{"id":2942,"date":"2017-01-24T10:28:47","date_gmt":"2017-01-24T01:28:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.01.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang-2\/2017\/01\/report\/20170120-military-service-evasion\/"},"modified":"2018-08-24T18:20:48","modified_gmt":"2018-08-24T09:20:48","slug":"20170120-military-service-evasion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/2017\/01\/military\/20170120-military-service-evasion\/","title":{"rendered":"\uff1cN.Korea\uff1e N.Korean Military Facing Recruit Shortage Due to Increased Draft Dodgers and Deserters"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a>

Soldiers broiling corn that they stole from a nearby field. They are all skinny. September 2008. Taken by Chang Jeong-gil (ASIAPRESS)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

2017\/Jan\/20<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

An ASIAPRESS reporting partner inside North Korea reported that a number of draft evasion\u2013malingering\u2013and desertion have taken place, causing recruit shortage in the North Korean People's Army.\u00a0 Based on an interview with an officer concerned, the state authority is taking strong measures against it.<\/p>\n

In the Mid-January, the reporting partner in a Northern part of North Korea met an officer of the \u201cMilitary Service and Mobilization Division.\u201d\u00a0 It is lead by a formation instructor who belongs to Ministry of People's Armed Forces.\u00a0 Since the division is in charge of recruitment, the reporting partner asked about the supplementary recruitment of soldiers.
\n Related article: \uff1cPhoto Report on N.Korea\uff1e Starving People\u2019s Army: Mother Concerns Conscripted Son<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

He reported that \u201cAccording to an officer of the Military Service and Mobilization Division, the number of new recruits is only around 86% in proportion to the number of discharged soldiers.\u00a0 Since the military is facing recruit shortage, the state authority has ordered to conscript every potential recruit\u2013except people with a serious physical problem.\u00a0 Therefore, the division has already started to go to each school to carry out medical checks for the next recruitment in the coming spring.\u00a0 It is because parents often scheme to prevent their children from getting drafted\u2013such as faking sickness\u2013when the recruitment season approaches.\u00a0 This time, the Military Service and Mobilization Division has intended to conduct medical checks before the evasion occurs.\u201d<\/p>\n

What is the fundamental reason for the shortage of soldiers in the North Korean People's Army?\u00a0 In fact, the social chaos and famine in the mid-1990s have given birth to the phenomenon.\u00a0 A huge number of children including toddlers starved to death during the period.\u00a0 Those who managed to survive have extremely smaller body due to malnutrition.\u00a0 Moreover, declining birth rate was accelerated since more and more people could not afford to raise children.\u00a0 At present, the \u201cgeneration of famine\u201d has occupied a considerable number of soldiers in the army.\u00a0 This is the biggest cause of the lack of soldiers.\u00a0 The shortage has inevitably throttled the conventional troop organization and formation.
\n Related article: Soldier\u2019s Hard Life 5. Poorly Nourished Young Soldiers: Soldiers\u2019 hunger started from 80\u2019s.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

From 2013, reportedly, the Kim Jong-un regime has lowered down the minimum standard of height from 145 cm to 142 cm for men.\u00a0 In 2014, the period of the military service was extended by a year: 11 years for men and seven years for women.\u00a0 They are the attempts to solve the recruit shortage.<\/p>\n[Note: A source said that the period of the military service was changed again at the end of 2016 although the information has not been confirmed yet.]\n

Next page:\u00a0 Other problems<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a>

Military engineers being transferred to a hospital due to malnutrition. July 2007, in South Pyongan Province. Taken by Kim Dong-cheol(ASIAPRESS)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Other problems are draft evasion and desertion, escaping the military, as mentioned above.\u00a0 The ordinary North Koreans are not suffering from food shortage while malnutrition has still plaguing soldiers\u2013over a million people, 5% of the entire population.\u00a0 The state cannot provide them with a sufficient amount of rice due to financial difficulty.\u00a0 Therefore, parents go out of their ways-such as bribing and malingering\u2013to prevent children\u2019s conscription, or at least send them to a \u201cwealthier\u201d division.<\/p>\n

The reporter added that \u201cA number of children, who were drafted last year, have come back home due to \u201csickness.\u201d\u00a0 Some even pretended to have an epileptic seizure.\u00a0 Around eight young people went to the military from my town last year, but three of them have already come back home.\u00a0 They even said that \u201cIt\u2019s better to die next to my parents rather than starving to death in the military.\u00a0 I will never go back there.\u201d\u00a0 Regarding those who evaded the conscription, (the state authority) forces their parents to undergo political indoctrinations.\u00a0 If the parents are the members of the Party, they are expelled or discharged from the positions.\u201d
\n Related article: \uff1cPhoto Report on N.Korea\uff1e N.Korean People\u2019s Army Facing State of Starvation<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

However, the phenomenon of the draft evasion has not been eradicated yet.<\/p>\n

The reporting partner described the atmosphere inside North Korea that \u201cIn many cases, fake sickness is accompanied by paying bribes in order to evade the punishment.\u201d\u00a0 Although undergoing the military service is necessary to be a member of the Party or getting promoted in an organization, young people do not care about it anymore.\u00a0 They know the significance of money, and prefer to earn money in the real world as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Kim Jong-un regime puts stresses the slogan of the North Korean People's Army, \u201cServe for the motherland.\u201d\u00a0 However, the new generation is indifferent to the state-imposed ideology as the marketization has gained the momentum.\u00a0 Contrary to the previous generations, the draft evasion\u2013an unprecedented phenomenon\u2013has been taking place. (ISHIMARU Jiro)<\/p>\n

Related article\u3011<\/strong>
\n \u25c6 Korean People\u2019s Army Extends 10 Year Service Term To 11 Years<\/a><\/span>
\n \u25c6 The Testimony of a Starving Soldier: \u201cHalf of us are malnourished\u201d<\/a><\/span>
\n \u25c6 \u3008Photo Report 4\u3009Inspection At The Metro Station Entrance \u2013 \u201cNo Shabby Cloths, No Large Luggage!\u201d<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"rimjingang_banner001\"<\/a>*\u00a0Editor\u2019s notes on North Korean reporters<\/a>
\n <\/a>ALL REPORTS >>><\/a> <\/strong><\/span>
\n ARCHIVE(pdf) >><\/a><\/span>
\n DPRK MAP >><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  2017\/Jan\/20 An ASIAPRESS reporting partner inside North Korea reported that a number of draft evasion\u2013malingering\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3553,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[5,7],"tags":[21],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2942"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2942"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2942\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}