North Korea’s Ministry of Defense (MOD) has begun selecting train engineers for the military on the direct orders of Kim Jong Un, Daily NK has learned.
Speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, a Daily NK source in Pyongyang said Tuesday that the MOD “has been selecting young people, including graduates of Pyongyang Train Engineer Training College, according to the selection standards of last month’s No. 1 order calling for the systematic cultivation of military train engineers for the Military Railway Bureau.” A “No. 1 order” comes directly from Kim Jong Un.
According to the source, the MOD has been constantly calling for the specialized training of military train engineers.
The military complained that every time it needed trains to transport army supplies, it had to use civilian train engineers in cooperation with the Cabinet’s Ministry of Railways, complicating efforts to establish military discipline.
Many in the military urged the specialized training of military train engineers because of several other concerns, including the inability to mobilize civilian train engineers quickly in an emergency and the lack of backup personnel.
“The military also said that directly training train engineers for long-term service in the armed forces would also help maintain secrecy,” the source said.
In fact, the MOD’s No. 1 order said: “Strengthening the capacity of the Military Railway Bureau with veteran, experienced civilian train engineers is good, but constantly training engineers who can keep secrets as a reserve also maintains perfect war readiness.”
Specifically, the order called for selecting young college graduates as military train engineers, training them according to army rules and regulations, and systematically training them on simulators to become military railway commanders who can perfectly deliver supplies such as fuel oil during wartime.
Accordingly, the MOD, in cooperation with the cadre (personnel management) department of the Pyongyang Train Engineer Training College, began the selection of military railway engineers at the end of last month. It plans to complete the selection by mid-March after conducting background checks on the candidates who passed the physical examinations, along with investigations of their birth songbun and social songbun.
Songbun refers to North Korea’s class hierarchy. The country has two songbun systems – one based on one’s parents’ status at birth and one based on one’s parents’ status when one enters society at the age of majority.
The source said the candidates who ultimately pass will become uniformed military personnel, with their ranks determined by their grades at graduation – the top students will begin their military careers as senior lieutenants, while other top students will begin as lieutenants.
“The selection has been proceeding rapidly in secret since the No. 1 order to cultivate military train engineers was issued,” the source said. “The selected graduates will be sent to their units after two months of training.”
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Views expressed in this guest column do not necessarily reflect those of Daily NK. Please send any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
March 07, 2024 at 07:04AM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)