Soldiers march past the podium during a military parade in Pyongyang (Reuters)
Washington Post: North Korea claims almost 5 million have signed up to join its already enormous army
North Korea's state newspaper reported Thursday that 4.7 million students and workers have expressed a desire to enlist or reenlist in the nation's army, potentially adding a major boost in manpower to what is already one of the largest armed forces in the world.
It is difficult for outside analysts to gauge the accuracy of the report in the Rodong Sinmum newspaper. North Korean state media has issued similar claims during past moments of tension. Earlier this summer, for example, it claimed that 3.5 million citizens had signed up for the army after the United Nations imposed new sanctions on Pyongyang.
Most estimates suggest that North Korea has an unusually large number of armed forces personnel for its population of 25 million. The U.S. State Department has estimated that North Korea had more than 1.18 million armed forces personnel in 2014, making it the fourth-largest army in the world after China (2.37 million), India (1.41 million) and the United States (1.43 million).
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Update #1: North Korea: Millions sign up for military to fight against U.S. -- USA Today
Update #2: NK claims 4.7m young people volunteer to join military against US -- The Korea Herald
WNU Editor: Only 5 million?
