North Korean elites will use their power to ensure the military does not deploy their sons to Russia, according to a former DPRK diplomat, arguing that the troop dispatch to fight Ukraine is unlikely to spark a backlash against the regime. 

Ri Il Kyu, a former political counselor at the North Korean Embassy in Cuba, delivered his assessment at an event in Seoul on Friday, amid speculation that sending troops to fight in a foreign war will trigger domestic expressions of discontent.

“Since these people have power, they know the size of the dispatched troops and which units are