DPRK military forces and capabilities
by Richardson ~ January 5th, 2006. Filed under: DPRK Military. With recent articles on South Korea’s F-15K fighter, plans to double
its submarine fleet, an alleged U.S. threat to attack North Korea last April, and the general failure of the Six-Party Talks so far, I thought it might be a good time to dig up a few links on North Korea’s military forces and capabilities
While accurate numbers are not generally available, a good amount of information is known about North Korea’s military, the Korean People’s Army. A fairy comprehensive document is available at GlobalSecurity.Org, the May 1997 
Marine Corps Intelligence Activity North Korea Country Handbook (5.5mb PDF – although marked FOUO).
The KPA’s equipment is as a rule antiquated and worn out, with a few exceptions (some aircraft and subs, mostly). The vast majority of tanks and aircraft are decades old Soviet models with chronic maintenance issue, and troops have scant training time.
The equipment deficiency is made up with hordes of soldiers; at 1.14 million the KPA is the fifth largest standing army in the world (behind China, the U.S., Russia, and India), 
with the largest collection of Special Forces at 100,000. Missiles (~650-700 ballistic missiles), artillery (~13,000 sites, with ample ammunition stockpiled), and WMD fill the rest of the gap. The continued acquisition of resources required to maintain such a large force is a cornerstone of Kim Jong-il’s ‘military first‘ (PDF) policy was designed to ensure the loyalty of the KPA.
DPRK forces & weapons overview, etc.:
- North Korean Military Capabilities: Conventional Forces
- North Korean Military Capabilities: Weapons of Mass Destruction
- North Korea Special Weapons Guide
- North Korean Nukes (including U.S. OPLAN information)
- North Korean Intelligence Agencies
- History: North Korea and Its Military
- North Korea Maps (political, roads, military, etc.) (more here)
Korean People’s Army:
- Korean People’s Army – Introduction (including unit information)
- Korean People’s Army – Order of Battle
- Korean People’s Army – Equipment
- Korean Peoples Army Air Force
- Korean Peoples Army Air Force – Equipment
- Korean Peoples Army Air Force – Air Bases
- Korean People’s Army Navy
- Korean People’s Army Navy – Warships
- Korean People’s Army Navy – Naval Bases
- North Korean Special Forces
- North Korean Special Operations Forces
- Comparative military ranks of Korea
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