North Korea’s Civil Defense University, which trains the country’s civil defense commanders, has revised its education and training program for the first time in more than a decade and is training students under the new program, Daily NK has learned.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a source in North Korea told Daily NK on Monday that the university worked on updating its program from last December to February and that the new program was introduced on Apr. 1.
The Civil Defense University has updated its program to train the civil defense corps in joint operations and tactics better suited to the regular army’s new weapons systems and combat and command methods, the source said.
The source explained that North Korea wants to strengthen the combat capability of the civil defense corps and equip it to respond effectively in a wider variety of combat situations, with the ultimate military goal of “arming the entire people and fortifying the entire country.”
“The Civil Defense University’s education and training program was last modified 12 years ago. While the previous program was based on conventional weapons and combat techniques, the new program is aimed at providing the civil defense corps with professional training in the use of newly developed weapons and modern combat techniques and enabling it to conduct joint operations with units of the Korean People’s Army in the region,” the source explained.
According to the source, the updated program at the Civil Defense University emphasizes teaching civil defense commanders about a wider range of aspects of modern warfare, including cyber warfare. Since Apr. 1, training at the university has focused on wired and wireless jamming and conducting joint operations with nearby units of the Korean People’s Army.
“The Civil Defense University believes its updated program will greatly help civil defense commanders improve their command and decision-making skills in combat. The program is expected to help them develop the ability to better prepare for and respond to various situations that may arise in modern warfare and to cooperate with the regular army,” the source said.
In addition to training currently enrolled civil defense commanders in the updated program, the Civil Defense University also plans to use the program as the basis for training guidance packages to be sent to civil defense departments under party committees in provinces, cities and counties across the country, the source added.
The Central Committee’s Civil Defense Department has also ordered each province to hold new training sessions on the updated program for current civil defense officials and commanders attached to provincial, city and county party branches across the country, the source said.
Translated by David Carruth. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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