Although the soldiers will not have been given a choice over whether to be deployed, Ryu thinks many will have wanted to go. The ambitious will see it as an opportunity to advance their careers, he says.
And given how tough it is to serve in North Korea, some will have relished the chance to experience life abroad for the first time.
“I think they’ll be more willing to fight than Russian troops,” he adds, admitting that in their situation, he too would have wanted to be sent.
Chun In-bum, a former commander of South Korea’s special forces, agrees with the defectors’ appraisals. “Just because they lack food and training, does not mean they are incapable. They will acclimatise quickly. We should not underestimate them.”
While 11,000 troops are unlikely to turn the tide of such an attritional war – it is estimated Russia is suffering more than a thousand casualties a day – experts and officials believe this could be just the first tranche, with Pyongyang potentially able to send up to 60,000 or even 100,000 if they are rotated.
In these numbers, Mr Chun believes they could end up being effective.
Also, Kim Jong Un will be able to shoulder big losses without affecting the stability of his regime, the former soldiers say.
“Those who have been sent will be men without influence or connections – to put it bluntly, those who can be sacrificed without issue,” Haneul says.
He remembers being shocked to learn there were no children of high-ranking parents in his frontline unit: “That’s when I realised we were expendable.”
He does not expect much resistance from the families of the deceased, whose sons, he says, will be honoured as heroes.
“There are countless parents who have lost a child after sending them to the military,” he adds, recalling his second cousin who died. His aunt received a certificate, praising her son for his heroic contribution.
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