Corruption and Malnutrition Sap NK Military’s Morale and Readiness

Required reading for DPRK military watchers, via the Daily NK:

The most serious problem is malnutrition spreading in the North Korean military. Before the food shortage, 800g of rice, 200g of meat was the official amount provided for one day, the soldiers have not been receiving the official amount for more than 10 years. It does not seem to be improving either. Rice has been replaced with corn or potato, and meat is only provided for holidays. Military bases try to run greenhouses and farms, but they fail for the lack of materials and proper management.

A military base where it is announced that Kim Jong Il is visiting, borrows vegetables and meat from nearest villages for “˜food inspection’ and returns them.

Lim Young Soo (25, North Korean defector) who used to be a part of Military Base 407 says, “Only 5 remained in the military among 100 whom I joined the military with. Some died during construction or became handicapped. Some returned home when they were (temporarily) discharged for hardship.

Mr. Lim says, “Even if you are malnourished, without connection, you can’t go home. If you die in the military base, you are buried on the hill”. The comment reveals that malnutrition in North Korea has reached a very serious level.

Read the rest on your own. Related posts here and here.