Inside North Korea's Army (Photo Gallery)

Above: A female member of the Korean People's Army strokes a dog in Pyongyang, North Korea. Picture: Barcroft Media

WNU Editor: The gallery starts here.

North Korea Shows-Off It's Future Soldiers

North Korea's Newest Batch Of Future Soldiers: Scrawny 11-Year-Olds With Freshly Shaved Heads Punch The Air As They Practice Taekwondo -- Daily Mail

Students aim to get top marks 'to get revenge on Americans'
The are taught to march in perfect unison and do taekwondo training
Former leader Kim Jong Il attended the academy during Korean War

Rare pictures show images of North Korea's future soldiers as children as young as 11 are taught combat training in a military academy.

New recruits with shaved heads are seen preparing for war in the grounds of Mangyongdae Revolutionary School in Pyongyang as they practise their taekwondo.

One pupil named Jo Chung Hyok said: 'Because of the present situation, I am trying to study harder.

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Update: North Korean pre-teens training to 'seek revenge on American imperialists' -- New York Daily News/AP

My Comment: This is not the first time that North Korea has showed-off it's army. But in rality .... this is what the North Korean army is actually doing. As to the young kids who are being taught combat training .... it makes you wonder on where are their parents.

A Look At North Korea's Military

Besides Nukes, What’s in North Korea’s Arsenal? -- Wall Street Journal

Global attention has focused on North Korea’s nuclear threat over the past few weeks of heightened tensions on the peninsula. But South Korea’s announcement on Wednesday that it plans to buy 36 Boeing Apache helicopters largely tasked with destroying North Korean tanks and armored vehicles was a reminder of the North’s conventional weapons threat.

Experts say North Korea maintains more troops than it can actually afford. And the cash-strapped country has trouble upgrading its military equipment, with much of it dating back to the Soviet-era. Pyongyang’s steps to develop nuclear weapons are a move to help resolve its inability to maintain a modern military. But North Korea’s conventional weaponry still poses a clear threat as seen in its two fatal attacks on South Korea in 2010.

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My Comment: The above video is a good review on North Korea's aging war machine.

North Korean Female Soldiers In High Heels?

Femme fatales: Female North Korean soldiers patrol along the banks of Yalu River, near the town of Sinuiju, as the world remained on high alert for a North Korean missile launch

WNU Editor: The link to the picture is here.

Update: North Korea's high-heeled female soldiers go on patrol as tensions rise -- New York Post

Dissension In The North Korean Military?

North Korean Harbin H-5 bomber jets at Uiju Airfield near the North Korean town of Sinuiju, opposite the Chinese border city of Dandong Photo: REUTERS/Jacky Chen

North Korean Army 'Split' Over Kim Jong-un -- The Telegraph

North Korea's army was deeply split over whether to accept the command of Kim Jong-un, a former officer has revealed, giving a possible clue to the tensions lying behind the young leader's calls to war.

First Lieutenant Kim, 42, said he had been forced to flee North Korea after he murdered a rival officer as the factions within his army unit battled for control.

"I killed a three-star company commander, the same rank as me," he said. "He was the head of the faction supporting Kim Jong-un. There were two fights. In the first fight, they surrounded us and arrested a lot of people.

"But I got away and gathered others from the barracks. We found them and I shot the commander. After that, I escaped".

The battles occurred at the end of 2011, shortly before Kim Jong-un succeeded his father as the "supreme commander" of the Korean People's Army, the 1.2 million-strong standing force that remains at the heart of North Korea's "military-first" society.

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My Comment: I wish that stories about dissent in the North Korean military were true .... but too many are dependent on the system .... and too many are fearful of the consequences if they dissent.

With Tensions Rising On The Korean Peninsula, What Are The North Korean Soldiers Thinking?

A photo taken by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on December 14, 2012 shows army soldiers celebrating the successful launch of the Unha-3 rocket at Kim Il-Sung Square in Pyongyang. Herald Sun

North Korea: Ex-Soldiers Recall 'Golden Days' Of Military Drills -- The Guardian

Annual exercises between US and South offered a rare chance to eat well and a break from hard labour.

Before his escape from North Korea, Lee Gi-chul served as a lieutenant in the Korean People's army, part of the second war training unit responsible for guerrilla warfare.

He said that although the outside world might not enjoy growing animosities between North Korea and the west, it was something his fellow soldiers looked forward to. Not because they were overly patriotic, but because this was the only time they were fed properly.

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My Comment: An army always marches on it's stomach .... as for the North Koreans .... there does not appear to be much "marching".

A Look At The Military Strength Of North Korea, Japan, And China

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

WNU Editor: A 2010 chart compares North Korean military forces to South Korea's. That link is here.

North Korea Ordering It's Rocket Units On Standby

Kim Jong-un Orders Rockets On Standby And Aimed At Regional U.S. Military Bases In Response To Stealth Bombers Patrolling The Skies Over South Korea -- Daily Mail

* State media reports that Kim has ordered rocket units be placed on standby to attack bases n South Korea and the Pacific
* Move comes hours after images show U.S. Air Force stealth bombers in the skies over Pyeongtaek
* Drill came after North Korea declared it was severing last hotline to South
* Tensions on Korean peninsula rising after Pyongyang's latest nuclear test

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered his country's rocket units to be put on standby for an attack on U.S. military bases in the region, according to state media.

The country’s official KCNA news agency reports that Kim has signed off on orders to train sights on bases in South Korea and the Pacific following a midnight meeting with top generals.

The news comes just hours after U.S. stealth bombers with nuclear-capability took to the skies over South Korea on Thursday.

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More News On North Korea Ordering It's Rocket Units On Standby

North readies rockets after U.S. flies stealth bombers over South -- Reuters
North Korea orders rockets on standby following U.S. B-2 drill -- CBS/AP
North Korea puts rockets on standby -- The Herald Sun
N. Korea Orders Rocket Prep After US Deploys B-2 Stealth Bombers Over S. Korea -- FOX News
North Korea's Latest Threat Is Against US Bases In Pacific -- Business Insider

North Korea's War Machine On Display (Photo Gallery)

Kim Jong Un uses a pair of binoculars to look towards the South during his visit to the Jangjae Islet Defence Detachment and Mu Islet Hero Defence Detachment, southwest of Pyongyang, on March 7, 2013. (Reuters/KCNA)

North Korea Puts Its War Machine On Display -- The Atlantic

Despite massive international pressure, North Korea has been moving ahead with its long-range missile and nuclear ambitions, launching a rocket in December and conducting a nuclear test in February. International sanctions tightened in response, and even China, a longtime ally, stepped up inspections of North Korea-bound freight. Responding to the crackdown, North Korea's government has been issuing new threats of war nearly every day over the past month, cutting ties to South Korea and ordering military units to prepare for attack at any moment.

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Are Hungry Soldiers Good Fighters?

North Korean soldiers participate in the Pyongyang City People's Rally in Pyongyang on June 15, 2009. (KCNA/Reuters)

Dealing With Soldiers Who Are Really, Really Hungry -- Strategy Page

January 2, 2013: South Korean military planners are trying to figure out if two decades of food shortages and growing corruption in the north would have an impact on the fighting abilities of North Korean soldiers. The years of food shortages resulted in noticeably shorter recruits for the North Korean Army, and there are growing reports of falling morale among troops because of the more frequent, and severe, food shortages. But at the same time South Korean officers are well aware of how North Korean children are indoctrinated, from a young age, to hate the United States and South Korea and to admire North Koreans who fight to the death against these enemies. This kind of indoctrination has created lots of Islamic terrorists willing to be suicide bombers, or simply make suicidal military type attacks. Could it be having a similar impact on young North Korean men.

Read more ....

My Comment: Napoleon Bonaparte was right 200 years ago .... "An army marches on its stomach".