Korean People's Army refers to the armed personnel of the Joseph Stalin. Kim Jong-il is the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army and Chairman of the National Defense Commission. The army has four branches: Ground Force, Naval Force, Air Force and the Civil Securities Force. In 1978, Kim Il Sung directed that “Military Foundation Day” be changed from 8 February to 25 April — the nominal day of establishment of his anti-Japanese guerrilla army in 1932 — to glorify the supposed indigenous Korean origins of the KPA and obscure its Soviet origin. According to the US State Department, North Korea has the fourth-largest military in the world, at an estimated 1.21 million armed personnel, with about 20% of men ages 17-54 in the regular armed forces.^[1] It also has a reserve force comprising 4,700,000 troops. The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. ... North Korea, officially the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK; Korean: Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk; Hangul: 조선민주주의인민공화국; Hanja: 朝鮮民主主義人民共和國), is a country in eastern Asia... North Korea, officially the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK; Korean: Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk; Hangul: 조선민주주의인민공화국; Hanja: 朝鮮民主主義人民共和國), is a country in eastern Asia... Kim Jong-il (also written as Kim Jong Il) (born February 16, 1942) is the leader of North Korea. ... Number of active troops per country This is a list of countries sorted by the total number of active troops where the military manpower of a country is measured by the total amount of active troops within the command of that country. ... Number of total troops per country This is a list of countries sorted by the number of total troops where the military manpower of a country is measured by the total amount of troops within the command of that country. ... Jamo redirects here. ... Hanja is the Korean name for Chinese characters. ... McCune-Reischauer romanization is one of the two most widely used Korean language romanization systems, along with the Revised Romanization of Korean, which replaced (a modified) McCune-Reischauer as the official romanization system in South Korea in 2000. ... The Revised Romanization of Korean is the official Korean language romanization system in South Korea. ... Kim Jong-il (also written as Kim Jong Il) (born February 16, 1942) is the leader of North Korea. ... Supreme Commander of the Korean Peoples Army is the highest post of control of the Korean Peoples Army, army of North Korea. ... The Chairman of the National Defence Commission of North Korea is the supreme commander of the North Korean military and the most powerful person in the North Korea. ... Weapons AK-47 Assault Rifle Dragunov Sniper Rifle RPD Light Machine Gun RPG-7 Rocket launcher RPK-74 Squad Automatic Weapon Main Battle Tanks Type 59 Main Battle Tank T-62 Main Battle Tank T-54 Main Battle Tank T-34 Main Battle Tank PT-85 Amphibious Battle Tank PT... The Korean Peoples Army Naval Force was established on June 5, 1946. ... Roundel of the KPAAF The Korean Peoples Air force (aka North Korean Air Force) is equipped mainly with Soviet-era and non-vital Chinese technology. ... Kim Il-sung (April 15, 1912–July 8, 1994) was a Korean Communist politician and the ruler of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (North Korea) from 1948 until his death. ... The United States Department of State, often referred to as the State Department, is the Cabinet-level foreign affairs agency of the United States government, equivalent to foreign ministries in other countries. ... A military reserve force is a military organization composed of part-time military personnel, and sometimes civilians, who are available to fight when a nation mobilizes for total war or to defend against invasion. ...

History

The Korean People's Army was formed from a cadre of guerrillas and former Korean soldiers in the service of the Soviet Union and Mao Zedong's Chinese Eighth Route Army who had gained battle experience in fighting Japanese and later Nationalist Chinese troops. One of the guerrilla leaders was Kim Il-sung, who commandeered a group of 300 Korean irregular troops operating in Manchuria. “Mao” redirects here. ... The Eighth Route Army (八路軍 Pinyin: bālù-jūn) was one of the main military forces of the Communist Party of China, active during the Chinese Civil War and Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). ... Kim Il-sung (15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean Communist leader from its founding in early 1948 until his death, when he was succeeded by his son Kim Jong-il. ...

Just after World War II and during the Soviet Union's occupation of the portion of Korea north of the 38th Parallel, the Soviet 25th Army headquarters in Pyongyang issued a statement ordering all armed resistance groups in the northern part of the peninsula to disband on Oct. 12, 1945. Two thousand Koreans with previous experience in the Soviet army were sent to various locations around the country to organize constabulary forces with permission from Soviet military headquarters, and the force was created on Oct. 21st.

The headquarters felt a need for a separate unit for security around railways, and the formation of the unit was announced on Jan. 11, 1946. That unit was activated on Aug. 15 of the same year to supervise existing security forces and creation of the national armed forces.

The first political-military school in North Korea, the Pyongyang Military Academy (became No. 2 KPA Officers School in Jan. 1949), headed by Kim Chaek, an ally of Kim Il Sung, was founded in October 1945 under Soviet guidance to train people's guards, or public security units. In 1946 graduates of the school entered regular police and public security/constabulary units. These lightly armed security forces included followers of Kim Il Sung and returned veterans from China. and the Central Constabulary Academy (became KPA Military Academy in Dec. 1948) soon followed for education of political and military officers for the new armed forces.

After military was organized and facilities to educate its new recruits were constructed, the Constabulary Discipline Corps was reorganized into the North Korean People's Army Corps Headquarters. The previously semi-official units became military regulars with distribution of Soviet uniforms, badges, and weapons that followed the inception of the headquarters.

The State Security Department, a forerunner to the Ministry of Defense, was created as part of the Interim People's Committee on Feb. 4th, 1948. The formal creation of the Korean People's Army was announced four days later on Feb. 8th, seven months before the government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was proclaimed on Sept. 09, 1948. In addition, the Ministry of People's Armed Forces was established, which controlled a central guard battalion, two divisions, and an independent mixed brigade.

Before the outbreak of the Korean War, Joseph Stalin equipped the KPA with modern heavy tanks, trucks, artillery, and small arms (at the time, the South Korean Army had nothing remotely comparable either in numbers of troops or equipment). The KPA was the primary instigator of the Korean War (called the "Fatherland Liberation War" in the North). Josef Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili (Georgian: , Ioseb Besarionis Dze Jughashvili; Russian: , Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili) (December 18 [O.S. December 6] 1878[1] – March 5, 1953), better known by his adopted name, Joseph Stalin (alternatively transliterated Josef Stalin), was General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Unions Central Committee from... Combatants United Nations:  Republic of Korea,  Australia,  Belgium,  Luxembourg,  Canada,  Colombia,  Ethiopia,  France,  Greece,  Luxembourg,  Netherlands,  New Zealand,  Philippines,  South Africa,  Thailand,  Turkey,  United Kingdom,  United States Medical staff:  Denmark,  Australia,  Italy,  Norway,  Sweden Communist states:  Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,  Peoples Republic of China,  Soviet Union Commanders...

During the opening phases of the Korean War in 1950, the KPA quickly drove South Korean forces south and captured Seoul, only to lose 70,000 of their 100,000-strong army in the autumn after U.S. amphibious landings at the Battle of Inchon and a subsequent drive to the Yalu River. The KPA subsequently played a secondary role to Chinese forces in the remainder of the conflict. By the time of the Armistice in 1953, the KPA had 290,000 casualties and 90,000 POWs. There were also a large number of civilian deaths in the northern part of Korea, but no accurate figures are available. Combatants United Nations:  Republic of Korea,  Australia,  Belgium,  Luxembourg,  Canada,  Colombia,  Ethiopia,  France,  Greece,  Luxembourg,  Netherlands,  New Zealand,  Philippines,  South Africa,  Thailand,  Turkey,  United Kingdom,  United States Medical staff:  Denmark,  Australia,  Italy,  Norway,  Sweden Communist states:  Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,  Peoples Republic of China,  Soviet Union Commanders... Combatants  United Nations:  United States  United Kingdom  Republic of Korea  Canada  Australia  Netherlands  France  Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Commanders Douglas MacArthur Arthur Dewey Struble Syngman Rhee Jeong Il-Gwon Kim Il-sung Choi Yong-Kun Strength 40,000[1] 1000 in Inchon, 5000 in Seoul, 500 in the... The Amnok River, or the Yalu River, is a river on the border between China and North Korea. ...

In 1953, the Military Armistice Commission (MAC) was created to oversee and enforce the terms of the armistice. The Neutral Nation Supervisory Committee (NNSC), originally made up of delegations from Poland and Czechoslovakia on the North Korean-Chinese People's Volunteers side, and Sweden and Switzerland on the United Nations side, monitored the activities of the MAC. North Korea, officially the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK; Korean: Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk; Hangul: 조선민주주의인민공화국; Hanja: 朝鮮民主主義人民共和國), is a country in eastern Asia... The Chinese Peoples Volunteer Army (PVA) (Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ) was a volunteer army deployed by the Chinese government during the Korean War. ... The foundation of the U.N. The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. ...

In the early 1970s, following the lead of Soviet military leaders and theorists who were rediscovering and beginning to apply the 1920s-1930s thinking of Soviet military theorists Svechin, Tukhachevski, Triandafillov, and others on operational art and “deep operations,” the Soviet-trained officers of the KPA were developing their version, termed “Two Front War.” As they envisioned it, a very large conventional force, greatly reinforced with artillery, armor, and mechanized forces, employing surprise, speed, and shock, would break through the DMZ, envelop and destroy South Korean forward forces, and rapidly overrun the entire peninsula. During the 1970s, senior KPA officers writing in official journals echoed Soviet military thinking as they characterized the nature of modern warfare as three dimensional, with no distinction between front and rear, highly mobile, and increasingly dependent upon mechanization, task organization, and improved engineer capabilities. These articles presaged dramatic increases in mechanized and truck-mobile infantry and self-propelled artillery battalions and ultimately a major expansion, reorganization, and redeployment forward of KPA ground forces. Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky (Russian: ; Polish: ) (February 16 [O.S. February 4] 1893 â€“ June 12, 1937), was a Soviet military commander, chief of the Red Army (1925–1928), was one of the most prominent victims of Stalins Great Purge of the late 1930s. ...

Command and control

The primary path for command and control of the KPA extends through the National Defense Commission which is lead by its chairman Kim Jong-il, to the Ministry of People's Armed Forces and its General Staff Department. From there on, command and control flows to the various bureaus and operational units. A secondary path, to ensure political control, extends through the Korean Workers' Party's Central Military Committee. Since 1990 numerous and dramatic transformations within North Korea have led to the current command and control structure. The details of the majority of these changes are simply unknown to the world. What little is known indicates that many changes were the natural result of the deaths of the ageing leadership including Kim Il-sung (July 1994), Minister of People's Armed Forces O Chin-u (February 1995) and Minister of People's Armed Forces Choe Kwang (February 1997). The 1998 constitution defines the NDC as “the highest guiding organ of the military and the managing organ of military matters. ... Kim Jong-il (also written as Kim Jong Il) (born February 16, 1942) is the leader of North Korea. ... The Workers Party of Korea (WPK) is the ruling party of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly known as North Korea. ... Kim Il-sung (15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean Communist leader from its founding in early 1948 until his death, when he was succeeded by his son Kim Jong-il. ...

The vast majority of changes were undertaken to secure the power and position of Kim Jong-il. At the Eightennth session of the sixth Central People's Committee, held on May 23, 1990, the National Defense Commission became established as its own independent commission, rising to the same status as the Central People's Committee and not subordinated to it, as before. Concurrent with this, Kim Jong-il was appointed first vice-chairman of the National Defense Commission. The Following year, on 24 December 1991, Kim Jong-il was appointed Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army. Four months later, on 20 April 1992, Kim jong-il was awarded the rank of Marshal and one year later he became the Chairman of the National Defense Commission. Within the KPA, between December 1991 and December 1995, nearly 800 high officers (out of approximately 1200) received promotions and preferential assignments. Three days after Kim jong-il became Marshal, eight generals appointed to the rank of Vice-Marshal. In April 1997, on the 85th anniversary of Kim il-sung's birthday, Kim Jong-il promoted 127 general grade officers. The following April he ordered the promotions of another 22 generals. Along with these changes many KPA officers were appointed to the influential positions within the Korean Workers' Party. Kim Jong-il (also written as Kim Jong Il) (born February 16, 1942) is the leader of North Korea. ... Kim Jong-il (also written as Kim Jong Il) (born February 16, 1942) is the leader of North Korea. ... Supreme Commander of the Korean Peoples Army is the highest post of control of the Korean Peoples Army, army of North Korea. ...

Organization

Until 1986 most sources claimed the army had two armored divisions. 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 North Korea'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. North Korea deployed ten corps including sixty divisions and brigades in the forward area south of the Pyongyang-Wonsan line.

Military branches

• Korean People's Army
  • North Korean Ground Force
  • North Korean Naval Force
  • North Korean Air Force
  • Civil Security Forces

The North Korean Ground Forces in 1960 may have totalled fewer than 400,000 persons and probably did not rise much above that figure before 1972. ... The Korean Peoples Army Naval Force was established on June 5, 1946. ... Roundel of the KPAAF The Korean Peoples Air force (aka North Korean Air Force) is equipped mainly with Soviet-era and non-vital Chinese technology. ...

Equipment

Beginning in the late 1970s, North Korea began a major reorganization and modernization of its ground forces. North Korea began to produce a modified version of the 115mm 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 North Korea 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, North Korea reorganized, reequipped, and forward deployed the majority of its ground forces. The army places great emphasis on special operations and has one of the largest special operations forces in the world--tailored to meet the distinct requirements of 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. Over 60 percent of the army was located within 100 kilometers of the DMZ in mid 1993.

A list of some of the equipment used:

Tanks

• Type-63 light amphibious tank  Soviet Union
• PT-85 (Type-82) amphibious tank, based on the VTT-323 APC chassis  Democratic People's Republic of Korea

Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_North_Korea. ...

Armoured Personnel Carrier

• Type 85 Armored Personnel Carrier
• M1992 amphibious armored personnel carrier

Artillery and Guns

• M-1974 152mm SP gun-howitzer
• M-1985 152mm gun-howitzer D-20/M-55; Type 83
• M-1975 130mm SP gun
• M-1992 130mm SP gun 130mm SPG
• M-1981 122mm SP gun Type 54 SPH
• M-1991 122mm SP howitzer
• M-1992 120mm SP combination gun

• M-1983 Quad 14.5mm Anti-Air
• M-1990 30mm gatling gun
• M-1992 Twin 30mm SP AA Gun
• 37mm Self-Propelled AA Gun
• Twin 57mm automatic AA gun
• Twin 57mm Self-Propelled AA Gun

• 240mm Rocket Launcher M-1985
• 240mm Rocket Launcher M-1991
• M-1985 122mm multiple rocket launcher (MRL)
• BM-11 122mm multiple rocket launcher (MRL)
• Type-63 107mm MRL

See also

• Comparative military ranks of Korea
• Awards and decorations of North Korea
• North Korea
• North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
• Korean Demilitarized Zone
• List of Korea-related topics
• Nodong-1
• Military of South Korea
• North Korean Arms Industry
• Ch'onma-ho
• "Military First" policy

Comparative military ranks of Korea refer to the ranks and insignia maintained by the three primary military powers on the Korean Peninsula, those being the South Korean military, the armed forces of North Korea, and the military forces of the United States. ... The system of orders and medals of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea is based on the Soviet one, although with some Chinese influence as well. ... North Korea claims to possess nuclear weapons, and the CIA asserts that it has a substantial arsenal of chemical weapons. ... Map of the Korean DMZ. The DMZ is given in red. ... This is a list of Wikipedia articles on Korea-related people, places, things, and concepts. ... The Nodong-1, sometimes Rodong-1, is a single stage, mobile liquid propellant medium range ballistic missile developed by North Korea. ... The Republic of Korea Armed Forces, or ROK Armed Forces (Hangul: 대한민국 국군; Hanja: 大韓民國 國軍; Revised Romanization: Dae-han-min-guk Guk-gun), is one of the largest standing armed forces in the world. ... Weapons AK-47 Assault Rifle Main Battle Tanks Chonma-ho MBT (Copy of T-62) PT-85 Amphibious Battle Tank Ryu Kyong-su MBT (imitation of the Russian T-90) Armoured Personnel Carriers BA-64 APC Sinhung VTT-323 APC M1992 APC (copy of the Russian BRDM-2) Type... The Chonma-ho (Chosŏngŭl: 천마호; Hanja: 天馬虎), which means flying horse tiger or Pegasus, main battle tank is North Koreas secretive indigenous tank design. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

References

• KPA Equipment Holdings

External links

• CIA World Factbook
• GlobalSecurity.org