North Korean military officials have begun involving their wives in choosing military drivers for official vehicles as soldiers graduate from the driver’s school at North Korean Air Force headquarters.
“Officials from the Air Force headquarters have been busy selecting drivers for their official vehicles,” a Daily NK source in the North Korean military said recently.
“After a list of candidates is compiled from male enlisted personnel aged 19 to 20 who graduate from the driver training center between late June and early July, the officials show their wives the candidates’ documents and have them meet with some of the prospects, as if the wives were doing the choosing themselves.”
According to the source, the personnel department of the Air Force headquarters sent officials detailed documents that include each graduate’s name, photo, place of birth, parents’ occupations, vehicle repair experience, and driving skills.
However, some officials take the documents home and review them with their spouses while discussing whom to choose, with the spouses having significant input in selecting the right person.
Wives act as unofficial recruiters
The wives treat the documents like a shopping catalog, comparing the candidates and voicing their specific preferences with comments like, “This kid looks more innocent,” “I’d prefer a tall kid,” “The son of a trading company vice president would be better than the son of a village party secretary,” and “I’d prefer somebody from Hamgyong, Hwanghae or Kangwon provinces over someone from Pyongyang.”
The officials’ wives value drivers with good driving skills and wealthy family backgrounds. They also tend to select people from their hometowns.
This unofficial personal intervention by the wives influences the selection of official vehicle drivers, completely bypassing army regulations and procedures.
“Connections have always played a role in selecting drivers for officials’ families, but rarely have officials brought official documents home to show their wives and get them directly involved in selections like this year,” the source said.
In North Korea, official vehicle drivers don’t simply drive. They also work closely with the officials’ wives, helping them shop and handling household matters, so the wives increasingly take an active role in selecting them.
“Graduates of the driver training centers are well aware of this,” the source said. “The graduates say that driving skill isn’t enough — that they must be tall, fair-skinned and clean-cut to get chosen to drive an official vehicle.”
“Given that drivers of official vehicles practically live in the officials’ homes, graduates joke that the selection process feels like getting married,” he said.
