Soldiers march past the podium during a military parade in Pyongyang (Reuters)
Washington Post: North Korea claims almost 5 million have signed up to join its already enormous army
North Korea's state newspaper reported Thursday that 4.7 million students and workers have expressed a desire to enlist or reenlist in the nation's army, potentially adding a major boost in manpower to what is already one of the largest armed forces in the world.
It is difficult for outside analysts to gauge the accuracy of the report in the Rodong Sinmum newspaper. North Korean state media has issued similar claims during past moments of tension. Earlier this summer, for example, it claimed that 3.5 million citizens had signed up for the army after the United Nations imposed new sanctions on Pyongyang.
Most estimates suggest that North Korea has an unusually large number of armed forces personnel for its population of 25 million. The U.S. State Department has estimated that North Korea had more than 1.18 million armed forces personnel in 2014, making it the fourth-largest army in the world after China (2.37 million), India (1.41 million) and the United States (1.43 million).
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Update #1: North Korea: Millions sign up for military to fight against U.S. -- USA Today
Update #2: NK claims 4.7m young people volunteer to join military against US -- The Korea Herald
WNU Editor: Only 5 million?
If joining the military may save you from the coming famine then it's a no brainer!
ReplyDelete"Claiming" not "Claming'
ReplyDeleteThank Aizino
ReplyDeleteHe could have 10 million, he can't feed, train, clothe or equip what regulars he has now let alone the logistical nightmare he will have in combat.
ReplyDeleteSo, here a few facts:
ReplyDeleteNorth Korea has a standing army (active, full-time) of 1.1mn
Add to this about 600,000 reserve and 6million paramilitary (they have a 10 year conscription over there, so paramilitary is proper paramilitary, they shoot guns at age 17 - 27).
The 5million he is referring to sounds like the 6mn paramilitary, so I am surprised he didn't push the numbers up, it sounds about right.
So, going forward, the North Korean army might have up to 6 million standing army (I don't think the reserve is still existing, they are probably standing now).
Half the time those soldiers will work on farms to produce food, the other time they will be manning artillery, walk in parades etc.
"Half the time those soldiers will work on farms to produce food, the other time they will be manning artillery, walk in parades etc."
ReplyDeleteThat was an ignorant statement.