◆Meals: Just Rice with a Spoonful of Oil
The anticipated better meals were also disappointing. In the early 2000s, meals consisted of non-sticky rice with just one spoonful of oil. Vegetables for side dishes came from military farming plots. Many suffered from malnutrition - in our 12-person unit, at least 2 were typically malnourished.
The poor meal conditions led to desertions. Many friends regretted not listening to their parents' advice against joining special forces, disappointed by the harsh training and poor food.
◆A Blind Collective Driven by 'All-Out Bombardment Spirit'
The most emphasized aspect of Storm Corps is the "All-Out Bombardment Spirit" - the ideology of sacrificing everything for the Supreme Leader.
During parachute training, we normally carried backup parachutes on our front, but Storm Corps was famous for pledging to carry bombs instead of backup chutes, willing to become human bombs falling into enemy territory.
There's a story from 1993 when, during US-ROK joint military exercises, the Storm Corps gained recognition for their loyalty by sending Kim Jong-il a letter requesting "bombs instead of backup parachutes."
I too had the consciousness of being the General's special forces. It gave us a sense of superiority as special soldiers. With ignorant pride as "suicide soldiers," we trained hard to be ready to sacrifice ourselves at a moment's notice.
In North Korea, political organizational life begins at age 9 with joining the Children's Union. Schools heavily focus on ideological education. When 17-year-olds raised in such an environment are isolated from the outside world, training to exhaustion in facilities covered with slogans like "all-out bombardmen," "defend to death," and "suicide soldier," they easily become a blind collective.
◆A Cruel Fate Awaiting Their Loyalty
The reality of Storm Corps soldiers is that they are brainwashed youth without proper meals or social experience. Looking back, I was like a moth blindly rushing toward flame.
However, what deserves criticism is the North Korean authorities exploiting pure young people. Soldiers in any country must obey orders unconditionally. The troops deployed to Ukraine are estimated to be 18-24 years old. While there are reports of North Korean soldiers being drunk or not following Russian command chains, I think these young soldiers are in extreme psychological states, experiencing war for the first time.
To Kim Jong-un, the Storm Corps is merely a tool. In a closed class society, it is too cruel that young people who chose the path of loyalty to the state to pioneer their future find their path leads only to the battlefield and death.
Who Are the North Korean Soldiers Deployed to Russia? Analysis by a Former 'Storm Corps' Member (3) Poor Training and Hunger... Disappointment in Reality, Yet "I Was Willing to Be a Suicide Soldier"
- ＜Inside North Korea＞ Worker Dispatches to Russia Expanding - Screening Criteria Unusually Relaxed... Appears to Have Increased Following Military Deployment
- ＜Inside North Korea＞ Leaflets Reach Northernmost Ryanggang Province, Causing Lockdown and Confusion - 300km from South Korea... Who Did It?
- ＜North Korea Analysis＞Reality of 'Speed Battle' Apartments - Expert: "Durability at Best 10-15 Years"
- ＜Inside N.Korea＞"No One Knows soldiers are dying in battle... It's Like a Dog's Death" Strict Silence Order on Russian Deployment Information Anxiety Spreads Among Soldiers' Parents
- ＜Inside N.Korea＞Chaos Spreads as Prices Soar - Gas More Than Doubles, Rice Up 1.65x, Currency Value Falls to One-Third... 'We'll Die Like This…'
