The Korean People’s Army (KPA) is one of the largest standing militaries in the world, consuming a disproportionate share of North Korea’s national resources while serving as the backbone of Kim Jong Un’s political power. Daily NK covers the North Korea military from the ground up — soldier living conditions, morale, discipline, and pay alongside high-level analysis of weapons development, military doctrine, and the KPA’s expanding role abroad, including troop deployments to Russia. Our sources inside North Korea provide reporting on military life that no other outlet can match.
Tag: military
Elite unit’s villa repairs spill into local markets
High-end building materials and fixtures torn out of Kim family villas and state guesthouses are turning up in North Korean markets in 2026. Many...
North Korean teen defies mother to join army
A widowed mother in Tanchon, South Hamgyong province, has begged her son’s school to keep him off North Korea’s 2026 conscription rolls. The teenager,...
North Korea uses DMZ landmine blast to step up student military...
North Korean authorities are using last month’s DMZ landmine explosion to justify tougher military drills for high school students. In anti-South Korea lectures, officials...
Pak Hui Chol graft case sets off purge of N. Korean...
North Korea's military corruption probe is sweeping through army political departments in 2026, months after the regime exposed a major graft case in July....
North Korean soldiers cut winter firewood for their units and their...
North Korean soldiers from the 10th Corps in Ryanggang province are heading into the mountains to cut firewood for the 2026 winter. Much of...
Samjiyon lecture cites purged officer’s case in foreign culture crackdown
Party officials in the North Korean city of Samjiyon held up the corruption case of Pak Hui Chol, a purged senior military political officer,...
Diverted military morphine raises health fears for North Korean officer’s wife
A North Korean army officer has spent years diverting morphine meant for military medical facilities to his wife. A source inside the military told...
Why is North Korea’s loyalty language to Kim Jong Un suddenly...
North Korea's Ninth Party Congress in 2026 formally cemented Kim Jong Un's status as the country's supreme and unchallenged leader. Yet a recent destroyer...
What will it take for the Trump administration to achieve denuclearization...
The premise that the United States and other stakeholders in Northeast Asia should accept the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) as a de...
North Korea orders sweeping rebuild of northern border blockade
North Korea has ordered a massive reconstruction of its northern border defenses, re-establishing landmine fields and reaffirming its strict shoot-on-sight policy against any unauthorized...
