The Russia-Ukraine war began in full force on February 24, 2022, when Russia launched a wide-scale invasion into Ukraine.
The war quickly became a brutal, high-tech, and drawn-out affair. By 2023, Ukraine had begun to push back effectively, buoyed by extensive military aid from NATO countries and the European Union. As 2024 turned into 2025, the conflict settled into a devastating stalemate—both sides enduring heavy casualties, with neither gaining a decisive edge.
Whereas Ukraine gets help from its allies, so does Russia, which also receives ammunition, manpower, and logistical support from its own allies.
And one of Vladimir Putin's comrade is Kim Jong-un, the North Korean politician and supreme leader.
After sending its soldiers to aid the Russians, apparently, many of the North Korean soldiers got hooked into pornography.
The news was made public by Gideon Rachman, a journalist and chief foreign affairs officer for Financial Times.
This happened after the North Korean soldiers get their first taste of the internet.
Around 10,000 North Korean soldiers had arrived in Russia, with orders to fight alongside the Russians. And while on duty, soldiers have internet access, and this is what the North Korean regime, specifically the Korean People’s Army (KPA) General Staff Department, may have failed to intercept.
Russia has a restricted internet access, which is far more restricted that those in the West. However, it's still far more open than what North Koreans have.
North Korean, being the world’s most tightly controlled countries that notoriously restricts its citizen’s access to the global internet, is first in the rankings of lowest internet penetration rate as of October 2024, according to Statista.
As a result of these soldiers getting their first foreign internet, many of them are "gorging on pornography", before even stepping foot onto any field, reports said.
In other words, being hooked to online pornography means that the soldiers from the hermit kingdom engaged in battle in Ukraine for the first time purportedly started fighting different demons.
"A usually reliable source tells me that the 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," Gideon Rachman said.
A usually reliable source tells me that the 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.
— Gideon Rachman (@gideonrachman) November 5, 2024
The claims have prompted a response from the the U.S. Department of Defense.
Hearing North Korea’s soldiers’ new internet habit, Maj Charlie Dietz said he was unable to verify “any North Korean internet habits or virtual ‘extracurriculars’” in Russia.
"As for internet access, that’s a question best directed to Moscow," he added. "Right now, our attention remains on supporting Ukraine and addressing the more significant regional security concerns."
North Korea's involvement with Russia's war with Ukraine began quietly, behind the scenes.
In late 2023, reports surfaced that Pyongyang was supplying artillery shells, rockets, and other munitions to Moscow. This support helped fill gaps in Russia’s war machine, particularly as international sanctions choked its ability to replenish supplies. But things didn’t stop there. Soon after, whispers grew louder about North Korean laborers and military engineers being sent to Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, particularly in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
They were reportedly involved in reconstruction, logistics, and even certain military-adjacent tasks.
Read: Ukraine Asks Underground Hackers For Help In Its War Against Russia
By early 2025, more provocative claims emerged. According to intelligence leaks and defector testimonies, North Korean soldiers had quietly arrived on or near the front lines—possibly to observe modern warfare, gain combat experience, or assist Russian troops in limited roles.
It was during this deployment that some of these soldiers reportedly encountered the internet for the very first time—leading to, among other things, an unexpected addiction to online pornography. A darkly ironic twist, considering North Korea’s hyper-controlled domestic censorship.
As for why North Korea risks such involvement? The answer is strategic and mutual.
Russia provides Pyongyang with vital resources—energy, food, and perhaps military technology. In return, North Korea offers cheap labor, arms, and loyalty. Both regimes are internationally isolated and see value in standing together against a Western-dominated world order. And while the official channels remain tight-lipped, their partnership in the shadows is growing stronger by the day.
It's worth noting that during war, power isn't only wielded through missiles and manpower—propaganda becomes a weapon of its own.
In the digital age, where the internet is accessible even in the heat of conflict, those involved—along with their supporters and allies—flood online spaces with carefully crafted messages designed to boost morale, demonize the enemy, and sway public opinion.
Our soldiers have captured North Korean military personnel in the Kursk region. Two soldiers, though wounded, survived and were transported to Kyiv, where they are now communicating with the Security Service of Ukraine.
This was not an easy task: Russian forces and other North… pic.twitter.com/5J0hqbarP6— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 11, 2025
Read: Russia 'Sexualizes Ukraine War' By Creating Online Recruitment Video With Attractive Young Women
