A stick figure in a North Korean soldier's diary showed how Pyongyang's soldiers wanted to use each other as drone 'fodder'

• Ukraine has been releasing excerpts of what its forces say is a North Korean soldier's diary.

• They include a stick figure sketch of using a comrade as “bait” to shoot down a drone.

• Other claims include reflections on class struggle and an undisclosed confession of stealing Russian artifacts.

Excerpts from a North Korean soldier's diary published by Ukraine show a glimpse of how Pyongyang's soldiers in Russia believed they could defend against drones and artillery strikes.

Ukrainian special forces have been publishing excerpts of the diary since Christmas week, saying the entries were written by a North Korean private named Gyeong Hong Jong, who is now dead.

The latest of these, released on Thursdayapparently showing the young soldier confessing to stealing things from his Russian relatives to sell. He did not specify what goods were stolen but wrote that they were seized.

“While I was working in the barracks, I thought no one was watching me and put the Russians' things in my pocket,” said the diary section, according to the special forces of the – Ukraine.

“I no longer trade in other people's things. I will go forward bravely and destroy the enemy,” said the soldier.

Other entries published by Ukraine included praise of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and comments on class struggle.

“I long for my country, after I left the warm welcome of my father and mother here on the territory of Russia. translated by The Wall Street Journal.

One of the earliest applications, published by Ukraine on December 26, featured a stick figure illustration of what the soldier described as “How to shoot a drone.”

The simple image showed a figure standing upright on open ground while two other figures shot a quadcopter drone.

“If a UAV is spotted, gather in groups of three,” the diary read, according to The Journal's translation. “One person must act as bait to attract the drone while the other two aiming and neutralizing it with precision shooting.The bait must keep a distance of seven meters from the drone.The other two should prepare to shoot down the drone from a distance of 10 to 12 meters.

Ukrainian special forces said the North Korean soldier also wrote about how to avoid artillery strikes. A section of his diary stated that Pyongyang soldiers were supposed to “disperse in small groups” if fired upon by artillery.

The section also said that it could hide the location of the “previous target” because it believed that artillery would not hit the same spot again.

Business Insider could not independently verify the authenticity of the diary entries. Ukraine posted photos of what it said was the soldier's body and passport. The Journal also cited a former North Korean soldier and a former South Korean general who said the choice of words in the diary was in line with the ideology and tradition of North Korean soldiers.

The soldier's diary could provide insight into how North Korean forces are changing battle doctrine to fight in Russia.

The West is concerned that Pyongyang's involvement will allow its forces learn valuable lessons from fighting in Ukraineespecially as they face American and European equipment and encounter drone warfare.

Dorothy Camille Shea, the US deputy ambassador to the UN, said on Wednesday that Pyongyang “benefits greatly from receiving Russian military equipment, technology and know-how, making it more capable of waging war against its neighbors.”

Information from West and South Korea says that 12,000 North Korean soldiers are stationed and fighting in Kursk, an area of ​​the Russian border that was attacked by Ukraine in the summer of 2024.

Moscow has not addressed the presence of Pyongyang's troops on its soil, but Ukraine has tried to emphasize North Korea's direct involvement in the war.

Recently, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy published images of what he said captured two North Korean soldiers. He did not provide evidence that they were North Korean, although Seoul's intelligence service supported his claim.

“This was not an easy task: Russian forces and other North Korean military personnel usually act on their wounds to eliminate any evidence of North Korean involvement in the war against Ukraine,” Zelenskyy wrote. He has said that about 3,000 North Korean soldiers were wounded or killed.

The thousands of North Korean soldiers are a valuable source of manpower for Russia, who are trusted massive infantry attacks on the front lines to protect Ukraine.

However, Pyongyang's strengths are still very small compared to the more than 600,000 people that Ukraine and the West believe that Moscow is lost.

Russia is believed to be giving Kim much needed support finance, economic aid, food, and technology in exchange for the last soldiers.

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