Originally posted by: aphex
Other than a million man army, do they actually have any military infrastructure? Warships? Planes?
I'm asking seriously, I have no idea.
Yes.
Annual military expenditure is US$6 billion across the armed forces including expenditure on missiles. US research organization ISIS reports DPRK may have three nuclear missile warheads
North Korea is the most militarised country in the world today[1], having the fourth largest standing army in the world, at an estimated 1.1 million armed personnel, with about 20% of men ages 17-54 in the regular armed forces.[2] It also has the Worker-Peasant Red Guard, a reserve force comprising 3.5m+ (IISS), 3.8m (USMC) or 4.7m (State Department) militia. It operates an enormous network of military facilities scattered around the country, a large weapons production basis, and an extremely dense air defence system.
The KPA ground forces are by far the largest component of the DPRK's military. As at 2001 the army was composed of approximately 1,003,000 personnel organised into 20 corps consisting of 176 divisions and brigades. The army is equipped with very large numbers of artillery and armoured fighting vehicles and approximately 70 percent of active units are based near the border with South Korea. The KPA also has a powerful special operations force comprising over 90,000 personnel.[5]
Until 1986 most sources claimed the army had two armored divisions.[6] These divisions disappeared from the order of battle and were replaced by the armored corps and a doubling of the armored brigade count. In the mid-1980s, the heavy caliber self propelled artillery was consolidated into the first multibrigade artillery corps. At the same time, the restructured mobile exploitation forces were redeployed forward, closer to the DMZ. The forward corps areas of operation were compressed although their internal organization appeared to remain basically the same. The deployment of the newly formed mechanized, armored, and artillery corps directly behind the first echelon conventional forces provides a potent exploitation force that did not exist prior to 1980.
As of 1992, the army was composed of sixteen corps commands, two separate special operations forces commands, and nine military district commands (or regions) under the control of the Ministry of the People's Armed Forces. Most sources agreed that the DPRK's ground forces consisted of approximately 145 divisions and brigades, of which approximately 120 are active. There is less agreement, however, on the breakdown of the forces.
As of 1996, major combat units consisted of 153 divisions and brigades, including 60 infantry divisions/brigades, 25 mechanized infantry brigades, 13 tank brigades, 25 Special Operation Force (SOF) brigades and 30 artillery brigades.[7] North Korea deployed ten corps including sixty divisions and brigades in the forward area south of the Pyongyang-Wonsan line.
Beginning in the late 1970s, after South Korea received new technologies and equipment from the United States,[8][9] the DPRK began a major reorganization and modernization of its ground forces. The DPRK began to produce a modified version of the 115 mm gunned T-62 tank, which was the Soviet army's main battle tank in the 1960s. Based on general trends and photography of armed forces parades, it is clear that the DPRK has made considerable modifications to the basic Soviet and Chinese designs in its own production.
In the 1980s, in order to make the army more mobile and mechanized, there was a steady influx of new tanks, self propelled artillery, armored personnel carriers (APCs), and trucks. The ground forces seldom retire old models of weapons and tend to maintain a large equipment stock, keeping old models along with upgraded ones in the active force or in reserve. The army remains largely an infantry force, although a decade-long modernization program has significantly improved the mobility and firepower of its active forces.
Between 1980 and 1992, the DPRK reorganized, reequipped, and forward deployed the majority of its ground forces. The army places great emphasis on special operations and has the 2nd largest special operations forces in the world ? tailored to meet the distinct requirements of mountainous Korean terrain. Between 1984 and 1992, the army added about 1,000 tanks, over 2,500 APC/infantry fighting vehicles (IFV), and about 6,000 artillery tubes or rocket launchers. In 1992 North Korea had about twice the advantage in numbers of tanks and artillery, and a 1.5-to-1 advantage in personnel over its potential adversaries, the United States-Republic of Korea defenses to the south (though it must be pointed out that most of this equipment is obsolete compared to that of the South Korean military). Over 60 percent of the army was located within 100 kilometers of the DMZ in mid-1993.
The Korean People's Naval Command - more commonly known as the Korean People's Navy (KPN) - is a green-water navy and operates mainly within the 50 kilometer exclusion zone. The KPN is the lowest priority military service and most of its equipment is obsolete. As at 2007 the KPN comprised 46,000 personnel and operated 704 ships and landing and infiltration craft. The navy also operates a large number of coastal defence units which are equipped with artillery and surface-to-surface missiles.[10]
The KPN is organised into two fleets which are not able to support each other. The East Fleet is headquartered at T'oejo-dong and the West Fleet at Nampho. A number of training, ship building and maintenance units and a naval aviation battalion report directly to Naval Command Headquarters at Pyongyang.[11] The majority of the navy's ships are assigned to the East Fleet. Due to the short range of most ships the two fleets are not known to have ever conducted joint operations or have shared vessels.[
The Korean People's Air and Air Defence Command, better known as the Korean People's Air Force (KPAF), is primarily an air defence force, with limited offensive capability. As at 2007 it comprised 110,000 personnel and between 1,600 and 1,700 aircraft. The KPAF also operates a very large air defence network of radar and anti-aircraft sites. Most of the KPAF's aircraft and surface to air missiles are obsolete and the force's pilots conduct little flight training.[13]
The KPAF is organised into six Air Divisions, four of which have air defense responsibilities and two of which provide air transport. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Air Divisions operate combat aircraft and are responsible for the defence of the north-western, eastern and southern sections of the country respectively. The 8th Air Division operates training aircraft and is responsible for the defence of the north-eastern section of the DPRK. The 5th and 6th Air Divisions operate transport aircraft. Air Koryo, the DPRK's civil airline, also comes under the control of the KPAF through the Civil Aviation Bureau.[14] The KPAF operates from 89 bases, including 18 highway strips and 20 helipads. Most of the force's air bases are 'hardened' against attack, with many having large underground components. Some of the primary air bases have underground runways from which aircraft can be directly launched
The Artillery guidance bureau (AGB) is the strategic missile forces of the Korean People's Army. It is equipped mainly with Scud-derived localy produced ballistic missiles with varying range, payload and accuracy. Some of them, such as the Hwasong-5 and Hwasong-6 are land-mobile, while others, such as the Rodong-2 and Taepodong-1 require launch pads. North Korea currently develops a new ICBM - the Taepodong-2, which was tested in 2006 but failed. Its shooting range is estimated to be about 6,700 km or more. Currently deployed missiles have a range of up to 2,000 km. The exact number of deployed missiles of all types is unknown, but it is generally accepted there are some 600 Hwasong-6 and 200 Rodong-1 in service, as well as other shorter-range missiles. Major military launch pads are Musudan-ri on the country's east coast, and Pongdong-ri, which is under construction. Smaller launch pads are scattered around the country.
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