By Andrew Salmon
In recent days, South Koreans have been transfixed by a gruesome and unusual drama: The fate of an unnamed hospital patient fighting for his life.
A desperately wounded North Korean soldier lies unconscious, hooked up to an artificial respirator in South Korea's Ajou Medical Center. Shot five times while he escaped across the border in the truce village of Panmunjeom on the DMZ, his condition is generating much speculation regarding what it might tell us about the wider conditions affecting the North Korea's People's Army (KPA), overall.
That his erstwhile comrades hit a moving target five times, from 40 bullets fired, suggests decent marksmanship (albeit, they were not facing return fire). However, given that the soldier was shot five times with both handguns and a rifle ― the presence of a rifle on the JSA is a possible armistice violation; JSA personnel are, in fact, only permitted to carry side-arms ― and yet survived, may indicate substandard munitions.
At 1.7 meters tall and 60kg in weight, the soldier is a small man. While starvation appears to have been largely overcome in North Korea, malnutrition is apparently common.
Adding a horror movie element to the story, surgery revealed an infestation of intestinal worms. These revolting creatures ― some over 10 inches long ― complicated the procedures, as they were reportedly feasting on his wounds. The presence of such vile parasites suggests that the soldier had been eating unclean food grown using human feces ("night soil") as fertilizer. The issue of the food not being cleaned suggests he may have stolen it from peasants, or direct from the fields.
Some observers note that parasitical infestations are common in the third world. This overlooks the fact that North Korea is not located in a poverty-struck part of the globe, it lies slap-bang in the midst of thriving Northeast Asia ― which, along with Western Europe and North America, is one of the three most prosperous geographical zones on earth. All things being equal, there is one reason why North Korea is so backward: governance. The surgeon who operated noted that he had never seen parasites like that in a South Korean; such infestations were eradicated four decades ago.
The man's woeful condition suggests that the health of the soldiery is low on the priorities of the regime, which, hell bent on producing strategic weapons, is allocating massive amounts of scarce resources for these programs. The wider context ― that the regime is led by a young man who is one of the most overweight leaders on the global stage ― is impossible to overlook. Granted, the contrast between the suffering of the "poor bloody infantry" and the luxuries enjoyed by political leaders has been a feature of military-civil interaction through the ages, but is not a feature of other nations around the region today.
One must hope that the nameless soldier pulls through and is finally able to speak. He may be able to confirm or deny much of the speculation that relates his personal condition to that of the KPA as a whole. However, his survival, after five gunshots and two surgeries, on top of an already debilitated physical condition, is not guaranteed.
Still, what we know is grim enough. If underweight, worm-infested soldiers are willing to risk all dashing to freedom through a barrage of gunfire, it speaks volumes about conditions north of the DMZ. It also backs up some of the worst information we have been hearing from defectors. In recent years, discrepancies have been discovered in the testimonies of some defectors, which have cast a shadow over the veracity of their statements as a whole.
Some persons have expressed distaste at the ghoulish babble surrounding the young man's fate. I beg to differ. At a time when the media and punditry are focused on big-picture strategic issues, this re-focus on a very small, human story of life and survival in the world's most opaque dictatorship ― however grim ― is welcome. It should give us all pause for sober thought.
Andrew Salmon (andrewcsalmon@yahoo.co.uk) is a Seoul-based reporter and author.
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A desperately wounded North Korean soldier lies unconscious, hooked up to an artificial respirator in South Korea's Ajou Medical Center. Shot five times while he escaped across the border in the truce village of Panmunjeom on the DMZ, his condition is generating much speculation regarding what it might tell us about the wider conditions affecting the North Korea's People's Army (KPA), overall.
That his erstwhile comrades hit a moving target five times, from 40 bullets fired, suggests decent marksmanship (albeit, they were not facing return fire). However, given that the soldier was shot five times with both handguns and a rifle ― the presence of a rifle on the JSA is a possible armistice violation; JSA personnel are, in fact, only permitted to carry side-arms ― and yet survived, may indicate substandard munitions.
At 1.7 meters tall and 60kg in weight, the soldier is a small man. While starvation appears to have been largely overcome in North Korea, malnutrition is apparently common.
Adding a horror movie element to the story, surgery revealed an infestation of intestinal worms. These revolting creatures ― some over 10 inches long ― complicated the procedures, as they were reportedly feasting on his wounds. The presence of such vile parasites suggests that the soldier had been eating unclean food grown using human feces ("night soil") as fertilizer. The issue of the food not being cleaned suggests he may have stolen it from peasants, or direct from the fields.
Some observers note that parasitical infestations are common in the third world. This overlooks the fact that North Korea is not located in a poverty-struck part of the globe, it lies slap-bang in the midst of thriving Northeast Asia ― which, along with Western Europe and North America, is one of the three most prosperous geographical zones on earth. All things being equal, there is one reason why North Korea is so backward: governance. The surgeon who operated noted that he had never seen parasites like that in a South Korean; such infestations were eradicated four decades ago.
The man's woeful condition suggests that the health of the soldiery is low on the priorities of the regime, which, hell bent on producing strategic weapons, is allocating massive amounts of scarce resources for these programs. The wider context ― that the regime is led by a young man who is one of the most overweight leaders on the global stage ― is impossible to overlook. Granted, the contrast between the suffering of the "poor bloody infantry" and the luxuries enjoyed by political leaders has been a feature of military-civil interaction through the ages, but is not a feature of other nations around the region today.
One must hope that the nameless soldier pulls through and is finally able to speak. He may be able to confirm or deny much of the speculation that relates his personal condition to that of the KPA as a whole. However, his survival, after five gunshots and two surgeries, on top of an already debilitated physical condition, is not guaranteed.
Still, what we know is grim enough. If underweight, worm-infested soldiers are willing to risk all dashing to freedom through a barrage of gunfire, it speaks volumes about conditions north of the DMZ. It also backs up some of the worst information we have been hearing from defectors. In recent years, discrepancies have been discovered in the testimonies of some defectors, which have cast a shadow over the veracity of their statements as a whole.
Some persons have expressed distaste at the ghoulish babble surrounding the young man's fate. I beg to differ. At a time when the media and punditry are focused on big-picture strategic issues, this re-focus on a very small, human story of life and survival in the world's most opaque dictatorship ― however grim ― is welcome. It should give us all pause for sober thought.
Andrew Salmon (andrewcsalmon@yahoo.co.uk) is a Seoul-based reporter and author.
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