and autonomy they give NCOs and lower ranked officers. And while I can’t imagine north korea trusting anyone with anything, these are also their military troops who actually get fed and have hostages back home to keep too many of them from fleeing.
For me it is more a question of who is in charge. Are they effectively russian soldiers and the interpreters are relaying orders from moscow? Are they still north korean soldiers and orders come from pyongyang (after discussions with moscow) and the interpreter is just so they can communicate with allied forces? Or are they basically doing whatever they need to do to achieve a general objective?
I would expect the interpreters to be North Korean military people who are fluent in Russian. They can understand the order and then dictate it in a culturally appropriate manner. But this is Russia and DPRK, so they probably aren’t worried about that. I would also expect that the soldiers, are reporting to a normal unit commander for the same reason.
Like your final question mentions, at the end of the day, we dont really know what role they will fulfill. It could be logistical. It could be meat grinder.
What do we know about north korean military doctrine?
I know, at least at the start of the war in Ukraine, russia very much suffered from how little agency and autonomy they give NCOs and lower ranked officers. And while I can’t imagine north korea trusting anyone with anything, these are also their military troops who actually get fed and have hostages back home to keep too many of them from fleeing.
This is an interesting question. It is possible that they train with interpreters in mind.
I doubt that.
For me it is more a question of who is in charge. Are they effectively russian soldiers and the interpreters are relaying orders from moscow? Are they still north korean soldiers and orders come from pyongyang (after discussions with moscow) and the interpreter is just so they can communicate with allied forces? Or are they basically doing whatever they need to do to achieve a general objective?
Agreed, mainly speculatory. So is this 🙂
I would expect the interpreters to be North Korean military people who are fluent in Russian. They can understand the order and then dictate it in a culturally appropriate manner. But this is Russia and DPRK, so they probably aren’t worried about that. I would also expect that the soldiers, are reporting to a normal unit commander for the same reason.
Like your final question mentions, at the end of the day, we dont really know what role they will fulfill. It could be logistical. It could be meat grinder.