Video : Starved N. Korean Soldiers

Here's a video from KBS, one of South Korea's major news networks. This video was secretly taped near Pyongyang, North Korea's capital. Not sure exactly who taped this, but I'm assuming it's from a Japanese NGO working in North Korea.

Below is the link to the video (it's in Korean, so just click on 'Play'), and I'm providing English translation of the news script below.

http://news.kbs.co.kr/news/actions/VodPlayerAction?type=2&cmd=showMP4&vod_info=D|10|/newsline/2011/08/10/50.mp4|N||F|10|/newsline/2011/08/10/1000k/50.mp4|N&news_code=2338388

Click below for the script.

<Anchor>
Rumors that North Korean military cannot provide sufficient food rations to their soldiers have been proved true in this video.

Their soldiers are all skin and bones. However, their markets seem plentiful and prospering compared to the soldiers. We're live in Tokyo.

<Question>
Shin Gang-moon correspondent, this video that confirms the food and health situation of North Korean soldiers, what's it about?

<Answer>
Yes, it has been confirmed by the soldiers near Pyongyang. Let's see the video.

Soldiers in dark-yellow uniforms are in small groups in a train station. Their eyes seem caved in, and their faces are pale.

They must be at least 20 years old, but their height seems to short for their age.

Some soldiers who are sitting down look worse. All they got are skin and bones, and their eyes have no focus. As they beg for mercy and complain of the pain, their officers return by kicking them.

We ask them if these soldiers are being transported as patients, but the answer is no.

This video was taped by a news agency on North Korea from Japan - AsiaPress - last month near Pyongyang. These soldiers are speculated to be in charge of construction works.

<Question>
North Korea has been pursuing 'Military-First' politics. It is quite extraordinary that soldiers are this malnourished. But this video also proved those markets in Pyongyang to be quite prospering, didn't it?

<Answer>
Yes, you will now see some of the recent footage of Moran Market in Pyongyang now.

Even in the midst of a terrible famine, there are plenty of food in every shop. Eggs, bread, pickled fish are quite easy to find. Some high-quality shampoo and rinse, probably imported from foreign nations, are there too.

Ordinary citizens who cannot afford to pay taxes to sell things in the market are selling things outside of the market. North Korean authority has been  cracking down on these illegal markets, but apparently they can't quite control the market. Some people are utterly ignoring the officials, and we can hear people shouting here and there.

<Question>
Isn't North Korea asking the international community for food aid currently? How's it that there are plenty of food stuff in markets, instead of  military?

<Answer>
Well, North Korea has been lacking in food anyway. However, the major reason is that the government is losing control and food rations have become nonexistent. That's why soldiers, who must rely on rations for everything, have taken the biggest hit.

However, citizens are selling things in both official and illegal markets to make money. With the economy almost at its limit, people are trying to find a replacement for their nonexistent rations.