Available information about North Korea is very scarce, a fact that anyone who has studied the country knows well. As a compensation mechanism, the research community has developed an interest in small details, as by examining them one can hope to reconstruct parts of the bigger picture. In this regard, the symbols of the North Korean army present a good opportunity.

Militaries often amass an enormous number of symbols: flags, insignia, uniforms etc., and the Korean People’s Army (KPA) is no exception – although the number of military decorations in the DPRK is, notably, smaller than in most nations.