{"id":4576,"date":"2020-05-18T14:14:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-18T05:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.01.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/?p=4576"},"modified":"2022-05-16T18:01:10","modified_gmt":"2022-05-16T09:01:10","slug":"ban-soldiers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/2020\/05\/recommendations\/ban-soldiers\/","title":{"rendered":"\uff1cInside N. Korea\uff1e COVID-19 Countermeasures Ban Soldiers from Leaving Bases, Leading to Widespread Malnourishment"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Military engineers being transferred to a hospital due to malnutrition. July 2011, in South Pyongan Province. Taken by Kim Dong-cheol(ASIAPRESS)<\/p><\/div>\n

Since February, the Kim Jong-un regime has thoroughly isolated its military personnel from the public in order to prevent spreading the coronavirus. According to various reporting partners living in the northern part of the country, there are still few soldiers on the streets. Of the few soldiers that are seen, most are said to be military police on patrol. Meanwhile, those in lockdown on the bases are said to be in deteriorating conditions and facing major nutritional deficiencies. (Kang Ji-won\/ISHIMARU Jiro)<\/p>\n

How has the coronavirus been affecting the People\u2019s Army? ASIAPRESS launched an investigation into the issue in May.<\/p>\n

A reporting partner told ASIAPRESS on May 13, \u201cCurrently, the only group of soldiers seen off-base is the unit working on the military\u2019s paddy fields. They do not go back and forth from the base though. Rather, they set up tents next to the fields. Normally, soldiers would be supporting the cooperative farms at this time of year, but no soldiers have been mobilized to do so this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u25c6 Nutritional deficiencies due to lockdown<\/h2>\n

It is common knowledge that the diet of North Korean soldiers is very poor. This is because the government cannot secure enough food to feed 1 million soldiers and because food supplies are often stolen from the military.<\/p>\n

Malnutrition is especially common during the so-called \u201cbarley hump,\u201d the period from April to late June, when grain supplies from the previous harvest run out before new grain is ready to be harvested. Particularly in the last 5-6 years, well-off families have found ways to pay for their sons in the military to be fed better. The method by which they do this is by leaving cash at a private house close to their son\u2019s military base. Stopping by the house, the soldier will be treated to bread, tofu, and other snacks. Particularly well-off families can even pay to leave a mobile phone to be used by their son at the house. In addition, families can also bribe officers directly to ensure their son is provided with nutritious food from the officer\u2019s home.<\/p>\n

With soldiers banned from leaving their bases, however, it has become very difficult for soldiers to access these usual supplements to their diet. As the reporting partner explained, malnutrition has become widespread in the military.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I asked those with children assigned to units in Gangwon and Hwanghae Province, they said that their children have not been allowed to leave the base. Some parents are worried because they have not been able to reach their children at all since March. Another concern is that, with their income cut due to the coronavirus, they no longer can make enough money to send remittances to their children. The local residents near the bases are said to be asking for twice the amount of money they would normally charge for delivering remittances and food to soldiers visiting their houses. It is also said that, recently, officers must be given additional bribes to grant soldiers extra food supplies.\u201d
\nNext page :\u25a0 Malnourished soldiers on the rise...<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u25c6 Malnourished soldiers on the rise<\/h2>\n

Border patrol officers serving along the Chinese border are also said to be in need.<\/p>\n

According to a reporting partner living in Ryanggang Province, \u201cThe border guards are not allowed to go on patrol, so the income they would normally make from turning a blind eye to smuggling has disappeared. Residents living near the bases are waiting for the soldiers to be able to go off base again so that they can be paid [to provide them food] again. Everyone is having a difficult time.\u201d<\/p>\n

So how is the military dealing with the problem of malnourishment in its ranks?<\/p>\n

According to the reporting partner, \u201cBefore [the coronavirus crisis], severely malnourished soldiers were sent back home or given residence in an officer\u2019s home to be nursed back to health. Now though, because these soldiers are especially vulnerable to infectious diseases, they are taken to live separately elsewhere, in guard posts for example. Soldiers who appear very weak and under-weight are excluded from ordinary training and given lighter duties such as cleaning.\u201d<\/p>\n

ASIAPRESS reporting partners attempted to find out which bases had been hit by coronavirus outbreaks but did not turn up any information.<\/p>\n

\u25c6 Despite difficulties, soldiers mobilized for military construction projects<\/h2>\n

In a speech at the ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of a hospital in Pyongyang on March 17, Kim Jong-un said he would leave the work in the hands of \u201cthe soldiers of the Guards Brigade and the 8th Construction Bureau, the construction units I trust the most.\u201d Both are units of the People\u2019s Army which specialize in construction.<\/p>\n

While isolating military units from the general public to avoid coronavirus infections, the Kim Jong-un regime is pushing ahead with mobilization efforts for its top priority construction projects.<\/p>\n

In an editorial published on May 14 by the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the Workers\u2019 Party of Korea, the general public was urged to \u201cdemonstrate the people\u2019s unity\u201d to support the military\u2019s construction efforts. With the economy hit hard by the effects of the coronavirus, this can be read as a request for residents to provide money to support the construction efforts of mobilized soldiers. Though coronavirus prevention measures have stopped families from supplementing the diets of soldiers, it has not stopped the regime from exploiting its people for labor and resources.<\/p>\n

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