North Korea has placed troops near the demilitarized zone
bordering South Korea on ‘combat mobilization readiness’ for the duration of
the 12-day Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills. The order, handed down on August 22,
is seen as a move to heighten readiness during the joint South Korea-U.S.
drills, and improve positioning against potential countermeasures following
Pyongyang’s August 24 submarine-launched ballistic missile [SLBM] test.
“Corps near the demilitarized zone have secured their combat
positions and completed preparations for battle, following orders from the
supreme commander (Kim Jong Un) on the 22,” a source from South Pyongan
Province told Daily NK in a telephone conversation, adding that all affected corps are
currently residing in bunkers.
‘Combat mobilization readiness’ is the lowest military alert
level in North Korea and currently applies to a total of five corps across Kangwon, North
Hwanghae, South Hwanghae, and South Pyongan provinces. The directive also
applies to the Pyongyang Defense Command, departments under the Ministry of
People’s Armed Forces, and reserve commanders for the capital.
“All generals and officers within the Ministry of People’s
Armed Forces have been banned from travel and temporary leave off base,” the
source said, adding that in Pyongyang, student reserves are gathered with their
personal weapons and equipment.
However, North Korea’s response to the annual drills this
year is markedly more tempered when compared with the past, particularly last
year, when Kim Jong Un declared a “quasi-state of war” during the same period.
According to a source in South Pyongan Province, this is
because the nation is still in the throes of the “200-Day Battle,” and
nationwide military mobilization would undermine those efforts. Moreover, a
readiness alert would more greatly restrict people’s mobility, thereby
hampering related construction and production projects.
The absence orders placing additional troops on the
Sino-North Korean border lends further weight to this theory, the South
Pyongan-based source said, surmising that Pyongyang sees its successful launch
of the SLBM as a show of force against this round of joint military drills.
