North Korea announces mobilization of 1.4 million people, – media

Photos released by North Korean media show young people signing statements in an undisclosed location.

About 1.4 million North Koreans have applied to join or rejoin the military in a week amid tensions with South Korea.

North Korea has accused Seoul of a provocative drone incursion over Pyongyang that has brought “the tense situation to the brink of war,” Reuters reports .

Citing North Korea’s official KCNA news agency, the publication noted that young people, including students and workers, who signed applications to join the army are determined to take part in “a holy war to destroy the enemy with the weapons of revolution.”

Photos released by KCNA show young people signing statements in an unknown location.

“If war breaks out, the Republic of Korea will be wiped off the map. Since it wants war, we are ready to put an end to its existence,” KCNA said in a statement.

The publication noted that North Korea has previously made statements about young people rushing to join the military during times of heightened tension, although such statements from an isolated state are difficult to verify.

For example, in 2023, state media reported that 800,000 citizens had volunteered to join the DPRK army to fight the United States. And in 2017, it was reported that nearly 3.5 million workers, party members, and soldiers had volunteered to serve.

According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), North Korea has 1.28 million active soldiers and about 600,000 reservists, including 5.7 million reservists of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Guard.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry did not comment on KCNA’s latest report but warned that if North Korea harmed the security of South Koreans, that day would be “the end of its regime.”

Park Won-gon, a professor at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, said North Korea is using the drone incident to incite people against South Korea in line with its push to sever cross-border ties and advance the “two-state” system.

“If you look at the interviews that continue to appear in state media, you will see very harsh words directed at South Korea, and this is their typical propaganda for public mobilization,” he commented.

(C)UNIAN 2024