Incorporation of Defected Soldiers from the Korean People’s Army before and after the Korean War and the Divided Systems

The defected soldiers from the Korean People’s Army has shown different aspects and dimensions depending on the time period. In 1946, there was an intensive defection of the pro-Japanese policemen purged in the security bureau. However, from 1947 to April 1948, only a few soldiers defected from the Korean People’s Army system. As the divided state in South and North was established in August to September of 1948, the dimensions of the defected soldiers from North Korea altered from ‘counter-revolution forces’ to ‘anti-government forces.’Before the outbreak of the Korean War, the number of soldiers who had defected to the South from the Korean People’s Army tallied up to approximately 2,000 people. Some advanced into the South Korean society, some were incorporated into the ROK army and injected into the operation to liquidate the Red guerrillas. The soldiers from North Korea sought to gain admission from the people of ROK by subjugating the leftists. The soldiers from North Korea, however, were unable to escape from the constant suspicion of USAMGIK and the ROK government that they were North Korean spies. Thus, the soldiers from North Korea engaged heavily in the anti-communist fight in order to demonstrate that they are ‘defectors.’During the Korean War, the soldiers from North Korea were completely reborn as anti-North Korea, anti-communism combatants. By engaging in war agaisnt their former comrades, the soldiers from North Korea gained an unyielding identity about the South Korean regime. Ultimately, the soldiers from North Korea consolidated the North Korean ‘democratic base’ and the South Korean ‘anti-communist base’ simultaneously