Mick Hartley

The North Korean Kim cult has always had a strong religious feel – and it’s getting stronger. The comparison here with Islamic glorification of martyrdom in the service of Allah is hard to ignore:

North Korea’s military is using stories of soldiers who detonated themselves in the Russia-Ukraine war as indoctrination material, telling troops “if you give your life, you’ll live forever.”

According to a Daily NK source in the North Korean military recently, the North Korean army has emphasized the “heroic services” of North Korean soldiers who chose to blow themselves up in the war against Ukraine during political classes held at least twice a week.

At their heart, the lessons emphasize the loyalty of the soldiers who gave their lives to carry out North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s orders. They also promote the propaganda message that the soldiers “achieved a record of distinction unmatched even by the Russian soldiers.”

In particular, the North Korean army openly highlights the soldiers’ sacrifices with the message, “If you give your life, you live forever.” A new slogan has even emerged — “Let’s learn from the warriors who blew themselves up.”

It’s a hard sell, getting young men to get killed in the service of Russia’s quasi-fascist war on Ukraine so that Kim can get more of the high-tech military fix he needs to survive. Desperate measures are required. Desperate propaganda. At least they haven’t got to the 76 virgins awaiting in paradise stage.yet.

In particular, the slogan, “If you give your life, you’ll live forever,” is along the same lines as North Korea’s longstanding doctrine that its leadership lives forever, an idea that has continued since the Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il era. By elevating North Korea’s former leaders to transcendent status and packaging the loyalty that binds them to the public as a religious concept of “eternal life,” North Korea has emphasized personal sacrifice as a virtue.