In late 1998, North Korea discharged 100,000 servicemen from active duty and re-assigned them to production sites such as plants, business establishments and cooperative farms, according to government officials. The measure was taken to improve the North's nose diving productivity. The instructions involving the transfer of 100,000 officers and enlisted men to production sites en bloc was prepared jointly by the National Defense Commission, the Supreme Command of the People's Armed Forces and the Military Affairs Committee of the Workers' Party headquarters, and then delivered to military units in October 1998, say the officials.

The Upper Echelon and Manpower Bureaus of the Ministry of People's Armed Forces subsequently prepared a roster of the servicemen to be discharged from the army, navy and air force, under which they were assigned to production sites under the guidance of the Workers' Party. Receiving the discharged servicemen were production sites in agricultural, manufacturing and mining sectors such as Taihungdan Consolidated Farm, Kim Chaek Combined Steel Mill and Songjin Steel Mill. Over 4,000 of them were assigned to Kim Chaek Combined Steel Mill and Songjin Steel Mill early in 1999.

The exercise, say the officials, failed to achieve its aim as productivity at the production sites involved has improved little. The experiment is said to have provided a lesson to North Korean authorities that poor productivity originates not so much from scarce labor force as from institutional flaws. Concerned North Korean party and administration agencies have reportedly been trying hard since to devise a system offering laborers and farmers incentives to work harder.

To fill up the gap created by the discharge of 100,000 servicemen at a time, North Korean authorities are learned to have recruited more senior high school seniors across the country than usual.

(Lee Kyo Kwan, haedang@chosun.com )