An estimated 12,000 troops have been sent to Russia (Picture: AFP)
Thousands of North Korean soldiers deployed in Russia to fight for Vladimir Putin have reportedly taken up a new hobby after being given unfiltered access to the internet.
A source at the Financial Times cited someone who said soldiers deployed to Russia are ‘gorging’ on pornography.
Gideon Rachman, chief foreign affairs officer at the FT, said: ‘… North Korean soldiers who have deployed to Russia have never had unfettered access to the internet before. As a result, they are gorging on pornography.’
An estimated 12,000 troops have been sent to Russia to aid in Putin’s war in Ukraine.
A US Department of Defense official said they were unable to verify any ‘North Korean internet habits’ in Russia.
Access to the internet is restricted to only foreigners and government officials, with citizens in North Korea only able to access ‘Kwangmyong’ – a highly regulated intranet.
Outsiders aren’t able to access the intranet in North Korea (Picture: North Korean Tech)
In 2016, a leak allowed internet users to access North Korea’s intranet, revealing a highly-regulated service which praised Kim Jong-Un for visiting fruit farms.
The site was ‘beyond internet in the Nineties’ terrible’ – with just 28 websites, controlled by the government, from a social network (Friend.com.kp) to a recipe site (Cooks.org.kp).
Though it’s unclear if soldiers are actually ‘gorging’ on porn, soldiers sent to Russia will be given freedoms they’ve never had before in their home country as they join Putin’s forces.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky called on allies last month ‘not to hide’, adding: ‘All of us in the world have an equal interest in ending the invasion, not in prolonging it. We must therefore stop Russia and its accomplices.
‘If North Korea can intervene in a war in Europe, then the pressure on this regime is definitely insufficient.’
Two weeks ago, North Korea has denied sending brigades to join Russia’s war in Ukraine, calling the recent reports ‘groundless rumours,’ while the Kremlin branded these ‘fake news’.
Kim Jong-un and Putin agreed on a partnership at a summit in Pyongyang in June that included a mutual defence clause in case of ‘aggression’ against either of the two country.
But over the past year, there has also been evidence that North Korea has supplied weapons to Russia in exchange for military and economic support.
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