Two disabled North Korean soldiers brutally beat a woman in her 40s on a train after she refused to move her luggage for them. The shocking assault has intensified public debate over disabled veterans, with many criticizing their aggressive behavior while others sympathize with their anger over poor state treatment.
According to a Daily NK source in South Hamgyong province recently, the two disabled soldiers beat the woman on a train traveling from Hamhung to Pyongyang on June 6. They also attacked a man who tried to intervene.
The incident started when a woman boarded the train and placed her luggage on the overhead rack. Some disabled soldiers who got on after her asked her to move her bags. When the woman ignored their requests and refused to move her luggage, one of the angry disabled soldiers hit her with his crutch.
The other disabled soldier joined in, and the woman—unable to defend herself—was simply beaten.
A male passenger on the same train tried to stop the disabled soldiers, but they attacked him too without hesitation.
“We sacrificed our bodies for the Fatherland, so is it too much to ask you to move one bag for us?” they shouted. “Your kid will become an [expletive] when they join the army.”
The train quickly became chaotic, with passengers screaming that the disabled soldiers would kill the woman. However, police officers on the train hesitated to step in, worried they might get in trouble since disabled soldiers were involved.
Mixed reactions
North Korean authorities treat disabled soldiers as “revolutionary persons of merit,” elevating and honoring them, so they often act aggressively and receive only light, token punishments when they do wrong. Because of this, social resentment toward them is widespread, the source said.
“Disabled soldiers continue to act entitled and rude, and although they commit more crimes like assault, theft and fraud, the state can’t do anything about it, so people increasingly dislike them,” the source said.
People who witnessed or heard about the assault expressed concern that the aggressive behavior of disabled soldiers was getting worse. They also criticized the disabled soldiers for nearly beating someone to death just because she refused to move a piece of luggage.
However, some people feel sympathy for their actions when they consider the terrible lives disabled soldiers lead.
“Some people say disabled soldiers don’t receive proper compensation or treatment and that many live in hardship. They sympathize with the rage that fills their hearts since the state fails to care for them even though they sacrificed their bodies for the nation,” the source said.
