North Korean soldiers collapse during winter exercises as hunger and fatigue take toll

As gear-laden North Korean soldiers trudge through the woods as part of their yearly winter exercises, which have been underway since Dec. 1, many are reportedly collapsing from exhaustion.

“Units with the V Corps, which is stationed in Pyonggang county, are having soldiers march in full gear every Saturday. Intense training in the extreme cold is pushing soldiers to their physical limits,” a source in North Korea’s Kangwon province told Daily NK recently.

According to the source, these forced marches in full gear, called loaded marches, are an integral part of the yearly winter exercises. They are considered necessary for developing soldiers’ physical strength and combat endurance.

In the V Corps’ Saturday marches this month, soldiers have trekked 10 kilometers through the hills while carrying 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of gear, including their weapons.

With these grueling exercises held every week, soldiers are reaching their physical limits and sometimes dropping to the ground from sheer fatigue.

“These loaded marches are tough to complete if you’re physically weak. Soldiers are expected to carry a heavy load for a distance that wouldn’t be easy to hike without any load at all. So every week, some soldiers fall by the wayside, unable to endure the strain,” the source said.

“Lack of fortitude” met with admonishment, not medical care

Exhausted soldiers are admonished by their commanders for “lack of fortitude.”

“If you can’t handle this kind of training, you’d have died ten times over in a real war,” one commander reportedly said.

“Pretend you’re at war and pick up the pace,” another was quoted as saying.

“If you have enough mental stamina, there’s nothing you can’t do,” another said.

“Officers are trying to bolster the physical and mental stamina of soldiers who may be called to fight in a war, but problematically, they aren’t showing any consideration for soldiers’ health. Soldiers end up having to be admitted to the hospital in a large number of cases,” the source said.

“It’s doubtful whether driving soldiers so hard without any consideration for their individual condition actually aids their physical or psychological training.”

Units in other corps are facing a similar predicament.

Units with the X Corps, stationed in Kapsan county, Ryanggang province, also have to perform loaded marches every week. There as well, soldiers have been regularly dropping with exhaustion during the grueling exercises.

“There’s a stretch where you have to march with your gas mask. That’s where a lot of soldiers run out of steam. Soldiers who collapse need immediate medical attention. But instead, they’re kicked and insulted by their officers, who accuse them of malingering,” a source in Ryanggang province said.

“An unusually large number of soldiers are collapsing during training this year,” the source said, pointing to nutritional inadequacies as well as soldiers’ physical deterioration and accumulated fatigue from being constantly assigned to public service projects.

“Soldiers nowadays are sent around the country for so many work projects they feel more like members of a labor brigade than a military unit. When those jobs are complete, they need a chance to rest and recuperate. But instead they’ve been sent straight to intense training, and that’s more than many can handle,” the source said.

“The biggest issue that needs to be addressed is soldiers’ diet. While they may receive larger portions and better-quality food for the duration of their training, North Korean soldiers have to deal with hunger on a routine basis. It doesn’t make sense to subject soldiers to intense training without feeding them properly.”

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