‘Three bullets, mouldy rice’: North Korean soldiers endure shortages, dire conditions

4 days ago 48

SEOUL - North Korean soldiers endure brutal conditions, grappling with severe shortages of essentials – from bullets for training to food – and at times survive on corn powder or even mouldy rice, according to a report by a South Korean state-run research institute.

The Korea Institute for National Unification (Kinu) on Feb 3 released a report titled Military Life Of North Korean People, which details the harsh realities faced by North Korean conscripts under the Kim Jong-un regime.

The findings are based on extensive research, including in-depth interviews in 2024 with 27 male and female defectors who served in the North Korean military.

Except for two individuals who fled to South Korea in 2009 and 2010, the defectors left the North under Mr Kim’s rule, mostly between 2015 and 2020.

The report stated that testimonies from the defectors, all of whom remained anonymous, indicated that the North Korean authorities failed to provide soldiers with sufficient “expendable materials”, including bullets for rifle training and other drills.

A defector who served in the North Korean army from 2011 to 2015 before fleeing to South Korea in 2018, said soldiers were given just three bullets each during the rare shooting drills that took place.

“You can’t really call that sufficient. We were given just three rounds – how is that enough? You need to fire at least a full magazine to say you’ve had proper training,” the defector said. “Three shots – bang, bang, bang – and that was it.”

The defector said their guard post, which housed two squads, had to share just 50 rounds – leaving each soldier with only about three bullets.

A second anonymous defector, who served in the army from 2004 to 2013 before fleeing to South Korea in 2019, said: “If we hit all our targets with the three rounds, we were given one extra bullet.”

But live ammunition was rarely used in training. Instead, soldiers practised aiming with a small, needle-like device – about half the size of a cigarette – inserted in place of a bullet.

“We didn’t wear steel helmets there. As for clothing, we were issued a single uniform before deployment and had only two or three undershirts,” said a third anonymous defector, who served in the Army from 2008 to 2012 before fleeing to South Korea that same year.

However, the report clarified that North Korean defectors generally agreed that while non-consumable supplies an...

Read Entire Article