At a congress, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un called youth a key force for fulfilling the tasks of the Workers' Party of Korea and campaigned to go to war in Ukraine on the side of the Russian Federation.
Points of attention
- Kim Jong-un is actively mobilizing North Korean youth to support Russia's military actions in Ukraine.
- The dictator is strengthening ideological control and emphasizing the role of youth as the vanguard in implementing party decisions.
Kim Jong-un is agitating young people to go to war against Ukraine
The 11th congress of the Socialist Patriotic Youth League, which is held in North Korea every five years for young men and women aged 14 to 30, was held in Pyongyang the day before.
The event concluded this week with mass rallies, torchlight processions, and a gala concert.
At the event, Kim told delegates that youth are the "vanguard" in advancing state goals, calling the league a key force for implementing party decisions. He called for stronger organization and ideological discipline.
According to Reuters, a letter from the ruling Labor Party to congress participants stated that young soldiers sent to overseas operations "became weapons and fire" to defend the country's honor.
According to South Korean, Ukrainian and Western officials, North Korea has sent approximately 14,000 troops to fight alongside Russian troops in the Kursk region, with more than 6,000 North Korean soldiers killed.
Last month, Pyongyang opened a memorial to its fallen soldiers. Amidst tightening ideological control, the North Korean government is also severely restricting the influence of foreign culture, including South Korean music, films and slang.
