World · East Asia & Pacific · 3 hrs ago
Photos near South Korea show North Korean women working at the border
Photos taken from South Korea’s Aegibong observatory near Gimpo show North Korean troops working close to the border.
The images include women carrying concrete posts for a fence project and some women standing guard.
The photos drew attention after three North Korean self-propelled guns appeared nearby, days after Kim Yo-jong threatened to show South Korea the North’s new firing positions.
Women had generally served in support or rear-area roles, rather than frontline guard units, according to the account.
The author says women’s frontline duties point to a serious troop shortage, though the figures cited for North Korea’s army size are disputed and its actual numbers are unclear.
The photographs have brought more attention to conditions among troops working near the border, but no further official response or next step is described.
Photos taken near South Korea’s Aegibong Observatory show North Korean women soldiers carrying concrete posts during border fence construction.
The images were taken on the North Korean side, in Hwanghae South Province’s Kaepung County.
Donga Ilbo journalist Joo Seong-ha says women soldiers are also visible on frontline construction and guard duties.
He argues their presence points to a severe manpower shortage in the North Korean military.
The article says six women carried a concrete post, while three men carried a post of the same size in another image.
- Who
- North Korean women soldiers were photographed working on border fence construction.
- What
- They were seen carrying concrete posts; the article also says women soldiers were visible on frontline guard duty.
- When
- The photos described were taken on the 23rd; the article was published on October 31, 2026.
- Where
- In Kaepung County, Hwanghae South Province, across from South Korea’s Aegibong Observatory.
- Why
- The article’s journalist says the use of women soldiers for frontline work reflects a serious military manpower shortage.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Kim Yo Jong inspected fortification work on the “southern border line,” according to the article.
Women soldiers were photographed carrying concrete posts during fence construction in Kaepung County.
North Korean soldiers were photographed conducting artillery firing training across from Aegibong Observatory.
- Women carrying a post
- Six soldiers
- Men carrying a post
- Three soldiers
- Military size estimate
- 1.28 million in South Korea’s 2022 Defense White Paper
- Estimated women’s share
- At least 10% in the Defense White Paper; the journalist estimates about 30%
- Artillery vehicles
- Three North Korean self-propelled guns appeared near Aegibong Observatory
What people are saying
Those hooligans must be made to know that our new firepower units have taken up firing positions.