North Korean troops too busy farming (Spring planting) to start war.

[GreenStormCloud]

I ran into this little item buried in an article. http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2013/04/11/3/0301000000AEN20130411003100315F.HTML

"Front-line North Korean troops near the military demarcation line have started farming," the defense ministry official said, noting the number of military training exercises dropped sharply compared to last month.

It is a common practice in many third-world poverty militaries to use the troops as labor, often as agricultural workers. The old Soviet Union used to do that. In this case it appears that NK troops are doing the spring planting. Since that is seasonal it has to be done now and can't be put off or it won't get done. So if they go to war now, much of the spring planting doesn't get done.

Kim has to know that. So the bellicose rhetoric from him is pure bluff. His troops are in the field - planting crops.

(I don't know why that big empty space is there. I tried to edit it away but it won't go away.)

[davidpdx]

1. I saw this as well

It makes sense that they will need every person to harvest what they can't feed their own people. The idea that they can go to war AND harvest is loony.

[DetlefK]

2. Sounds like the Middle-Ages, when peasants were mustered to fight.

You can't fight in fall, because there's harvest.
You can't fight in winter, because that's too cold.
You can't fight in spring, because, there's planting.

[Victor_c3]

3. I can't seem to find that section in the article linked

I was going to share this with people I know, but I can't seem to figure out where the section you pulled the excerpt from is in the article that you linked.

Maybe I'm just a little slow and I'm just not seeing it, but did you link the right article?

[mikeytherat]

5. 13-14 paragraphs in, 5 paras up from the bottom of the article

mikey_the_rat

[Victor_c3]

8. thanks n/t

[OldRedneck]

6. Fifth paragraph from the bottom

Go to the bottom of the article. Count up five paragraphs and there it is:

-- quote

"Front-line North Korean troops near the military demarcation line have started farming," the defense ministry official said, noting the number of military training exercises dropped sharply compared to last month.

The latest move was seen as less tense compared to when the North in late March put its strategic rocket force on its top level of combat readiness.

After weeks of near-daily war threats, the North's state media on Wednesday toned down its inflammatory language and largely focused on upcoming events.

Despite repeated war threats from Pyongyang, an increasing number of North Korean soldiers have gone AWOL from their front-line combat units in recent months, prompting senior officials to conduct tougher inspections of troops.
In the first three months of this year, more than 40 soldiers have fled from their front-line barracks, which is much more than in previous years. Seoul officials suspect the uptick reflects rising discontent in the rank and file suffering from grueling winter training and food shortages.

The North has relied on international handouts since the late 1990s when it suffered a massive famine that was estimated to have killed 2 million people.


-- quote

[Victor_c3]

7. thanks n/t

[GreenStormCloud]

9. It is also interesting that they are having an AWOL problem.

If the troops aren't getting enough to eat, how can they fight? Kim's Army is broken.

[Victor_c3]

10. The part about 40 Soldiers going AWOL is just a prelude to what would happen

I believe that an open salvo by the North Korea military would be violent, but it would be quickly halted and neutralized by both our military and the South Korean military. As soon as ground troops began to come into contact with each other, I suspect that we'd see mass surrenders much like we saw in the first gulf war.

I do realize that given my background that I am probably a little full of myself and the capability of the US Army, but our Army would chew up the North Koreans and their 1970s era armor and Infantry units.