Korean People's Army Ground Force

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The Korean People's Army Ground Force is the army of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly called North Korea. The Korean People's Army is made up of the Ground Force, the North Korean Air Force, and the North Korean Navy.

The force was formed in the late 1940s under Soviet tutelage and outnumbered and outgunned the South Korean Army on the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950. In 1960 the KPA GF may have totalled fewer than 400,000 persons and probably did not rise much above that figure before 1972. The force expanded relentlessly over the next two decades; in 1992, there were approximately 1 million personnel.^[1] Before this expansion of North Korean ground forces, the South Korean Army outnumbered North Korean Army. From 1970's on, South Korea started exceeding North Korea on economic view; hence, South Korea could modernized its forces, which alerted North Korea and resulted in inflation of North Korean Forces. Ironically, in two Koreas war front, the weaker of two has maintained larger armed forces. The size, organization, disposition, and combat capabilities of the army give P'yongyang military options both for offensive operations to reunify the peninsula and for credible defensive operations against any perceived threat from South Korea. Militaries that experience such growth also provide great upward mobility for their officers.

The army initially was organized along Chinese and Soviet concepts.^[2] Over time, this organization has adjusted to the unique circumstances of the military problem the KPA faces and to the evolution of North Korean military doctrine and thought.

The overwhelming majority of active ground forces are deployed in three echelons—a forward operational echelon of four infantry corps; supported by a second operational echelon of two mechanized corps, the armor corps, and an artillery corps; and a strategic reserve of the two remaining mechanized corps and the other artillery corps.^[3] These forces include the 806th and 815th Mechanized Corps and the 820th Armored Corps. These forces are garrisoned along major north-south lines of communication that provide rapid, easy access to avenues of approach into South Korea. The KPA has positioned massive numbers of artillery pieces, especially its longer-range systems, close to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separates the two Koreas.

North Korean ground forces formations which fought in the Korean War included the II and V Corps, the 105th Armored Division, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 12th, 19th, and 43rd Infantry Divisions.

Contents 1 Equipment 1.1 Tanks 1.2 Armoured Personnel Carriers 1.3 Artillery and Guns 2 References 3 External links

[edit] Equipment

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The Ground Forces have a mixed of domestic and imported equipment in their inventory. Prior to the breakup of the Soviet Union, most of these items were Soviet made and later copied- Soviet variants from China.

[edit] Tanks

Name	Type	Country of Origin	In Service	Notes
Type 59	Main Battle Tank	People's Republic of China	500
T-62	main battle tank	Soviet Union	800
T-54	main battle tank	Soviet Union	1600
T-34	medium tank	Soviet Union	250
PT-85 (Type-82)	amphibious tank	Democratic People's Republic of Korea	N/A	based on the VTT-323 APC chassis
PT-76	amphibious tank	Soviet Union	550
Type 62	light tank	People's Republic of China	50?
Ch'ŏnma-ho	main battle tank	Democratic People's Republic of Korea	<1000 as high
P'okpoong-Ho	main battle tank	Democratic People's Republic of Korea	<300	T-72 with parts retrofitted from the T-90

[edit] Armoured Personnel Carriers

Name	Type	Country of Origin	In Service	Notes
BMP-1	Infantry Fighting Vehicle	Soviet Union	200
BA-64	Armored Car	Soviet Union
VTT-323	Armored Personnel Carrier	Soviet Union/ People's Republic of China/ Democratic People's Republic of Korea		Based on the YW-531
YW-531	Armored Personnel Carrier	People's Republic of China
BTR-60	Armored Personnel Carrier	Soviet Union	1,000
BTR-50P	amphibious Armored Personnel Carrier	Soviet Union
BTR-40	wheeled Armored Personnel Carrier	Soviet Union/ People's Republic of China		Type 55
BTR-152	wheeled Armored Personnel Carrier	Soviet Union
ZSU-57-2	Self-propelled anti-aircraft cannon.	Soviet Union	250 in serivce

[edit] Artillery and Guns

Name	Type	Country of Origin	In Service	Notes
M-1974	152 mm SP gun-howitzer	Democratic People's Republic of Korea
M-1985	152 mm gun-howitzer	North Korea/ Soviet Union		D-20/M1955; Type 83
M-1975	130 mm self-propelled gun	Democratic People's Republic of Korea
M-1992	130 mm self propelled gun	Democratic People's Republic of Korea
M-1981	122 mm self-propelled gun	Democratic People's Republic of Korea		Type 54 SPH
M-1991	122 mm self-propelled howitzer	Democratic People's Republic of Korea
M-1992	120 mm self propelled combination gun	Democratic People's Republic of Korea
M-1992	anti-air gun	Democratic People's Republic of Korea
M1985	240mm rocket launcher	Democratic People's Republic of Korea
M-1991	240 mm rocket launcher	Democratic People's Republic of Korea
M-1985	122 mm multiple rocket launcher	Democratic People's Republic of Korea
BM-11	122 mm multiple rocket launcher	North Korea/ Soviet Union
Type 63	107 mm multiple rocket launcher	People's Republic of China

[edit] References

1. ^ Federation of American Scientists, Korean Peoples' Army, accessed February 2008
2. ^ GlobalSecurity.org, http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/dprk/army.htm
3. ^ Hodge, Homer T., "North Korea's Military Strategy", Hodge: 2003.

[edit] External links

• North Korean Army Equipment
• North Korean Army Units
• North Korean Air Force Equipment
• Equipment Inventory
• North Korean Orders, Decorations,and Medals

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