Several soldiers with the North Korean border patrol in Hyesan, Yanggang Province, deserted their posts recently, Daily NK has learned.
According to a Daily NK source in the province, several soldiers with the border patrol’s 25th Brigade in Hyesan went AWOL on or before July 8.
Some of the deserters left with their weapons, which led authorities in the province’s China-North Korea border region to enter a state of emergency.
The authorities learned of the desertions on July 8, the anniversary of the death of North Korean founder Kim Il Sung.
Though the unit where the desertions took place fully mobilized its personnel to search for the deserters, they have failed to find them. The authorities believe the soldiers may have crossed the river into China, the source told Daily NK.
Following the desertions, North Korean authorities ordered military and security units to capture the deserters “without fail.” The authorities have also obtained cooperation from their Chinese counterparts to mount the search for the missing soldiers.
Soldiers in the unit where the desertions took place have speculated that the deserters chose to leave because of violence inflicted on them by their superiors and a lack of food.
The source said desertions have been happening all over the place in the border patrol since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
“[Many] deserters seem to have grievances about the poor rations they receive,” he said.
The source explained that hunger among soldiers in the border patrol has doubled since 2020, which is when the authorities ordered soldiers to stay out of residential villages as part of efforts to eliminate contact between soldiers and civilians.
“In order to keep the desertions secret, the unit [the 25th Brigade] has been cracking down even more strictly on contact between soldiers and civilians,” said the source. “Top cadres in the 25th Brigade and the commanders of the deserters are also really nervous because they’ll face responsibility for the incident.”
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