North Korea has drafted nearly 3.5 million volunteers into its military arsenal, boosting its position against the United Nations and the United States amid ongoing tensions.
The news comes from Rodong Sinmun, DPRK’s official newspaper, which claimed that the volunteers either joined or rejoined the army soon after the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) condemned new sanctions imposed by the U.N. over the state’s recent missile tests, Reuters reported.
The recruits reportedly consist of “party members, working youths, university students and senior middle schoolers,” the Daily Star noted, their number of which ran up to more than 3,475,000.
“All the people are rising up across the country to retaliate against the U.S. thousands of times,” Rodong Sinmun wrote.
A mass rally also took place in Pyongyang last week, where more than 100,000 citizens showed support for the government. According to teleSUR, smaller rallies were likewise held in provincial cities.
North Korea threatened to strike Guam earlier this month shortly after the U.S. sent two B-1 bombers to the Korean peninsula. Apparently, Kim’s regime perceived the incident as a “continuous bomber presence” and retaliated by stating that it will aim for Guam’s Anderson Air Force Base to “send a serious warning signal to the US.”
The nuclear-armed state’s response also followed President Donald Trump’s warning that it would “face fire and fury like the world has never seen” if it continued threatening the U.S.
