Armed forces of the DPRK and South Korea: a comparison. Composition, strength, armament of the DPRK army

Nowadays, the DPRK is often compared to the great and terrible Mordor. Like the latter, almost nothing is known about Korea, but everyone knows how hard and scary it is to live there. Meanwhile, North Korea, although inferior in terms of living standards to the Republic of Korea, is much superior to India, Pakistan, and some countries of Eastern Europe. In addition, the DPRK Armed Forces are among the most powerful, although they are not armed with the most modern weapons.

There is no help and no hope?

Like the entire economy of this closed state, its armed forces are built on a very clever principle. In Russian it is translated as "self-reliance". Of course, this country at one time received military assistance from the USSR and China. But now the "Lafa" is over: Pyongyang simply has nothing to pay Russia for new equipment, and the PRC is not enthusiastic about the "Juche idea", although it officially supports them. However, there is one country that really helps the DPRK. It's about Iran. Suspected, in particular, that it was from the Iranians that the DPRK Armed Forces obtained the technology that allowed them to create nuclear weapons.

So, do not underestimate the Koreans. The country has a powerful industrial complex that can produce from scratch virtually all types of more or less modern weapons. Koreans can not do only airplanes and helicopters, but they easily engage in their screwdriver assembly, provided there are imported components. Since the DPRK is a very closed state, there is no precise information about the troops and equipment there, all information is approximate, based on analysts' estimates.

But do not underestimate their work and intelligence work: in recent years, we have learned a lot of secrets that the DPRK army keeps. The number of Juche troops, by the way, is about 1.2 million people! Our country's army size is about the same, but if we compare the size of states ... It is believed that the northerners are almost every third adult man and woman. But! The strength of the DPRK Armed Forces is much inferior to that of the South. The advantage of the DPRK is that practically all the adult and capable population of the country in one way or another has to do with the army, but in the RK the situation with this is much worse. So the forces of the opponents are approximately equal.

At present, the Minister of the Armed Forces of the DPRK - Hyun Yong Chol. By the way, not so long ago in the press of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the world media, rumors were rife that he was shot ... Only then the "innocently murdered" minister shortly after appeared on the screen and clearly demonstrated that the rumors of his death were somewhat exaggerated.

Missile forces

It is known that the northerners have a lot of nuclear missiles with a decent range. There is information about the three divisions of Nodon-1. Each such missile can carry a nuclear warhead at a distance of at least 1.3 thousand kilometers. There is also a whole "brood" of weapons, created on the basis of the Soviet model R-17. Among them - missiles "Hwasong-5" (range not less than 300 kilometers). The Hwasong-6 model is somewhat better (range up to 500 kilometers). Did not ignore the Koreans and the missile "Tochka-U", creating on its basis KN-02. There are also real antiques in the form of the Luna-M model.

In recent years, information has also been received that the development of intercontinental missiles of the Taepodon model is in full swing in the country. Practically all experts agree that the DPRK Armed Forces do not have specialists capable of creating nuclear warheads for them. The fact is that such military parts of missiles have extremely strict requirements to reliability and resistance to overloads, and there are not even such technologies in Iran.

Two layers of defense

At once we will notice, that skeleton of the Korean echeloned defense are спецвозска, and in such quantities which other countries at all did not dream. It is known that in the forces of special operations of northerners there are up to 90 thousand people, so that they can quite outstrip this indicator even the US. There are both land and sea special forces. Of course, the other northerners are in abundance. This is how the DPRK Armed Forces are structured in general terms, the composition of which will be discussed in more detail below.

The first echelon of them is located on the border with South Korea and consists of infantry and artillery formations. In the event that the first to enter the war is North Korea, the DPRK Armed Forces will have to proceed to break through the border fortifications of the southerners. If the war begins, the same echelon will become an obstacle preventing penetration of enemy troops into the interior of the country. In the first echelon there are four infantry and one artillery corps. The infantry divisions include tank and aviation regiments, as well as self-propelled artillery units.

In the second echelon are the most powerful tank and other motorized units. His task when entering the war of the DPRK is the first - to develop a breakthrough and destroy those enemy groups that will resist. In the event that Southerners are attacked by the Southerners, the tank formations will have to eliminate the enemy troops that have broken through, which will be able to pass through the first echelon. These units include not only tank and self-propelled regiments, but also MLRS units.

The third and fourth echelons

In this case, the North Korean army should not only defend Pyongyang itself, but it is also a training base. The structure includes five infantry and one artillery corps. There are tank, motorized regiments, several MLRS and anti-missile defense. The fourth echelon is located on the border with China and Russia. This includes the separation of tankers, self-propelled gunners, anti-aircraft gunners, artillerymen, light infantry. Like the third, the fourth echelon is educational and backup.

Armor is strong

It is believed that the DPRK army has at least five thousand OBR and about half a thousand light tanks. The backbone is about three thousand T-55 and their Chinese clones (Type-59). Also there is about a thousand T-62. They served as the basis for creating their own Korean model of "Chonma". Most likely, these machines in the army numbered well less than a thousand units.

Do not assume that the armament of the Koreans is only "antiques." There is a more or less modern version of the MBT, called "Pokpun-ho." This tank also maintains its pedigree from the old T-62, but when it was created, the technologies underlying the much more modern T-72 and T-80 were used.

As an auxiliary weapon KPVT, equipped with a powerful 125-millimeter gun, is represented. Departing from the topic, let's say that this machine gun in the northerners in general enjoys an inexpressible honor. For the preventive protection against enemy armored vehicles, the PU ATC "Balso-3" (not that other than our "Cornet") and the Hva Sung Chon (absolute analog of the "Needle-1") can be used. It's hard to say how all this will behave in battle, but no other tank in the world has such weapons in principle. Presumably, the DPRK army has no more than 200-300 tanks "Songun-915".

Light armor

The country has about 500 light Soviet PT-76s, as well as about a hundred PT-85 "Shinhen" (created on the basis of the Soviet floating tank, equipped with 85-millimeter gun). How many Koreans BMP-1, it is unknown, but certainly a lot. No less, and BTR. It is assumed that the DPRK has at least one thousand antiquarian BTR-40 and BTR-152. But nevertheless there are about 150 analogues of the Soviet BTR-80A (both Soviet machines and own developments).

Gods of war

The North Korean army has at least five thousand automatic weapons, about four thousand towed guns, about eight thousand mortars of various designs, about the same number of MLRS systems. The real pride of the northerners is M-1973/83 "Juche-po" (170 mm). These trunks make it easy to get to the territory of southerners from the deep rear.

Thus, according to the level of equipment, the DPRK army, whose weapons we are considering, is at a fairly high level. All would be well, but all this technique (for the most part) is very outdated. But do not frown contemptuously. By the number of artillery guns, North Korea is in second place in the world, behind this honor only PLA. Even if the troops of the ROK with the support of the United States and move into battle, these guns can create a real sea of fire in the front line. Even American aviation will not help here. Suppress all this can only be directed nuclear strike, and this is unlikely someone will go.

Aviation "on pick-up"

The armed forces of the DPRK, the photos of which are repeatedly found in the article, are equipped relatively well, but here with the aircraft the northerners have a real trouble. In total there are no more than 700 aircraft in the arsenal of the North. All bombers and ground attack planes are very old, almost the same age as the century. As fighters are used quite pre-Flood MiG-21 ... and even MiG-17. It is clear that with no modern aircraft of this class they can not compete purely physically. But there is still evidence that there are some MiG-29s in the DPRK. But there is no precise information on the number and basing of these aircraft.

The armed forces of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea do not have any transport personnel at all. Strangely enough, the country has a certain number of IL-76, Tu-154 and similar aircraft, but they are all intended solely for the transport of high-ranking government officials, as well as for emergency transfers of some particularly important cargoes. It is known that the northerners have about 300 An-2 ("corn"), as well as some of their Chinese counterparts. These planes are designed to covertly transfer groups of special forces. In addition, the Korean Air Force has about 350 multi-purpose and attack helicopters. Among them there are not only Soviet Mi-24, but also several American models, for the acquisition of which we had to use a whole chain of intermediaries.

Air defense

So, how does the North Korean army cover the sky? Armament of air defense belongs to the Air Force (even ground units). There are really antique models in the composition, including S-75 S-125, S-125. The most modern is the S-200 SAM system. However, KN-06 is also in service, which is a local variation of the Russian S-300. There are also at least six thousand MANPADS (mainly "Needles"), as well as up to 11 thousand all kinds of anti-aircraft guns and ZSU.

Unlike the ground forces, the outdated technology of which can more or less cope with the tasks assigned to it, everything is bad in aviation. Virtually all machines are very old, they are completely unsuitable for modern combat conditions. Again, even the quantity factor here practically does not play any role, because even the outdated aircraft are simply not enough for Koreans. However, it's simply stupid to drop aviation altogether: a large number of mountains, a complex landscape and other factors will make it possible to use even this "zoo" of technical antiques, if necessary.

So the North Korean army, whose strength is indicated above, in the event of the beginning of full-scale hostilities, will surely bring many problems to the opponents.

South Korea

The troops of the southerners are trained by Americans, and armed with their own weapons. It is generally believed that the RK army is much smaller than its belligerent northern neighbor, but this is not the case: yes, the number of permanently mobilized does not exceed 650,000, but there are 4,5 million more in reserve. In a word, the forces on the human resource are almost equal. In addition, the units of the US Army are permanently stationed in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan . Therefore, it is not surprising that the very structure of the troops of the southerners differs noticeably from the Soviet construction that we are familiar with. So the Armed Forces of the DPRK and the ROK are two antipodes: the northerners possess a large but obsolete weapon, while the south has fewer "democratization tools", but the quality of their weapons is much better.

The most numerous are ground forces, in the ranks of which there are up to 560 thousand people. Their classification is very complex, the structure of the "land" includes armored, chemical, artillery formations, parts of radiological protection, air defense, and other types of troops. So, in order to compare the Armed Forces of the DPRK and South Korea, it will be useful for us to learn about the resources that the South has.

Basic information on armament

Tanks in southerners have at least two thousand units. Artillery trunks - about 12 thousand. Antitank artillery, including ATGM, is also about 12,000. There are about a thousand anti-aircraft complexes. Also one of the main striking forces are about one and a half thousand infantry fighting vehicles of various modifications. At least 500 combat helicopter gunships are attributed to the land forces.

In total there are 22 divisions. They are divided into three armies, whose leadership is simultaneously the command over all educational institutions in which young cadres are trained for the army. It should be noted that it is the land forces that are the core of the common security system of the RK and the US, and the command of the united Korean and American forces is carried out through a common command center, where officers of both countries work.

Interaction of armies

Of course, the armed forces of the DPRK and South Korea equally understand the importance of interaction between various combat arms in combat, but the Southerners have approached this issue with great diligence. Almost constantly conducted exercises, which are practiced the practice of interaction between the armies and military units, and the work is not only with the US, but also with Japan and other RK allies in the region.

Bet on the present

Southerners rely on the latest developments in the field of military science and technology. Particular attention is paid to improving military intelligence and communication. And the emphasis is not only on their own development, but also on those samples that were purchased from the US in the form of finished products or technologies. It was the Americans who bought the launchers of the PU M270 and M270A1, from which it is possible to launch American ATACMS missiles of the first modification and ATACMS versions 1A. In the first case, the range of fire is 190 kilometers, in the second - 300 kilometers.

Simply put, the Armed Forces of the DPRK and the Republic of Korea in this respect are completely equivalent: they can get the enemy's capitals from their territory without putting much effort into it. Northerners for this purpose have to modernize old Soviet designs, while the government of the South prefers simply to buy everything they need from their allies. A step, however, is very controversial.

The RK army does not like to disclose information about its weapons. It is only known that southerners have at least 250 launchers of both modifications. In addition, there is information about ongoing developments in the field of developing their own missile weapons.

New Armor

All the most powerful armies in the region, that is, the army of the DPRK and South Korea, attach great importance to the creation and development of powerful armored forces. But if the northerners do not have the resources to create their own tanks from scratch, then the RK has such opportunities. This is how the model K1A1 ("Black Panther") was created. The predecessor of the new tank was the old modification of KI. Note that the remaining 200 units of these tanks are currently being upgraded to the level of the "Panther". The pride of the southerners are 155 mm self-propelled howitzers K-9 of their own design, which are distinguished by an excellent rate of fire and accuracy of fire.

In addition, now work is under way to create South Korean combat vehicles "Piho" and the SAM "Chhonma". Previously created by Koreans BMP K200A1 continue to be relatively actively supplied to the troops. The combat aviation fleet also continues to be updated: in particular, it has recently become known about the complete modernization of the fleet of attack helicopters. In addition to overhauling the existing machinery, the leadership of the RK intends to purchase new ones abroad. Also, Southerners seriously want to get rid of the antediluvian UH-1 "Iroquois" and "Hughes" 500MD, and so simultaneously began to work on the creation of a new multipurpose military and civilian helicopter.

Unmanned aircraft

Back in 2001, the Republic of Kazakhstan jointly with Israel created the UAV of the model "Night Ingrudrsr". It is a multifunctional device that can be used for military and peaceful purposes, including reconnaissance, strikes against local targets, meteorological research, etc. In 2010, several battalions of UAVs were formed, each of which has 18-24 Drones and up to 64 units of transport and communication equipment. All these measures have made it possible to dramatically improve the interaction between the various branches of the armed forces at the expense of the well-placed intelligence.