This image from a video posted Oct. 18 on X by Ukraine's Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security shows what the center claims are North Korean soldiers deployed to Russia. Human rights groups in South Korea are set to issue a joint open letter urging North Korean troops deployed in Russia not to sacrifice their lives for Moscow's war efforts against Ukraine, according to an activist familiar with the matter. Yonhap

Human rights groups in South Korea will issue a joint open letter urging North Korean troops deployed in Russia not to sacrifice their lives for Moscow's war efforts against Ukraine, said an activist familiar with the matter.

Shin Hee-seok, a representative of the Transitional Justice Working Group, a Seoul-based NGO, told The Korea Times, Wednesday, that around 10 organizations are collectively drafting a statement aimed at "saving and awakening" more than 10,000 North Korean troops fighting on the frontline in Russia's Kursk region.

"The gist of our message will be this: The war initiated by Russia's military was an invasion, and there is no justification for you (North Korean troops) to support it. Why should you die for Russia? You have to make the right choice," said Shin, one of the key people behind the open letter plan, adding that it is expected to be released in the coming days.

This moves comes as North Korean soldiers are engaging in combat operations alongside Russian troops attempting to retake land lost to Ukraine's military in the Kursk region. According to South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS), North Korean troops have already begun participating in the battlefield.

Most of the North Korean troops who arrived in Russia last month are believed to be in their late teens and early 20s, according to the NIS. Many of these young soldiers, now connected to the outside world for the first time through the internet, could potentially be influenced by the sincere message from the human rights groups, Shin said.

The rights activists think that their message would be able to reach the North Koreans in the battlefield, based on some media reports that the soldiers have experienced "unrestricted access to the internet" and that many have been "gorging on pornography."

"We hope more international organizations will join our continuing efforts to persuade the North Koreans," Shin said.

The Russian army's Solntsepyok multiple rocket launcher fires at Ukrainian positions in the border region of Kursk, Russia, in this photo captured from a video released by Russian Defense Ministry press service, Wednesday. AP-Yonhap

On Tuesday (U.S. time), Vedant Patel, principal deputy spokesman for the U.S. State Department, also confirmed that more than 10,000 North Korean military forces in Russia began engaging in combat operations after being briefly trained in artillery, drone and infantry missions, including trench clearing operations, which he said are critical skills for frontline operations.

However, Pyongyang has so far kept the information about the deployment of its troops in Russia secret from the public.

According to the Ministry of Unification, this is likely due to the grave political risks associated with what could unfold on the battlefield.

Speaking to reporters, Thursday, a ministry official said the North Korean regime might have concluded that keeping the information hidden would be in its best political interest.

"Perhaps they didn't feel comfortable with the idea of officially acknowledging that they had sent troops to an unjustifiable, illegal war," the official said. "They are sending thousands of young soldiers to fight that war, and they can't even tell the truth to their own people. This is another example of the deceptive nature of the regime," the official said.

However, experts believe that Pyongyang's strategy of keeping the deployment secret is not sustainable. If too many troops are killed on the battlefield or if a significant number escape to other countries, North Korea could be forced to disclose the situation to the public.