North Korea is certainly figuring prominently in today's headlines. As a cardcarrying member of the "Axis of Evil," Kim Jong-Il has decided to play the part. He has been rattling the sabers and claiming that he has nuclear weapons. Our government is now claiming he can deliver these weapons as far as the west coast of the United States. Sadly, physical confirmation of this capability would yield catastrophic consequences. Now we see the value of anti-missile defenses! Since North Korea is becoming a hot topic, let's look at the balance sheet for the armies now facing each other across the DMZ. This article will focus on the North Korean Army. Next issue, we will look at South Korean and US forces in the region.
As of 1996, the North Korean Army fielded 153 divisions and brigades, including 60 infantry divisionsibrigades, 25 mechanized infantry brigades, 13 tank brigades, 25 Special Operation Force (SOF) brigades and 30 artillery brigades. The main equipment of the North Korean ground forces included over 3,800 tanks. The bulk of the tank force is made up of T-54, T-55 and T-59 tanks, but 800 T-62 and light tanks are also available. The T-62's are produced in North Korea and have been modified and upgraded (but so were Sadaam's tanks!!). The North Korean Army also is blessed with a vast artillery park. This makes up for the limited ground support capability of its air force. A key deficiency in the North Korean Army's equipment is its lack of mobile or static SAM's (surface to air missiles). They do possess a large number of man-portable SAM's, but these are hardly capable enough to keep a sophisticated opponent's air force (such as the United States) from destroying North Korean ground targets at will.
North Korea's Air Force is definitely second rate. It is made up of mostly obsolescent aircraft, such as the M ig- 15, Mig- 17, Mig- 19 and Mig-2 1. North Korea does possess 40 Mig-29's, but these would be the only planes that stand any chance at all against US air assets. North Korea also possesses some Su-25 ground attack planes (the Russian equivalent of the USA-10 Thunderbolt) and Mig-23 fighter-bombers. Although the North Korean Air Force would be useful in the initial surprise assault, it is hard to imagine this force lasting too long against US carrier-based and land-based aircraft.
The navy is definitely t he poor cousin in North Korea's armed forces. C onsisting mostly of missile patrol boats and elderly diesel submarines, it is primarily a coastal defense force. It would not last long against the US Navy. The missiles on the patrol boats are Chinese versions of the elderly Styx missile and the electronics aboard North Korean vessels is antiquated. Sophisticated electronic suites and countermeasures aboard US vessels would render this threat fairly harmless. The North Korean submarines are no match for the US Navy's nuclear attack submarines who would be able to detect and destroy these vessels long before they were within range to engage with their own weapons.
A North Korean "ace in the hole" is their large special operations forces (referred to in North Korea as Special Purposes Units or SPU's). These consist of 88,000 welltrained soldiers. They could be used in conventional and unconventional warfare. They can be deployed by air, land and sea. Interestingly, North Korea has dug numerous tunnels below the DMZ. Tunnels that have been discovered measure 6-feet square and run more than 2 00 feet deep.
One tunnel was more than a mile long! These could allow rapid insertion of a large number of troops behind the South Korean (ROK) front lines in the opening stages of an assault. SPU's might operate dressed in South Korean uniforms to add to the element of surprise. In fact, North Korea was able to purchase 87 Hughes MD-500 helicopters and could easily give these ROK markings to deceive South K orean and U S air defenses i n t he opening stages of an attack. North Korea also has 100 Nampo-class landing ships which could deliver 60 troops each along South Korea's long coastline. North Korean SPU units have already engaged ROK forces in numerous skirmishes along the DMZ and have proven to be tough customers that are not willing to give up.
Seventy percent of North Korea's active forces are deployed within 90 miles of the DMZ (demilitarized zone) and are thus in a position to threaten Combined Forces Command and all of Seoul with little warning. Such a deployment of forces shows that North Korea's Army is offensive-minded. An attack on the south would probably be a "blitzkrieg"-style affair. It would begin with an incredible artillery barrage, followed by a rapid advance, spearheaded by North Korea's mechanized forces. Special Purpose Units would quickly deploy behind the ROK front lines and seek to destroy South Korean and American airfields and communications assets. They would also attempt to seized key objectives, such as bridges, and hold them till relieved by regular army units. They would also seek to delay the arrival of US and ROK reinforcements and they would attempt to create chaos and confusion in the rear areas.
The problem faced by the North Korean Army would be whether or not they could hold the ground once they have captured it. How would North Korean deal with massive American airpower and ground reinforcements that would quickly arrive in theater? The North Korean Air Force is ill-equipped to stop American, and for that matter, ROK air units. Once North Korea loses control of the air, her army will be subjected to the same brutal punishment meted out to Sadaam's army in 1991 and to the Serbian forces during the Clinton years. Perhaps North Korea is counting on her threat of nuclear weapons as a deterrent? It certainly adds a new wrinkle to the problem. In fact, the threat of such a North Korean deterrent makes it clear that North Korea's nuclear capability must be dealt with in the near future. We can't afford to wait for the end game. Another question mark is China's role in the region. Would China intervene again, as they did in the first Korean War? I don't believe so. China wants to be the big power in the region and they are not pleased with the instability created by the North Korean regime. However, things change when push comes to shove.
North Korea: Part 2 South Korea's Armed Forces
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