ID :
42547
Sat, 01/24/2009 - 19:30
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/42547
The shortlink copeid
N. Korea condemns U.S. intelligence report on its combat ability
SEOUL, Jan. 24 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Saturday strongly rebuked as a "cock-and-bull story" a recent U.S. intelligence report that said the North's combat ability is waning due to the malnutrition-related mental problems of its youth.
Angrily responding to the U.S. National Intelligence Commission report, the
North's state-run Korean Central News Agency said, "This has lashed the army and
people in the DPRK into great fury." DPRK is the acronym for the North's official
name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
In its latest international health care report, the U.S. agency said an estimated
17-29 percent of potential North Korean recruits will be unfit for service in the
2009-2013 period because of their cognitive deficiencies caused by the famine in
the previous decade. Famine struck North Korea in the mid-1990s, set off by
floods and the demise of the Soviet Union.
The U.S. report argued two-thirds of young North Korean adults are now considered
malnourished or anemic, and it will bog down future economic growth as well as
combat readiness.
"Loyalty may also erode over time," the U.S. report said, as soldiers, even if
they are well-fed in the military, will worry about their starving family.
North Korea has a 1.1-million-strong military, whose combat ability and welfare
are prioritized over any other issue under leader Kim Jong-il's military-first
policy.
"They floated the cock-and-bull story," the KCNA said, "It is an open secret that
the ill-famed intelligence and plot-breeding institutions of the U.S. including
the CIA are hell-bent on releasing false reports about its hostile countries."
KCNA criticized the U.S. healthcare system for denying treatment to the poor,
saying 47 million can't afford to pay insurance.
"It is the unpopular healthcare system in the U.S. which should be overhauled or
replaced by a new one," the report said.
"However, they released the false report, finding fault with the advantageous
healthcare system in the DPRK in a bid to hurt the prestige and dignity of the
DPRK in the international arena and stir up 'ill feelings' in society," it said.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
Angrily responding to the U.S. National Intelligence Commission report, the
North's state-run Korean Central News Agency said, "This has lashed the army and
people in the DPRK into great fury." DPRK is the acronym for the North's official
name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
In its latest international health care report, the U.S. agency said an estimated
17-29 percent of potential North Korean recruits will be unfit for service in the
2009-2013 period because of their cognitive deficiencies caused by the famine in
the previous decade. Famine struck North Korea in the mid-1990s, set off by
floods and the demise of the Soviet Union.
The U.S. report argued two-thirds of young North Korean adults are now considered
malnourished or anemic, and it will bog down future economic growth as well as
combat readiness.
"Loyalty may also erode over time," the U.S. report said, as soldiers, even if
they are well-fed in the military, will worry about their starving family.
North Korea has a 1.1-million-strong military, whose combat ability and welfare
are prioritized over any other issue under leader Kim Jong-il's military-first
policy.
"They floated the cock-and-bull story," the KCNA said, "It is an open secret that
the ill-famed intelligence and plot-breeding institutions of the U.S. including
the CIA are hell-bent on releasing false reports about its hostile countries."
KCNA criticized the U.S. healthcare system for denying treatment to the poor,
saying 47 million can't afford to pay insurance.
"It is the unpopular healthcare system in the U.S. which should be overhauled or
replaced by a new one," the report said.
"However, they released the false report, finding fault with the advantageous
healthcare system in the DPRK in a bid to hurt the prestige and dignity of the
DPRK in the international arena and stir up 'ill feelings' in society," it said.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
