Red Youth Guards () is North Korea's youth paramilitary organization. The Red Youth Guards' official anniversary is September 12, 1970. It was established under the direction of

Kim Il Sung Kim Il Sung (born Kim Song Ju; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he led as its first Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader from North Korea#Founding, its establishm ...

and acts as a student military organization targeting male and female students aged 14 to 16 at the time.

History

It was founded and established by taking advantage of the internal tensions caused by the Blue House raid and the abduction of the USS ''Pueblo'' in 1968. At that time, each social group in North Korea adopted a resolution and delivered it to Kim Il Sung, shouting the slogan, "Let's become a bodyguard and a union in carrying out the orders of the party and Kim Il-sung." Kim Il Sung, who received this resolution, ordered the formation of a student organization, the Red Youth Guard, in the form of accepting the resolutions of each organization in April 1969.

Organization

The Red Youth Guard is organized into a company or battalion level by school unit, and it is known that the total number of cadets is about 1 million students. Cadet battalions are organized into companies and platoons in large schools. Students receive 4 hours of on-campus training every Saturday, totaling to approximately 90 hours during the school year. Additionally, students undergo 7 days of Red Youth Guard camp training, and emergency call training during summer vacation when they are in middle school. Command and control may have been in the hands of the

Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea The Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea (CMC) () is an organ of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) which heads the Korean People's Army (KPA). One of the CMC's primary functions is to authorize ...

in the past, but has since passed to the WPK Political-Military Affairs Department. During wartime, they are placed under the command and control of the

Ministry of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

, and when mobilizing for training, they are transferred to the

Socialist Patriotic Youth League The Socialist Patriotic Youth League is the main North Korean youth organization. Directly under the party Central Committee, it is the only mass organization expressly mentioned in the charter of the Workers' Party of Korea. Youth under 15 ...

and the Education Committee under the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

References

{{North Korean armed forces Youth organizations established in 1970 Youth wings of communist parties Workers' Party of Korea Korean People's Army

History

Organization

See also

References