SEOUL: An international report revealed the North Korean regime’s inhumane attempt to freeze the bodies of its war dead.
According to National Iraqi News Agency, the report stated that as the Russian-Ukrainian war entered its fourth year, the international community was shocked by reports alleging that the North Korean regime refused to return the bodies of its soldiers who were illegally deployed and subsequently killed on the Kursk Battlefield, and instead sought to preserve them through the controversial “freeze-drying” technique known as “the promise.”
The report added that although the horrific human rights record of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s regime has long been widely known, its refusal to repatriate its dead and its bizarre approach to managing their remains underscores the regime’s brutality and disregard for basic human dignity.
It explained that many countries are seeking to repatriate the remains of their soldiers in the farthest reaches of the world, including the United States. South Korea has a dedicated organization to recover its fallen military personnel and is making every effort to return their remains to their families. South Korea has also consistently repatriated the remains of Chinese soldiers discovered there, demonstrating humanitarian values and respect for national dignity.
In contrast, the report highlighted that the North Korean regime has shown complete disregard even for its own martyrs by refusing to repatriate them, instead resorting to an unprecedented and morally reprehensible attempt to freeze and desiccate their remains. This is clear evidence that the regime prioritizes its security over basic human dignity.
The report pointed out that North Korea has provided ammunition, missiles, and other military equipment in support of the regime, and after strengthening relations with Vladimir Putin at the Vostochny Summit in September 2023, Kim Jong Un escalated his support by deploying approximately 12,000 North Korean troops to Kursk, a Russian region occupied by Ukrainian forces. These North Korean forces reportedly suffered nearly 4,000 casualties.
Russia reportedly attempted to repatriate hundreds of dead North Korean soldiers, but North Korea refused. Instead, North Korean officials stationed abroad reportedly sought facilities capable of rapidly freezing and grinding human remains-a practice known as ‘cryo-freezing.’
Cryo-freezing, developed by Swedish biologist Susanne Wey-Masak in 1997, involves rapidly freezing human remains with liquid nitrogen at -196°C, then shaking and drying them into a powder before burial. However, this practice has not been widely adopted, due to psychological resistance as well as practical concerns. North Korea’s continued use of this technique, despite these problems, suggests a deliberate attempt to permanently destroy evidence of its illegal troop deployment.
The report concluded that no matter how much the North Korean regime tightens its control through surveillance and repression, parents will not suffer and remain silent once they realize that their children have been sent to die in vain on a foreign battlefield. If this horrific reality spreads throughout North Korea, it could severely destabilize the population.