Mick Hartley

The Daily NK provides a unique and invaluable service in giving a voice to ordinary North Koreans. Today there's an interview with a military officer who saw over 25 years of service in the North Korean army:

North Korean soldiers – whether Air Force, Army, or Navy – all receive the same education. Military training takes up about 40% of the time, and the remaining 60% is spent on Kimilsungist-Kimjongilist ideology. This education basically aims to turn North Korean soldiers into loyal bullets and bombs for Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. They really step up the ideological training.

We’re taught to obey only Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il, and Kim Jong Un; whatever they order must be done, no matter how dangerous. We’re taught to have a sacrificial mentality in the service of the Kim family. They stress that Kim Il Sung founded the nation and Kim Jong Un succeeded him and developed the country. They are responsible for our happiness, we are told. Without them we are nothing, so we are taught to obey their every command and protect the regime. We are brainwashed into thinking that by doing so, we are giving hope to the succeeding generations. So the soldiers learn to think that their lives are worth giving up in order to protect the Suryong [Supreme Leader].

When I served in the army, protecting the leader was regarded as a sacred task. North Korea is a totally isolated country, and we really were successfully brainwashed. However, after going outside the country and seeing the truth, I realized that the demands that the authorities make of North Korean soldiers are not unlike suicidal missions. I’ve heard stories of children in the Middle East who are trained to blow themselves up in the middle of the street or near an enemy tank. They are told that the attack is carried out in the name of Allah. Similarly, in North Korea, we are told that we must give up our lives for Kim Il Sung….

North Korean soldiers are virtually incapable of real logic and they know very little about the world. Even when they leave the service, they are programmed with the brainwashing they received for so many years in the service. When someone receives the same education for 10 years in a row, it is hard for them to develop a critical mind. They can’t even imagine the existence of an outside world. That’s why North Koreans say that discharged soldiers go through a “3-Year Stone Age” when they are released. Their heads become hardened like rocks and they have difficulty adapting to civilian life. Also, in terms of their physical state, discharged soldiers are extremely weak due to 10 years of grueling training and malnutrition. They are trained to think of themselves not as individuals, but as tools for the North Korean authorities….

The most significant change is the soldier’s personality. Gentle people are turned into violent thugs. Being a soldier teaches you theft and malice. That’s what they are like when they are discharged into society, so there are a lot of complaints about soldiers from ordinary residents – reports of soldiers beating fellow passengers on a train or violently harassing merchants in the market. These discharged soldiers are called “Honorable Soldiers,” and most people try to avoid them. Some merchants even pack up their things and leave if they see a soldier approaching. 

The rest of the world respects the concepts of human rights and freedom. This means that people are born with inherent rights. Only North Korea treats its own people like animals. But it will not be this way forever. The day will come when the authorities will be forced to respect the rights of the people. The people will become aware, and the authorities should keep this in mind. Only by respecting human rights will there be a future for us all.