if a shit force thinks another force is shit

I doubt the Russians speak Korean or the Koreans speak Russian. No idea if they know how to use each other's hardware. Very difficult to coordinate units with that kind of gap.

If Russian commanders take this as license to use Korean soldiers as cannon fodder, I imagine that will degrade the relationship between the two countries rapidly.

I'm not seeing anything in the article about their competence being criticized. Seems like plain ol' racism to me.

Not to say the NK troops really are more competent. Their training is likely essentially the same as it was in the 50s.