More than 5,000 soldiers who completed military service deployed to coal mines, fishing villages
More than 5,000 soldiers who had completed their military service or had received an early discharge have reportedly been deployed to so-called “rough and dangerous areas” such as coal mines, farms, and fishing villages.
The move follows a decision by the North Korean government to shorten the country’s military service requirement from nine or 10 years to seven or eight years for men, and from six or seven years to five years for women.
A source told Daily NK on Mar. 25 that the Second Division of the Supplementary Ranks Bureau (in charge of dispatching and discharging troops) chose about 5,000 people and sent related orders to each branch of the military.
As a result, the first group of troops who would have received early discharge from the military this spring (with the second annual discharge period scheduled to take place in the fall) was forcibly discharged to various areas of the country without being able to return home. Despite a claim by the state-run “DPRK Today” on Mar. 23 that the group volunteered for the deployment, members of the group were not given a choice, according to the source’s account. .......
[Source: Daily NK]
