The video appears to show a North Korean soldier watching lewd videos in Russia

A video shared on social media purports to show what a North Korean soldier in Russia does in his free time.

“It is reported that the video shows a North Korean mercenary fighting on the side of the Russian Federation while watching dancing girls on social networks,” wrote the pro-Kiev X channel MilitaryNewsUa.

The unverified clip, which was shared on other social media channels, shows the soldier in his barracks watching a clip on his cell phone. This follows Kiev’s statement that Pyongyang has sent around 11,000 troops to Russia’s Kursk region to join Vladimir Putin’s forces fighting Ukrainian forces that carried out an incursion into the border region on August 6.

While the prospect of a third country entering the war started by Putin raises concerns, there are doubts about the training and capabilities of North Korean troops, not to mention their lack of Russian language skills.

Newsweek the Russian Defense Ministry has asked for comment.

A Financial Times A journalist reported on November 5 that North Korean troops had unrestricted access to the Internet after withdrawing from the secret state, and many were using this newfound freedom to view pornography.

It has also been reported that Russian soldiers feel some resentment towards their new comrades. A clip posted on Telegram last week showed a clip recorded by a Russian soldier lamenting the better living conditions for North Korean soldiers.

“I’ll show you the accommodation of our new friends,” the unnamed soldier in WarTranslated’s (Dmitri) says of a stove, a television and bunks as “we live in the mud.”

“Putin’s elite have somehow managed to become not just second-rate but third-rate soldiers in their own army,” WarTranslated (Dmitri) wrote alongside the footage.

There are also doubts about the combat readiness of the troops sent by Pyongyang. Kim Young Hee, a North Korean refugee, has questioned media reports that portrayed them as elite soldiers belonging to the secret state’s 11th Army Corps, noting that they appeared pale and relatively small.

“I wonder if they are really special forces,” Kim said, according to the Korea Times. “The special forces are physically fit and athletic because they are well fed and receive special training.”

In contrast, “the soldiers she saw looked malnourished and resembled ordinary soldiers I encountered in rural areas of North Korea.”