Defector: North Korean Troops Starving

[Geee]

:

SEOUL—North Korean soldiers, including elite special forces troops, are facing severe food shortages along with the rest of the population, according to a recent defector from the Korean People’s Army, the North’s communist army.

 

The officer, a career military officer in his 40s who escaped through China last fall, also disclosed that hoped-for improvements in living conditions in the communist state under new supreme leader Kim Jong-un have not taken place.

 

“Kim Jong-un repeatedly states that he will improve the livelihood of ordinary people but nothing has really changed,” said the defector who spoke through an interpreter and uses a pseudonym, Kim Gil-su.

 

“There have been no concrete actions to improve the livelihood of the people, so people no longer trust Kim Jong-un’s words and statements.”

 

Kim disclosed the hardships of life in the military and society in North Korea to the Washington Free Beacon in his first news interview since escaping North Korea. He requested anonymity because of security concerns.

 

The defector was part of North Korea’s elite Storm Corps, but says he was not involved in that unit’s domestic security activities.