With almost daily threats, we know all too well what North Korea's government thinks of the U.S. and the South, but how does Pyongyang's next generation feel? If a report from the Associated Press is to be believed, North Korea is training 11-year-olds at an elite military academy, with students believing they must "get revenge on the American imperialists."
At the Mangyongdae Revolutionary School, North Korea trains adolescents in Taekwondo and other military skills in preparation for one day going to war with the U.S. and the South, according to the Associated Press. Among other skills, the students learn English through patriotic chants like, "The respected Marshal Kim Jong Un is our father."
"Because of the present situation, I am trying to study harder, because I really think that's how I can get my revenge on the American imperialists: by getting top marks in class," student Jo Chung Hyok told The Associated Press.
"It's my revolutionary duty," Jo added. "I'm working extra hard to get top marks in military subjects like tactics and shooting."
In recent months, North Korea has released a seemingly endless flood of nearly daily threats aimed at South Korea, Japan, and the U.S. and its military bases in the region. Many analysts credit the nation's constant hostility to Pyongyang's anger over crippling economic sanctions brought against the country by the UN due to the North's refusal to give up its nuclear ambitions.
The most recently approved U.N sanctions "broaden and tighten" the many current financial, economic and trade sanctions that have been in effect against Pyongyang since 2006, and outright ban the sale of luxuries such as yachts and sports cars in the country, highly cherished toys of North Korea's "ruling elite", according to NBC News. Some of the measures will also seek to stymie North Korea's ability to move its money around the world, and finance and gather material for its weapons programs.
The leadership at the Mangyongdae Revolutionary School is turning the recent international condemnation of North Korea's war rhetoric into motivation for its students, intwining instruction in subjects like biology, history, and foreign languages with jingoistic messages.
"At the moment, the situation on the Korean Peninsula is tense, and America is being bad to us," explained Lt. Col. Kim Hak Bin, who works at Mangyongdae. "Our students are ready to go to the front lines whenever a war breaks out, and they are now studying harder than usual."
North Korea has made a point in recent months of displaying its military brawn through open threats aimed at the U.S. and South, provocative military exercises aimed at South Korean and U.S. targets, and more.
North Korea rejected the recently approved fifth round of harsher United Nations Security Council sanctions against the country, claiming they were a fundamentally flawed path toward improving relations in the region. The U.N. voted unanimously March 7 to approve tougher sanctions against North Korea as punishment for the country's third nuclear missile test launch in February, stoking the ire of North Korea, who described America as a "criminal threatening global peace" just hours before the U.N.'s vote.
Students receive training at Mangyongdae to operate as the "core" of the Korean People's Army, said biology teacher Ri Kyong Hui, according to the AP.
Experts on the region aren't convinced North Korea currently possesses the ability to produce nuclear weapons. Many doubt Pyongyang will follow through on its promises to engage the U.S. or South in a full-scale attack such as the instigation that began the Korean War in 1950. However, analysts remain concerned the heightened tensions could pressure North Korea into a "skirmish," which could potentially develop into a legitimate conflict.