The results of a survey on the human rights situation of North Korean military personnel released by the South Korean Center for Military Human Rights on 30 June showed that the human rights situation of North Korean military personnel is poor and that one in four military personnel have witnessed public executions.
The survey was conducted on 30 North Korean residents who entered South Korea from July 2019 to June 2020 and have military service experience. The results showed that eight of the 30 (26.7 percent) said they had witnessed a public execution during their military service. According to the survey, of the seven cases where the specific dates were clearly remembered, the running periods of public executions were the 1990s (three cases), 2000s (three cases), and 2010s (one case).
In addition, North Korea has a compulsory military service system for men, and all eligible men are required to serve for 10 years. North Korean women can voluntarily enlist for 7 years. Military personnel are not guaranteed leave and pay. Only one of the interviewees answered that they had received leave, and the monthly salary of North Korean officers is less than the price of 1 kilogram of rice in the market (5,000 won, about US$5.50).
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