In March, the North Korean military authorities announced plans to extend the service of some military specialists by one year, but in the course of its implementation, a surprising number of specialists failed to meet the requirements for the extended service, Daily NK has learned.
“The military’s Reserve Forces Division completed the one-year service extensions for soldiers in certain specialties such as tanks, artillery and communications between mid-March and early May. But privately, officials say the division failed to achieve its intended goals,” a source in the North Korean military told Daily NK last Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The Reserve Forces Division carried out the plan by selecting soldiers who could serve longer under certain conditions. However, many of the soldiers failed to meet the requirements due to insufficient expertise and physical weakness. In the end, the division was unable to secure even half of the planned soldiers for extended service.
Daily NK reported previously that the Reserve Forces Division had instructed related units to put off the discharge of certain military specialists, scheduled for this spring, until next March, with the goal of increasing the army’s expertise and accelerating preparations for war.
However, during the two months that the service extensions were implemented, some units were unable to meet their extended service goals because of the unexpected problem of soldiers not meeting the requirements.
For example, the 108th Mechanized Division attempted to select specialists who were to be discharged this year and who could be given service extensions. But because many of them did not meet the requirements, the final number of service extensions was much smaller than planned, the source said.
Female soldiers given chance to join Workers’ Party
The exact opposite was true in communication units, however.
In a communications unit directly attached to II Corps Command, many of the soldiers who were to be discharged wanted a one-year extension to remain in the unit. As a result, the unit conducted a two-step evaluation of their expertise and selected the highest-scoring soldiers for extended service, the source said.
“While many female communications specialists are supposed to be discharged this year, those who have not gained admittance into the Workers’ Party of Korea were given a chance to join by serving an extra year in the military. Most of them are from financially struggling families in farming villages and other rural areas,” the source said.
The Reserve Forces Division’s plan to extend the service of specialists by one year was initially praised as a timely decision after the completion of military preparations for war was prioritized at a time of continuing political tension. But in the end, the division was criticized because the service extension efforts failed to achieve their initial goals.
“The positions that remain vacant at various units after the service extension efforts will have to be filled by new recruits who are currently in basic training following their enrollment this spring. This will be a critical test for the unit and staff management capabilities of the Reserve Forces Division, which is in charge of conscripting, assigning, transferring and discharging service members,” the source said.
Translated by David Carruth. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of sources living in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous for security reasons. For more information about Daily NK’s network of reporting partners and information-gathering activities, please visit our FAQ page here.
Please send any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
May 20, 2024 at 07:00AM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)