North Korean citizens are signing up in droves to join the military. While men are mandatorily required to serve in the army for 10 years and women for 3 years, a wave of voluntary enlistment is being witnessed. According to observers, this phenomenon is occurring both in cities and in rural areas. On 17 March, 800,000 citizens turned up at army recruiting centers. The 25 million people living in North Korea continue to feel threatened by the United States, 73 years after the aggression (...)
It is a huge number of people for a huge amount of time, but it's also worth bearing in mind that something like a third of North Korean men end up exempted from service, usually for educational reasons but also medical ones as well. You can also transfer out to go to college if you qualify.
Also, a huge part of "military" service is just doing work. Soldiers are used as extra bodies on farms and construction sites pretty regularly, and in the event of an emergency they're pretty much the first ones to respond and the last ones to leave. If the DPRK ever feels like it's safe to demilitarize, they will almost certainly keep some form of this aspect of service alive since it's an incredibly useful thing for a society to have.
It is a huge number of people for a huge amount of time, but it's also worth bearing in mind that something like a third of North Korean men end up exempted from service, usually for educational reasons but also medical ones as well. You can also transfer out to go to college if you qualify.
Also, a huge part of "military" service is just doing work. Soldiers are used as extra bodies on farms and construction sites pretty regularly, and in the event of an emergency they're pretty much the first ones to respond and the last ones to leave. If the DPRK ever feels like it's safe to demilitarize, they will almost certainly keep some form of this aspect of service alive since it's an incredibly useful thing for a society to have.