'Can't verify': Pentagon responds to claims North Korean troops ‘gorging on pornography’ in Russia

The US Department of Defence on Thursday said that it “can’t verify claims” suggesting that North Korean troops sent to Russia to bolster Vladimir Putin’s forces are consuming online pornography as they now have less restricted internet access.

The comments came after Financial Times’ chief foreign affairs columnist Gideon Rachman had posted on X that North Korean soldiers, fighting Ukraine alongside Russia, have reportedly grown addicted to porn after getting unrestricted internet access.

“A usually reliable source tells me that the North Korean soldiers who have deployed to Russia have never had unfettered access to the internet before. As a result, they are gorging on pornography,” Rachman posted on X.

According to an Independent report, Defence Spokesperson Major Charlie Dietz said he couldn’t verify “any North Korean internet habits or virtual ‘extracurriculars’” taking place in Russia.

“As for internet access, that’s a question best directed to Moscow. Right now, our attention remains on supporting Ukraine and addressing the more significant regional security concerns,” Dietz was quoted as saying.

While internet access in Russia is not entirely unrestricted, it is significantly more open than in North Korea, which remains one of the most tightly controlled countries in the world with strict limitations on its citizens’ access to the internet.

As of October 2024, North Korea ranks at the bottom for internet penetration, according to an Independent report, citing Statista.

Earlier this week, Ukrainian and North Korean troops engaged in small-scale combat for the first time, marking the beginning of Pyongyang’s direct involvement in the conflict, Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umerov told South Korea’s public broadcaster KBS.

North Korean soldiers are reportedly embedded with Russian forces and have altered their uniforms, making it difficult to verify any casualties, Umerov said.

He also anticipated that around five North Korean units, each consisting of approximately 3,000 soldiers, would be deployed to the Kursk region, near Russia’s border with Ukraine.

With inputs from agencies