North Korea's military has ordered soldiers to stop picking up discarded cigarette butts from the streets. The order comes as commanders continue to withhold portions of their cigarette rations, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported, citing members of the country's armed forces.
The issue was raised during a March 14 video conference of the General Political Bureau of the army, a soldier in the northern province of Ryanggang told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
"The meeting very seriously discussed the issue of lax discipline among commanders and soldiers," the military member said, noting that desertion and theft were also cited as examples of poor discipline.
"At this meeting, soldiers were strongly warned against picking up cigarette butts," he added. "It was officially declared that any soldier caught picking up cigarette butts on the street would be punished with revolutionary labor for at least three months." Revolutionary labor assignments typically involve grueling chores as punishment.
The soldier said that scavenging cigarette butts is a relatively new problem, but military officials see it as a breach of decorum.
"Each soldier is provided with 15 packs of cigarettes per month, but the commanders take them all up. So, the soldiers are left picking up the butts because they don't have any cigarettes to smoke," he said.
"In the past, it was just the lower-ranked soldiers who looked for butts, but now even the higher-ranked soldiers are doing it too."
Another military source from the same province, who also requested anonymity, told RFA that cigarette rations have decreased significantly.
"In the case of the border guards, each soldier used to be supplied with 15 packs of Baekseung-brand cigarettes per month, but since last fall, they have only been supplied with 10 packs," he said.
"After the commanders skim off the top, the soldiers are left only seven packs per month," he added.
The source said that every afternoon, border guard leaders assign two soldiers to collect cigarette butts because there is a shortage of cigarettes within the units.
"Even the border guard units, which are supposedly well-supplied, are in this state, and situations are much worse with other infantry units," he said. "What is more troubling is that this year, even female soldiers have been spotted out on the streets, picking up cigarette butts."
While male soldiers seek tobacco remnants, female soldiers are more interested in cigarette filters, which contain cotton that can be repurposed for clothing or ceremonial wedding blankets, a traditional gift for newlyweds.
"The women—who aren't allowed to smoke at all—trade the tobacco they collect in exchange for the filters that the men collect," the source explained. "With the money they get for selling the filters, they buy food for their unit."
He added that the situation is dire, with soldiers now selling cigarette butts just to afford food.
"The supply chain for soldiers is in such a sad state that soldiers are selling cigarette butts for food," he said. "I wonder if threats like revolutionary labor can even work against these soldiers."
