Mick Hartley

Yesterday brought news of the glorious parade celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Army. The Daily NK now reports from the other side:

Amid North Korea’s preparations for its major Feb. 8 military parade, several Pyongyang residents mobilized for the preparations were hospitalized after collapsing from intensive training and malnutrition, Daily NK has learned.

A source in Pyongyang told Daily NK on Tuesday that Pyongyang residents were mobilized to prepare for the mass rallies accompanying the military parade, which marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Army.

“Women suffering from malnutrition due to terrible economic conditions are being hospitalized one by one during training,” he said.

According to the source, city residents were mobilized last weekend for training, and two women undergoing drills at Kim Il Sung Square collapsed during exercises and were taken to the hospital by military vehicles.

After being mobilized for the training in an undernourished state, the pair blacked out and collapsed during the exercises.

Many other drill participants were just one step away from passing out due to cold symptoms or malnutrition, the source claimed. 

People collapsing during parade training has been a long-standing problem, but the issue became so bad during the early days of February that officials had to report it up the line.

“Rather than show concern for people who are sick and suffering, the government ordered officials to deal with the situation immediately, telling them to keep everyone in line given the event is just a few days away,” he said.

The source said the government ordered that weak people be replaced by healthy ones in the parade, warning that if one or two people fall in a parade rank, it would cause problems for the ranks behind them. This, officials said, would disgrace North Korea before the entire world.

Pyongyangites with money or connections got out of the drills by paying money or providing supplies, so only the poorest people in each neighborhood got roped into the latest national event, the source further reported. 

“People were mobilized regardless of malnutrition because they couldn’t talk about their difficult situation for fear of getting blamed for political ideology issues or expressing discontent,” he said. 

Following the order by the authorities to replace weak people, people in charge of the event — who until then had been pressing participants with calls of “holding the event together whether you live or die” — immediately embarked on hasty efforts to reorganize the ranks.