Strategypage also notes an incident that shows the army is clearly feeling the effects of this lower status:
Two North Korean soldiers, apparently looking for food in the DMZ, strayed 30 meters into the South Korean portion of the zone. South Korean soldiers fired some warning shots, and the North Koreans troops went back. Because of the continued short rations in the north, North Korean soldiers assigned to patrol the northern portion of the DMZ, will seek food as they do so. Sometimes they are seen fishing in streams.
Once the army had priority on resources and being in the army at least got you fed. No more, apparently.
I just don't see how letting a very large group of armed men go hungry is a wise idea regime security-wise. North Korea is rapidly creating an army that can't take on the ROK army and can't feed itself. Yet no matter how much the army declines, it will always be able to scrape up enough combat power to march on the capital and hang that nutcase Kim Jong Il.
When the families of the military are going hungry, I wouldn't be too shocked if the North Korean "people's" army began to take that name a little more seriously.
Coup, anyone?
