For military men in most countries, a leave of duty is cherished. However, most North Korean servicemen do not see even one single leave of duty in their 10 years of duty. True, there are ordinary and special leaves prescribed in the regulations, but such regulations are rarely adhered to.<\/p>\n
\u201cNorth Korea Outline 2009\u201d, published by the Korea Institute for National Unification, explains, \u201cDuring service, one is granted an annual ordinary leave of 15 days and an additional 10 to 15 days of special leave for marriage or the death of one\u2019s parents, or for awards etc. However, as ordinary leave has not been granted in practice since the Pueblo Incident in 1968 on account of tension, the regulations on leave carry no practical meaning.\u201d<\/p>\n
It adds, \u201cSpecial leave, also known as discretionary or compassionate leave, is granted when an officer gets married or when a service member\u2019s family passes away. However, if death notifications are sent late, the process is delayed at times for as long as 20 days.\u201d<\/p>\n
Most North Korean defectors currently residing in South Korea also testify to the worthlessness of ordinary leave as prescribed by the regulations. Even special leave is only possible if a serviceman make a significant contribution to the country, or is recognized by Kim Jong Il. Overall, only an extremely select few reap the benefits of the rule.<\/p>\n
Ham Myung Shik, a North Korean defector and ex-paratrooper from the \u2018Typhoon Corps\u2019 (formerly \u2018Troop 570\u2019), said, \u201cTo be rewarded with leave, one must make a substantial contribution to the country. It is as hard as the proverbial \u2018reaching out and plucking the stars\u2019.\u201d Park Young Suk, who once served as a North Korean border patrol guard, added, \u201cWe would have had to catch a spy during our service to be awarded leave, but what was the likelihood? Given that it is hard even to get home following the death of your parents, you couldn\u2019t even dream of leave.\u201d <\/p>\n
Park also went on to say, \u201cSome who partake in ceremonial events or formal military reviews organized by the state are awarded leave after the event. But obviously not all service members can participate in those events.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, even for North Korean service members there is one way to get leave. Since the mid-1980s, a new type of leave, one based on the need for resources such as cement and rice, has sprung up; leave in exchange for resources.<\/p>\n
The Daily NK revealed on April 15th piece that 15 days of leave is now being given to anyone who can supply his or her base with 100kg of corn. In short, the worsening food crisis has forced troops to hand out leave to service members at a price in order to ensure the survival of the remaining troops.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we want to return home, there is no other alternative besides purchasing materials,\u201d Ham said. Park agreed, adding, \u201cAlthough I know that it is a burden for my parents, I lie to them that all of us must obtain materials in order to be able to go home.\u201d<\/p>\n
For those who cannot obtain 100kg of corn, however, there is no respite.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For military men in most countries, a leave of duty is cherished. However, most North Korean servicemen do not see even one single leave of duty in their 10 years of duty. True, there are ordinary and special leaves prescribed in the regulations, but such regulations are rarely adhered to. \u201cNorth Korea Outline 2009\u201d, published […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":141,"featured_media":15362,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n