Half of N. Korea’s First Corps not ready to take part in winter training
A source told Daily NK on Monday that North Korea’s First Corps has been hit so badly by malnutrition, desertions, and quarantines related to COVID-19 that only half of its personnel is able to take part in this year’s winter training (December-March).
Rumor has it that the corps’ staff officers as well as the General Staff Department were dumbstruck when this unprecedentedly bad conclusion was deduced during a recent internal count carried out in preparation of the training.
According to the source, who is based in Gangwon Province, the General Staff Department’s Ninth Operations Training Department – the section that handles training execution and evaluations – ordered North Korea’s entire military on Nov. 24 to report per-unit statistics on how many personnel will actually take part in training versus the unit’s total formation strength.
In North Korea, all personnel mobilized for outside activities, training, side jobs, construction and other projects must return to their units by the end of November. Even if there are unavoidable circumstances such as deployment to national construction projects, personnel must take part in two weeks of the first month of training (December). ......
[Source: Daily NK]
