WASHINGTON, May 16th. /Corr. ITAR-TASS Andrey Surzhansky/. The Navy of the DPRK received two new warships with platforms for one helicopter and anti-submarine missile launchers.

This was announced on Thursday by the American-Korean Institute of the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Washington.

The research center refers to the results of the analysis of new satellite photographs. However, it is not yet clear whether the ships are ready for operation. One of them is at the shipyard in the port of Nampo, and the other is in the port of Rajin. It is also known that these ships are the largest built in the DPRK over the past 25 years.

The author of the analysis, Joseph Bermudez, noted that "the appearance in the DPRK of new frigates with helipads may serve as an alarming bell regarding the effectiveness of sanctions designed to curb the development of Pyongyang's military programs."

Media: North Korea built two new warships

North Korea has built two of the newest and largest warships in the past 25 years, according to satellite images cited by the media.

Photos of the two North Korean frigates were taken between December 2013 and January 2014. They can be seen as one of the ships is anchored in the port of Nampo, the other - in the shipyard of the northeastern port of Najin. Meanwhile, the surface fleet of North Korea is often assessed by experts as one of the weakest in the Pacific region, RIA Novosti reports with reference to the 38 North Internet portal.

Portal experts claim that two of the latest DPRK warships have helipads capable of simultaneously accommodating one piece of equipment. The ships are also equipped with special missile systems that allow them to engage in combat with South Korean submarines.

According to Joseph Bermudez, a leading American expert on North Korean armaments, the DPRK authorities over the past decade have been able to maintain the construction of a navy despite all economic sanctions from the international community, as well as economic and industrial stagnation. In his opinion, this circumstance should make the leadership of other countries think about the effectiveness of the measures taken against Pyongyang's buildup of military potential.

Bermudez added that the process of adapting new vessels for offshore operations will take several more years. In turn, senior analyst at RAND Corporation, Bruce Bennett, said that the two new frigates that appeared in service with the DPRK are superior in volume and technical characteristics to any other military vessel in the country.

soho-class FGH, no. 823, seen at its Singyo-ri Patrol Base on North Korea's east coast on November 5, 2006.

A Mi-4PL ASW helicopter seen on the deck of soho-class FFGH no. 823 sometime during 2004-2007.

The Namp'o FFH seen berthed at the Namp'o Shipyard on December 27, 2013.

Another Namp'o FFH seen berthed at the No. 28 Shipyard in Najin on January 17, 2014.

The navies of many states have rare ships. They will never go to sea again, but to exclude them from the lists of the fleet would mean tearing out the heroic pages of the past from memory and forever losing the continuity of traditions for future generations.

That is why the cruiser Avrora stands at the eternal joke at the Petrogradskaya Embankment in St. Petersburg, and the masts of the 104-gun battleship Victory rise in the docks of Portsmouth. The country's naval flag flies over each veteran, a reduced crew of military sailors is on duty, and a special column has been allocated in the Navy budget for their maintenance (note: Aurora was excluded from the Navy in 2010 and transferred to the category of ships museums).

Even the pragmatic United States has its own rare ship - USS Pueblo (AGER-2). Perhaps the most unusual of all warships in the world.

To exclude the Pueblo from the lists of the US Navy would be to raise the white flag and capitulate in the face of the enemy. The little scout is still listed on all Pentagon lists as an active combat unit. And it doesn’t matter that the Pueblo itself has been moored de facto at the embankment in North Korean Pyongyang for almost half a century, and its secret radio-technical “stuffing” has been taken to pieces in the interests of the secret research institutes of the Soviet Union.

... The barrels of the uncovered "Brownings" of the 50th caliber stick out helplessly. The walls of the Pueblo's superstructures are blackened with shrapnel wounds, and the decks show brown bloodstains of American sailors. But how did a Yankee warship end up in such a humiliating position?

Capture of the Pueblo

The Pueblo, an electronic intelligence ship, passed according to official US Navy documents as a Banner-type hydrographic ship (Auxiliary General Environmental Research - AGER). Former cargo-passenger ship FP-344, launched in 1944 and subsequently converted for special operations. Full displacement - 895 tons. Crew - about 80 people. Full speed - 12.5 knots. Armament - 2 machine guns of 12.7 mm caliber.

A typical Cold War spy disguised as a harmless science vessel. But behind the modest appearance was a wolf grin. The interiors of the Pueblo's interior resembled a giant supercomputer - long rows of racks with radios, oscilloscopes, tape recorders, cipher machines, and other specific equipment. The task is to monitor the Soviet Navy, measure the electromagnetic fields of Soviet ships, intercept signals at all frequencies in the interests of the National Security Agency (ANB) and naval intelligence of the fleet.

On January 11, 1968, USS Pueblo (AGER-2) left the port of Sasebo and, having passed the Tsushima Strait, entered the Sea of ​​Japan with the task of monitoring the ships of the Pacific Fleet of the USSR Navy. Having circled for several days in the Vladivostok region, the Pueblo moved south along the coast of the Korean Peninsula, simultaneously collecting information about radio emission sources on the territory of the DPRK. The situation was alarming: on January 20, when the scout was at a distance of 15 miles from the naval base on about. Mayan-do watchmen found a warship on the horizon. Poor visibility made it difficult to accurately establish its nationality - the object, which turned out to be a small anti-submarine ship of the DPRK Navy, disappeared without a trace in the evening twilight.

On January 22, two North Korean trawlers appeared near the Pueblo, accompanying the American throughout the day. On the same day, a group of North Korean special forces attempted to assassinate South Korean President Park Chung-hee, but died in a shootout with police.

Bad signs were ignored: "Pueblo" calmly continued its journey along the coast of the DPRK.

On January 23, 1968, X hour struck - at 11:40, a small anti-submarine ship SC-35 of the DPRK Navy approached the Pueblo. With the help of a flag semaphore, the Koreans demanded to indicate the nationality of the ship. The Americans immediately raised the Stars and Stripes from the mast of the Pueblo. This was supposed to cool hot heads and exclude any provocation from the enemy.

Soviet-made small anti-submarine ship

However, from the SC-35 board, an order immediately followed to stop the move, otherwise the Koreans threatened to open fire. The Yankees were playing for time. At this time, three more torpedo boats appeared next to the Pueblo. The situation was taking a dangerous turn. The US flag somehow did not particularly cool the Korean ardor.

The commander of the Pueblo, Lloyd Bucher, checked the map again and checked the navigation radar with his own hand - that's right, the Pueblo is 15 miles from the coast, outside the territorial waters of the DPRK. However, the Koreans did not think to lag behind - the air was filled with the roar of jet fighters. The air force and navy of North Korea were surrounded on all sides by a lone American intelligence agent.

Now Commander Bucher understood what the enemy was up to - to encircle the unarmed Pueblo and force it to follow to one of the North Korean ports. As they left Sasebo, he attended a conference with officers from the crew of the reconnaissance ship Banner. Colleagues confirmed that the Soviet and Chinese navies regularly use this tactic in an attempt to lure American spy ships into a trap. However, unlike the Soviet Navy, the North Korean fleet acted more boldly and decisively. After 2 hours of fruitless pursuit, the first shell flew into the Pueblo superstructure, tearing off the leg of one of the American sailors. Next, the reconnaissance hull rumbled with machine-gun shots.

The Yankees screamed about the attack on all frequencies and rushed to destroy the secret equipment.

Dozens of tons of radio electronics and encryption machines, mountains of secret documentation, reports, orders, magnetic tapes with records of negotiations between the North Korean and Soviet military - too much work for three fire axes and two electric paper shredders. Details, documents and magnetic tapes should be dumped into bags for subsequent dumping overboard - having given the necessary orders, Bucher rushed headlong into the radio room. How does the command of the 7th Fleet promise to help him?

The signal about the attack on the US Navy ship was received by the ships of the aircraft carrier strike group, which was located 500 miles south of the Pueblo. The commander of Task Force 71, Rear Admiral Epes, ordered the Phantoms on duty to be immediately put into the air and to destroy to hell all North Korean tin cans trying to get close to the American reconnaissance ship. To which the commander of the supercarrier Enterprise only shrugged his shoulders - he is unlikely to be able to help in this situation. The Enterprise's air wing has not yet recovered from a long transoceanic transition, half of the aircraft have been damaged by a severe typhoon, and the four combat-ready Phantoms on deck carry no weapons other than air-to-air missiles. It will take his guys at least an hour and a half to change weapons and form a full-fledged strike group - but, alas, by then it will probably be too late ...

The destroyers USS Higbee, USS Collet and USS O'Bannon, stationed in Japanese ports, were too far away to provide any assistance to the attacked scout. The promised F-105 Thunderchief fighter-bombers also did not arrive ...

At this time, the Koreans continued to methodically shoot the bridge and the superstructure of the Pueblo with 57 mm guns, hoping to kill the commander and senior officers of the ship. The "headless" ship must quickly raise the "white flag" and accept the conditions of the Korean sailors.

Finally, Commander Butcher realized that help would not come to them, and the Koreans would shoot them all if the Yankees did not fulfill their conditions. The Pueblo stalled and prepared to take on board the capture team. The Yankees did not even try to take the fight - the Brownings on the upper deck remained uncovered. Later, the commander justified himself that only one person from the crew of the Pueblo knew how to handle these weapons.

From the approaching torpedo boat, 8 Korean sailors landed on the deck of the Pueblo, none of whom spoke English. Commander Butcher tried to explain that he was in charge of the ship. The Korean officer signaled the crew to line up along the side and fired a burst from the Kalashnikov over their heads, obviously showing the frightened Yankees that he was now in charge here. And he does not intend to joke with them.

Having descended with the Koreans into the working quarters of radio technicians and cipher makers, Commander Bucher was dumbfounded: the entire deck was littered with bags of documents, details of secret equipment and fragments of magnetic years. They were collected in bags, but no one bothered to throw them overboard! No less surprise awaited them in the radio room: according to Bucher himself, the narrow eyes of the Koreans widened at the sight of how teletypes continue to knock out secret radio messages - the Yankees not only did not destroy the equipment, but did not even try to turn it off!

Effects

The captured Pueblo was escorted to Wonsan. In total, in a skirmish with the DPRK Navy, the reconnaissance crew lost one person killed, the remaining 82 sailors were captured. 10 Americans had injuries of varying severity.

The next day, at the Panmunjeong checkpoint of the Korean militarized zone, negotiations began between representatives of the United States and the DPRK. Rear Admiral John Victor Smith read out an American appeal: the Yankees demanded the immediate release of the hostages, the return of the confiscated hydrographic vessel, and an apology. It was emphasized that the seizure took place at a distance of 15.6 miles from the coast of the Korean Peninsula, outside the territorial waters of the DPRK (according to international rules - 12 miles from the coast).

North Korean General Pak Chung Guk simply laughed in the face of the Americans and said that the border of territorial waters runs where Comrade Kim points out. At the moment, this distance is 50 miles from the coast of North Korea. He, on behalf of his country, expresses a resolute protest against the rude aggressive invasion of the DPRK’s terrorist waters by an armed ship with spy equipment on board, and any talk about the release of the Pueblo crew members can only be carried out after an official apology from the United States.

The negotiations stalled.

On January 28, with the help of the A-12 high-altitude supersonic reconnaissance aircraft (the predecessor of the SR-71), reliable confirmation was received that the Pueblo had been captured by the armed forces of North Korea. The pictures clearly showed that the ship was located at the Wonsan naval base, surrounded by ships of the DPRK Navy.

i> "Pueblo" from a height of 20 km

At the same time, a letter of gratitude from Commander Bucher arrived from North Korea, in which he confessed to espionage and other sins. The text was composed in accordance with the Juche ideology and could not have been written by an American. But the signature was real. As it became known later, the Koreans beat the Pueblo commander, and when this did not help, they threatened that he would witness the execution of the entire crew, and then die himself. Knowing who he was dealing with, Bucher prudently signed the confession.

At home, sailors were greeted as real heroes. However, already in January 1969, a trial was opened - 200 hours of meetings, 140 witnesses. Pentagon officials were outraged that for the first time in 160 years an American ship had been handed over to the enemy. With a full set of secret equipment!

Why did the commander, under the threat of capturing the Pueblo, not dare to sink his ship? Or at least destroy the most valuable equipment? Cryptocurrency machines have fallen into the hands of the North Koreans - a direct threat to US national security, plus everything, the captured ship will most likely be put up somewhere in a conspicuous place, which will damage America's image.

Lloyd Bucher justified himself by the fact that a couple of months before the campaign he turned to the command of the fleet with a request to install explosive devices - to quickly undermine and destroy secret equipment. However, his request remained unsatisfied.

Finally, why didn't the great and invincible American air force come to the aid of the Pueblo? Where was the Enterprise supercarrier clicking its beak at that time?

During the process, all new facts of the mess in the US Navy were revealed. Finally, the Yankees decided to stop the tragicomedy and begin to constructively address the identified problems. By decision of the commander of the Navy, John Chaffee, the case was closed. Commander Bucher was fully justified.

The main mistake in the Pueblo incident was the wrong calculation of the adequacy of the DPRK. The Yankees were sure that they were acting against an ally of the USSR, which meant that there was no one to fear: Soviet sailors always observed the norms of international maritime law and would never touch an American ship outside the 12-mile zone of territorial waters. Even in the open ocean, Soviet reconnaissance (communication ships - SSV) and their American "colleagues" (GER / AGER) - the same miserable unarmed "pelvis", boldly approached the squadrons of the "probable enemy", rightly believing that their security was ensured by military and the political power of their countries, interpreted as a flag flying over them.

American fears about the seizure of secret equipment were not in vain: Soviet specialists immediately dismantled and removed to the USSR a number of secret equipment, incl. cipher machines class KW-7. Using this equipment, coupled with tables, codes, and descriptions of cryptographic schemes obtained by the KGB with the help of warrant officer Johnny Walker, Soviet cryptographers were able to decipher about a million intercepted US Navy messages.

The Capture of the USS Pueblo and Its Effect on SIGINT Operations, Declassified and release by NSA on 12-20-2006
Author Oleg Kaptsov

What? Let us sum up the results of our study of the state of the underwater photo of the DPRK on satellite images. For good, it was also necessary to look at the dynamics - for many points taken there are archives of images for several years starting from 2002. But for the first dive into the topic, I think an approximate cut with some assumptions will be enough.

Submarine type GOLF(non-nuclear submarine with ballistic missiles) about which our and not only the media in the DPRK write about on satellite images of mid-2014 NOT detected.

Submarine type ROMEO own production according to Chinese technical documentation on project 033 (Chinese analogue of the submarine project 633 of the USSR).
Western Fleet:
- 1 submarine in the CVD dock
- 3 combat submarines in Nampo
- 1 PL in Nampo in SRH
Eastern Fleet:
- 9 submarines on the naval base south of Sinpo
- 1 PL in the sludge in the same place
- 6 submarines in the naval base near Sinchang

In 2014, the great leader Kim Jong-un went to sea on one of the submarines ROMEO of the DPRK Navy.

Submarine type WHISKEY pr.613- in 1964 and in 1966, 2 submarines were delivered from the USSR (total - 4 units). Probably, until 2004, the boats were in service, and after 2004 they began to be laid up. There are no such boats in the eastern fleet of the DPRK.

1 submarine in a semi-submerged state near Sinpo;
- 2 submarines presumably laid up in the base south of Sinpo;
- 1 flooded submarine in the same place;

Probably, these are all 4 boats pr.613.

...
...

Submarine S-338 project 613 WHISKEY-V. Naval parade on the Neva in Leningrad, July 1987 (http://flot.com, edited).

Submarine type SINPO- a new submarine of the DPRK Navy, which first appeared on satellite images in the summer of 2014 in the port of Sinpo. The exact purpose of the submarine is not yet clear - there are various assumptions - including that it is an experimental SLBM (a boat with one SLBM launcher). Personally, it seems to me that this is just a new project of an ordinary submarine - a sort of Mega-Gadir.

Estimated reconstruction of the submarine SINPO.

Submarine type SANG-O- a large small submarine of the DPRK Navy, about 40 m long. There are certain problems with the identification of small submarines of the DPRK due to the low quality of the images and the small difference between the boats in size. Therefore, the data on their number is extremely inaccurate.

Eastern Fleet:
- 1 submarine of this type based on Nampo in 2006 and in one of the photos in 2013
Western Fleet:
- such a feeling. what is not.

Yono-class submarine(similar Ghadir submarines were produced for Iran and Iran). There are many of them, if, of course, we correctly identified them.

Eastern Fleet:
- 8 submarines of this type based on Nampo in 2013
Western Fleet:
- 13 Submarines on the naval base south of Sinpo
- 14 submarines at the naval base near Sinchang

Submarine type R-4 (reduced Yono) - it seems that this is a Yono prototype boat, but in general I did not delve into the essence of the issue.

Western Fleet:
- 4 submarines in the sludge on the naval base south of Sinpo.
- 3 submerged submarines nearby (there since 2002).

TOTAL for 2013-2014:
project 613 WHISKEY - 4 units. - withdrawn from the fleet;
project 033 ROMEO - 21 units. in different condition, combat no more than 18 units.
Submarine type SINPO - 1 unit.
Submarine type SANG-O - 1 unit.
Submarine type Yono - 35 units. (in various condition, but mostly combat)
Submarine type R-4 - 7 units. (most likely in a non-combat state)

TOTAL - 69 combat and non-combat submarines ... If there are boats in underground bases, then quite a lot, which, to be honest, is doubtful. That's all.

... this and other news, if possible and not always promptly on

As of 2008, the strength of the DPRK Navy was 46,000 people, in 2012, 60,000. The service life on conscription is 5-10 years.

The headquarters of the Navy is located in Pyongyang. Most of the Navy is made up of Coast Guard forces. The Navy is capable of carrying out border protection operations in the coastal zone, offensive and defensive operations, mining and conventional raid operations. At the same time, due to the imbalance in the composition of the fleet, it has limited capabilities to control sea spaces, deterrence actions or fight against submarines. Over 60% of North Korean warships are stationed at forward bases.

The main task of the Navy is to support the combat operations of the ground forces against the army of South Korea. The Navy is capable of conducting rocket and artillery shelling of coastal targets.

North Korea is building its own small and medium-sized submarines, mainly at the Nampo and Wonsan shipyards.

The command of the Navy has two fleets under its control, Eastern and Western, consisting of 16 combat groups. Due to the geographical position, there is no exchange of ships between the fleets.

The Western Fleet, consisting of 6 squadrons of about 300 ships, operates in the Yellow Sea. The headquarters of the fleet is located in Nampo, the main base ports are Pipha-got and Sagot, smaller bases are Cho-do and Tasa-ni. The fleet includes a landing craft brigade, two water area guard brigades, four missile boat divisions, four submarine divisions, and a separate water area guard division.

The Eastern Fleet, consisting of 10 squadrons of approximately 470 ships, operates in the Sea of ​​Japan. The headquarters of the fleet is located in Taeydong, the main base ports are Najin and Wonsan, smaller bases are Chaho, Chongjin, Myang Do and Puam-ni. The fleet includes two brigades of landing craft, two brigades of protection of the water area, a brigade of boats, a division of URO frigates, three divisions of missile boats, a separate division of torpedo boats, three divisions of submarines, a separate division of ultra-small submarines (sabotage and reconnaissance forces).

The submarine fleet is decentralized. Submarines are based in Chaho, Mayangdo and Piphagota.

Najin-class frigate of the DPRK Navy

The fleet includes 3 URO frigates (2 Najin, 1 Soho), 2 destroyers, 18 small anti-submarine ships, 4 Soviet submarines of project 613, 23 Chinese and domestic submarines of project 033 (project 633), 29 small submarines boats of the Sang-O project, more than 20 midget submarines, 34 missile boats (10 project 205 Osa, 4 class Huangfen, 10 Sozhu, 12 project 183 Komar; the boats are armed with anti-ship missiles P- 15 Termit or Chinese CSS-N-1 SCRUBBRUSH), 150 torpedo boats (about half of domestic construction), fire support boats (including 62 CHAHO class), 56 large (6 Hainan, 12 Taejong, 13 "Shanghai-2", 6 "Chongju", 19 "SO-1") and more than 100 small patrol boats, 10 small landing ships "Hante" (capable of carrying 3-4 light tanks), up to 120 landing craft (in including about 100 "Nampos", created on the basis of the Soviet P-6 torpedo boat, with a speed of up to 40 knots and a range of up to 335 km and capable of carrying up to 30 number of equipped paratroopers), up to 130 hovercraft, 24 Yukto-1/2 minesweepers, 8 floating bases of ultra-small submarines, a submarine rescue ship, 4 hydrographic vessels, minelayers.

Patrol ship of the Navy of the DPRK

The use of high-speed missile and torpedo boats makes it possible to carry out surprise attacks on enemy warships. Submarines can be used to block sea communications, lay minefields and land special operations troops. Approximately 60% of the ships are based near the demilitarized zone.

The Navy has two sniper brigades on amphibious ships.

The coastal troops include two regiments (thirteen divisions of anti-ship missiles) and sixteen separate artillery divisions of coastal artillery. Coastal batteries are armed with surface-to-sea missiles S-2 Sopka, CSSC-2 SILKWORM (a Chinese copy of the Soviet P-15M), and CSSC-3 SEERSUCKER with a range of up to 95 km, as well as coastal artillery installations of the caliber 122/130/152 mm.

The DPRK fleet has rich experience in laying minefields. Its fleet has a significant number of surface vessels designed to lay mines against amphibious landings, protect strategic ports and provide ground forces with sea protection. As part of the coastal defense system, minefields are combined with artillery and missile coastal batteries.

Semi-submersible boat DPRK

The Navy of the DPRK uses semi-submersible vessels used by the 137th squadron of the Navy to land special forces soldiers from the sea. Due to their low profile, these vessels are barely visible on radar. The speed on the surface of the water is 45 knots (83 km / h), the speed in a semi-submerged state is 4 knots (7.4 km / h).

In addition to warships, 10 cargo ships are under the direct control of the Ministry of People's Armed Forces.

More than half a century ago, one of the bloodiest military conflicts of the second half of the last century, the war on the Korean Peninsula, ended. It lasted more than three years and claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. After it, 80% of the transport and industrial infrastructure of both Korean states were destroyed, millions of Koreans lost their homes or became refugees. Legally, this war continued for many more decades, since the reconciliation and non-aggression pact between South Korea and the DPRK was signed only in 1991.

Since then, the Korean Peninsula has remained a constant hotbed of tension. The situation in this region either calms down, or again heats up to a dangerous degree, threatening to escalate into the Second Korean War, into which neighboring countries, including the United States and China, will inevitably be drawn. The situation worsened even more after Pyongyang received nuclear weapons. Now, every missile or nuclear test conducted by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea causes serious international excitement. Recently, such exacerbations occur with a frequency of once every one to two years.

In 2019, the next Korean crisis coincided with the beginning of the work of the new US President Donald Trump, who, during the election campaign, promised the Americans once and for all to solve the problem of the DPRK. However, despite the bellicose rhetoric and a significant buildup of strike forces in the region, the Americans did not dare to start a large-scale war on the peninsula. What is the reason? Why did the American army - by far the strongest on the planet today - never dare to go to war?

The answer is very simple. For more than sixty years, the North Koreans have managed to create one of the strongest and most numerous armies in the world, the fight against which will be a serious test for any enemy. Today, the DPRK has a million people under arms, a large air force, ballistic missiles and an impressive submarine fleet.

North Korea is the last communist totalitarian state on the planet, in terms of the severity of the regime, it even surpasses the USSR of the Stalinist period. A planned economy still operates here, famine occurs from time to time, dissenters are sent to concentration camps, and public executions for North Koreans are a common thing.

North Korea is a closed country, foreigners rarely visit it, and information about the state of the North Korean economy is classified. It is even more difficult to obtain information about the North Korean army, its size and weapons.

According to experts, the DPRK army today ranks fourth (some say fifth) in the world in terms of numbers. The parade of the DPRK army is a truly impressive spectacle that takes the viewer back to the last century. North Korea has long been under international sanctions, which are periodically intensified after Pyongyang conducts another missile launch or nuclear explosion.

The military budget of North Korea is small due to the disastrous economic situation of this country. In 2013, it was only $5 billion. However, over the past decades, the DPRK has been turned into one huge military camp, constantly waiting for attack from South Korea or the United States.

So, what forces does the current leadership of the DPRK have at its disposal, what are the armed forces of this country, what is the nuclear potential of Pyongyang? However, before proceeding to consider the current state of the armed forces of North Korea, a few words should be said about their history.

History of the DPRK army

The first Korean paramilitaries were created in the early 30s of the last century in China. They were led by the Communists and the Koreans fought against the Japanese invaders. By the end of World War II, the Korean People's Army had 188,000 men. One of the commanders of the army was Kim Il Sung - the actual creator of the DPRK and the first of the Kim dynasty, which ruled for almost half a century.

After the end of the war, Korea was divided into two halves - the northern one, which was under the control of the USSR, and the southern one, which was actually occupied by American troops. On June 25, 1950, North Korean troops, having a significant superiority in manpower and equipment, crossed the 38th parallel and moved south. Initially, the campaign was very successful for the North: Seoul fell three days later, and soon the communist armed forces captured up to 90% of the territory of South Korea.

Only a small area, known as the Busan Perimeter, remained under the control of the South Korean government. However, the northerners failed to defeat the enemy with lightning speed, and soon the Western allies came to the aid of the South Koreans.

In September 1950, the Americans intervened in the war, encircling and defeating the North Korean army in a matter of weeks. Only a miracle could save the DPRK from complete defeat, and it happened. At the end of 1950, a Chinese army of thousands crossed the North Korean border and pushed the Americans and South Koreans far to the south. Seoul and Pyongyang returned to the control of the North.

The fighting continued with varying success until 1953, by which time the front line had more or less stabilized near the old border between the two Koreas - the 38th parallel. The turning point of the war was the death of Stalin, shortly after which the Soviet Union decided to withdraw from the conflict. China, left alone with the Western coalition, agreed to a truce. But the peace treaty, which usually ends any armed conflict, between the DPRK and the Republic of Korea has not yet been signed.

Over the following decades, North Korea continued to build communism, with the Soviet Union and China as its main allies. All this time, the North Koreans have invested heavily in the development of the armed forces and the military-industrial complex. The situation in North Korea deteriorated significantly after the collapse of the socialist camp and the introduction of Western sanctions against the country. In 2013, during another aggravation, the leadership of the DPRK tore up all non-aggression pacts with its southern neighbor, and also annulled the treaty on the denuclearization of the peninsula.

According to various estimates, the current strength of the DPRK army ranges from 850,000 to 1.2 million people. Another 4 million people are in direct reserve, in total, 10 million people are fit for military service. The population of the DPRK is 24.7 million people. That is, 4-5% of the population serves in the North Korean armed forces, which can be called a real world record.

The North Korean army is conscripted, both men and women serve in it. The service life is from 5 to 12 years. The draft age is 17 years.

The overall leadership of the power and defense sphere of North Korea, according to the country's constitution, is carried out by the State Defense Committee (GKO), headed by the current leader of the country, Kim Jong-un. The GKO controls the work of the Ministry of People's Armed Forces, as well as other law enforcement agencies. It is the Defense Committee that can declare martial law in the country, conduct mobilization and demobilization, manage reserves and the military-industrial complex. The Ministry of War consists of several departments: Political, Operational and Logistics Department. The direct operational control of the armed forces of the DPRK is carried out by the General Staff.

The armed forces of the DPRK consist of:

• ground forces;
• Navy;
• Air Force;
• Forces of special operations.

In addition, the Ministry of State Security and the Ministry of Public Security have their own troops. There are also other paramilitary formations: the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Guard, the Youth Red Guard, and various people's squads.

Most (and the best) part of the country's armed forces is deployed in close proximity to the demilitarized zone.

North Korea has a highly developed military-industrial complex. It is able to provide the armed forces of the country with almost the entire range of weapons and ammunition, with the exception of combat and transport aircraft.

Ground troops

The ground forces form the backbone of the DPRK armed forces. The main structural associations of the ground forces are the brigade, division, corps and army. Currently, the North Korean army includes 20 corps, including 4 mechanized, 12 infantry, one armored, 2 artillery and a corps that provides the defense of the capital.

Figures regarding the amount of military equipment in service with the ground forces of the DPRK army vary greatly. In the event of war, North Korean generals will be able to rely on 4,200 tanks (light, medium and main), 2,500 armored personnel carriers, and 10,000 artillery pieces and mortars (according to other sources, 8,800).

In addition, the ground forces of the DPRK are armed with a large number of multiple launch rocket systems (from 2.5 thousand to 5.5 thousand units). The North Korean Armed Forces have both operational-tactical and tactical missile systems, their total number is 50-60 units. The army of the DPRK is armed with more than 10 thousand anti-aircraft artillery installations and about the same number of MANPADS.

If we talk about armored vehicles, then most of it is represented by obsolete Soviet models or their Chinese copies: tanks T-55, PT-85, Pokphunho (local modification), BMP-1, BTR-60 and BTR-80, BTR-40 (several hundred pieces) and VTT-323, created on the basis of the Chinese BMP VTT-323. There is information that the Korean People's Army is still using even the Soviet T-34-85, preserved from the Korean War.

The North Korean ground forces have a large number of different anti-tank missile systems, most of them are old Soviet models: "Baby", "Bumblebee", "", "".

Air Force

The Air Force of the Korean People's Army is approximately 100 thousand people. Service life in the Air Force and Air Defense Forces is 3-4 years.

The DPRK Air Force consists of four commands, each of which is responsible for its own direction, and six aviation divisions. The country's air force is armed with 1.1 thousand aircraft and helicopters, which makes them one of the most numerous in the world. The North Korean Air Force has 11 air bases, most of which are located near the South Korean border.

The basis of the Air Force fleet is made up of obsolete Soviet or Chinese-made aircraft: MiG-17, MiG-19, MiG-21, as well as Su-25 and MiG-29. The same can be said about combat helicopters, the vast majority of them are Soviet vehicles, Mi-4, Mi-8 and Mi-24. There are also 80 Hughes-500D helicopters.

North Korea has a fairly powerful air defense system, which includes about 9 thousand different anti-aircraft artillery systems. True, all North Korean air defense systems are Soviet complexes of the 60s or 70s of the last century: S-75, S-125, S-200, Kub air defense systems. It should be noted that the DPRK has a lot of these complexes (about a thousand units).

Naval Forces

The Navy of North Korea has a strength of approximately 60 thousand people (as of 2012). It is divided into two components: the East Sea Fleet (operating in the Sea of ​​Japan) and the West Sea Fleet (designed to solve combat missions in the Gulf of Korea and the Yellow Sea).

Today, the North Korean Navy includes approximately 650 ships, their total displacement exceeds 100,000 tons. North Korea has a fairly powerful submarine fleet. It consists of about a hundred submarines of various types and displacements. The North Korean submarine fleet is capable of carrying ballistic missiles with a nuclear warhead.

Most of the ship composition of the DPRK Navy is represented by boats of various types: missile, torpedo, artillery and landing. However, there are also larger vessels: five corvettes with guided missiles, almost two dozen small anti-submarine ships. The main task of the naval forces of North Korea is to cover the coast and the coastal zone.

Special Operations Forces

Probably, the DPRK has the most numerous Special Operations Forces in the world. Various sources estimate their number from 80,000 to 125,000 servicemen. The tasks of the forces include reconnaissance and sabotage operations, countering the special forces of the United States and South Korea, organizing a partisan movement behind enemy lines.

The DPRK MTR includes reconnaissance units, light infantry and sniper units.

Rocket troops

In 2005, North Korea officially announced the creation of its own nuclear weapons. Since then, one of the priorities of the country's military-industrial complex has been the creation of missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.

Part of the missile armament of the DPRK Armed Forces are old Soviet missiles or their copies. For example, Hwaseong-11 or Toksa is a tactical missile, a copy of the Soviet Tochka-U with a flight range of 100 km, or Hwaseong-5 is an analogue of the Soviet R-17 missile with a flight range of 300 km.

However, most North Korean missiles are of their own design. North Korea manufactures ballistic missiles not only for the needs of its army, but also actively exports them. Foreign experts believe that over the past 20 years Pyongyang has sold about 1,200 ballistic missiles of various types. Among its buyers are Egypt, Pakistan, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Syria and Yemen.

Today, the armed forces of the DPRK are:

• Hwaseong-6 short-range missile, commissioned in 1990. It is an improved modification of the Hwaseong-5 missile with a range of up to 700 km. Between 300 and 600 of these missiles are believed to be currently in service;
• Hwaseong-7 medium-range missile. Adopted in 1997, can hit targets at a distance of 1300 km;
• Medium-range missile "No-Dong-2", it was put into service in 2004, its flight range is 2 thousand km;
• Hwaseong-10 medium-range ballistic missile. It has been in service since 2009, the flight range is up to 4.5 thousand km. It is believed that today Pyongyang may have up to 200 of these missiles;
• Intercontinental ballistic missile "Hwaseong-13" with a range of up to 7.5 thousand km. It was first shown at the parade in 2012. "Hwaseong-13" can reach the territory of the United States, which naturally causes great concern among the Americans. It should also be noted that the DPRK is a member of the club of space states. At the end of 2012, the Gwangmyeonsong-3 artificial satellite was launched into earth orbit.

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