North Korea Claims 3.5 Million Citizens Request To Enlist In Army
By MINA
North Koreans, including students, workers and retired soldiers, have requested to join or reenlist in the military in light of the government’s earlier vows to retaliate against the United States, after the UN Security Council approved new sanctions against Pyongyang, the North Korea’s Workers’ Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported, as quoted by Yonhap news agency.
This comes a day after China confirmed they would defend North Korea in the event of a US invasion, in order to prevent regime change, but it would also remain neutral if North Korea were to initiate an attack.
Last week, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2371, which further tightens sanctions against North Korea in response to Pyongyang’s recent ballistic missiles tests.
According to Yonhap, quoting the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the North Korean’s Workers’ Party, “All the people are rising up across the country to retaliate against the U.S. thousands of times. In North Hwanghae Province, 89,000 young men pleaded to enlist or reenlist on Aug. 9 alone. In Daedong County of South Pyongan Province, more than 20,000 students, party members and laborers filed enlistment or reenlistment requests.”
On Wednesday, about 100,000 citizens gathered in Pyongyang to support the government’s pledge of retaliation against the U.S., with smaller rallies held in provincial cities later, according to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
A separate KCNA report said that rallies of youth, workers and trade union members took place at the Youth Park Open-Air Theater and the compound of the Monument to Party Founding on Friday to express their “absolute” support for their government’s statement, which categorically rejected the recent UNSC sanctions resolution.
North Korea’s military said Wednesday it was considering a missile attack near the US island territory of Guam, which hosts several US military bases, after President Donald Trump threatened Pyongyang with “fire and fury.”
