North Korean Soldiers Ordered to Stop Picking Up Cigarette Butts on the Street

Recently, sources from North Korea revealed that although the country’s soldiers are provided with cigarettes every month, these are usually taken away by their commanders. As a result, the soldiers are left with no choice but to pick up cigarette butts for smoking. The military authorities in the country have recently instructed the soldiers not to search for cigarette butts on the streets as it goes against military etiquette.

According to reports from Radio Free Asia, a soldier from the Ryanggang Province in North Korea informed the radio station’s Korean department that the General Political Bureau of the Army held a teleconference on March 14 to discuss disciplinary issues such as soldiers picking up cigarette butts.

The soldier mentioned, “During this meeting, soldiers were strongly warned not to pick up cigarette butts. It was officially announced that any soldier caught picking up cigarette butts on the street would be subjected to at least three months of revolutionary labor.” Revolutionary labor refers to engaging in the most difficult tasks.

He explained that the act of picking up cigarette butts for smoking has recently become a problem in North Korea, particularly viewed as disrespectful for soldiers in uniform.

The soldier stated, “Each soldier is allocated 15 packs of cigarettes per month, but commanders take them all. Therefore, soldiers are left with no cigarettes to smoke, leading them to pick up cigarette butts since they have no other options. Previously, only lower-ranking soldiers would look for cigarette butts, but now even higher-ranking soldiers are doing the same.”

Another soldier from the same province mentioned that the cigarette ration for North Korean soldiers has been reduced. For border defense units, each soldier used to receive 15 packs of cigarettes per month, but since last autumn, the allocation has decreased to 10 packs. After the portion taken by the commanders, they are left with only 7 packs per month.

The soldier revealed that the border defense unit commanders send out two soldiers every afternoon to collect cigarette butts because every unit faces a shortage of cigarettes.

He further explained that even the border defense units, which were supposed to have sufficient supplies, are facing such shortages, with the situation being even worse for other infantry units. “What’s more unsettling is that this year, there have been reports of female soldiers picking up cigarette butts on the streets.”

As North Korean female soldiers are not allowed to smoke, they exchange the cigarette butts they collect with male soldiers for other items and use the money from selling these items to buy food.

The soldier expressed concerns about the insufficient food supply for North Korean soldiers, leading them to resort to selling cigarette butts for food. He questioned whether punishments like revolutionary labor would deter these soldiers from engaging in such activities.