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
North Korean logistics officers profiteer from grain collection as rice prices...
As officers from the logistics departments of government agencies begin collecting grain, they are profiteering by tampering with the ratio of rice received, as...
Chinese manufacturers SANY, XCMG and SDLG supply bulldozers and cranes for...
North Korea has equipped military construction units with heavy construction equipment needed for building factories in the countryside as part of Kim Jong Un's...
Why North Korean troops fear “assignments” more than combat duty
A North Korean young man performing his military service in the riot police was beaten unconscious by a group of his superiors, prompting an...
Bag inspections and struggle sessions fail to stop Pyongyang students from...
South Korea's unique custom of couples and friends exchanging pairs of stick-shaped snacks on Nov. 11 has arrived in Pyongyang. Aware of this, the...
Farm labor shortages force North Korea to trap discharged soldiers in...
A North Korean couple from different parts of the country—the man from the interior and the woman from the border—may have to call off...
Soldiers and civilians profit from “time of opportunity” as North Korea...
With the authorities collecting military rice supplies in agricultural communities throughout North Korea, the age-old practice of pilfering supplies on the ground is repeating...
Netflix film ‘A House of Dynamite’ offers stark lessons for South...
"A House of Dynamite" is the title of a new Netflix film that inspired an Oct. 29 column by Chosun Ilbo editorial board member...
North Korea includes families of ‘war heroes’ in special amnesty for...
North Korea's special amnesty marking the 80th anniversary of the ruling party's founding this year included families of so-called "war heroes" deployed to fight...
Smuggling crackdown leaves hungry border guards stealing from farms instead of...
Soldiers of the 25th Brigade of North Korea's border guard based in Ryanggang province have gone on a rampage of crop theft this harvest...
Pyongyang’s mining recruitment crisis: Free housing can’t keep workers from fleeing
North Korea is forcing discharged soldiers and young people to fill gaps at the country's mines, offering housing, matchmaking services and material assistance to...
