Another source is to loot food from civilians. That has been common practice, too.
Yet another source is that military units operate their own farms, growing grains and sometimes cattle.
Military keeps large amount of grains for war-time reserve. It can be only released during war-time. NK is quite strict about it. So it is off limit to military in peacetime.
Diverting food aid, looting from civilians, and growing their own food cannot completely meet the need of military. After all, there are millions of them. Many suffer from malnutrition. A phrase is coined for this problem: Yong-shil-goon. 'Yong-shil' is a short abbreviation of malnutrition in Korean. 'Goon' means military. It means army of malnutrition.
Those who cannot get enough food eventually have to seek help from their family. Officers used to condone conscripts to go home for a while when they don't have enough food or get sick. It is a kind of rotation system. Soldiers take turns to go home, recuperate and return to unit. However, there are those who just disappear after going out ostensibly to their home. There are reportedly many such soldiers on the run inside N. Korea. Since everybody is more preoccupied with finding food to survive, catching so many deserters is not exactly a top priority.
Since last year, incoming food aid from overseas, including S. Korea, dried up dramatically. Military took big chunk of fall harvest, but that was not enough. Harvest was not exactly good. Currency reform and border crackdown pretty much closed off remaining channel of grain inflow. Cross-border trade with China and private market broke down. It is said that some amount of grains were smuggled in for last couple of months into N. Korea. Still it is doubtful that they have enough quantity to feed currently starving population.
Food aid cut off, civilians themselves have little to eat and starving badly, not enough grains are smuggled in. All these contribute to the situation that many common soldiers are chronically hungry and weak, which resulted in this latest development.
I find your comments interesting and informative. Lots of details I didn’t know. Thanks.
You’re right that the N. Korean army has been diverting food aid away from the population for years. That’s my point. Since the regime depends upon the army for stability and couldn’t care less about the civilian population, the army as a whole will not starve while the civilain population has food. In the short term they may be able as individuals to get food from their families, who must themselves then do with less, but ultimately Kim must either feed his army or risk losing his hold on power.
Kudos on the translation BTW...didn’t see that it was yours.