Videos of North Korean soldiers in Russia for training that have leaked online in recent days have reopened concerns in South Korea over the extent of malnourishment inside the regime due to food shortages.
While South Korean intelligence authorities said in their earlier disclosures that the North Korean troops deployed to Russia are members of Pyongyang’s special forces, their short and thin stature in footage released by both Ukrainian and Russian outlets suggest they, like their countrymen, also suffer from a lack of adequate nutrition, according to observers.
Data obtained by People Power Party Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo from Hanawon, the South Korean institution charged with integrating defectors from the North, shows that the average height of adult male North Korean refugees under the age of 30 is 165 centimeters (5.4 feet) — almost 10 centimeters shorter than their 18-year-old South Korean counterparts, whose average height is 174.4 centimeters.
North Korean male defectors in their 20s also weigh an average of approximately 58.4 kilograms (128 pounds), or 14.3 kilograms less than the average South Korean man at the age of 18.
North Korean defectors admitted to Hanawon at the age of 15 stand even shorter at 156.6 centimeters tall and weigh approximately 48.4 kilograms.
According to South Korean intelligence, the majority of North Koreans recently deployed to Russia are in their late teenage years or early 20s, which is when the regime’s male residents are expected to fulfill their 10-year-long military service requirement.
Using photos and footage of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, South Korean intelligence officials estimate that he stands approximately 170 centimeters tall and weighs around 140 kilograms — more than twice the weight of the average male defector.
In footage where she stands next to her father, Kim’s approximately 11-year-old daughter Kim Ju-ae appears to stand almost as tall, making her 20 centimeters taller than female North Korean defectors at the same age, who stand around 141.1 centimeters tall, according to Hanawon’s data.
BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]
