The True Strength of the DPRK

2 Views

0 Likes

November 15, 2023

The True Strength of the DPRK

Video Summary

I’m going to start by talking about North Korea. Despite being a small, poor country, they’ve emerged as an unlikely supplier of arms to the Russian military. It’s surprising, given that Russia spends 40 times more on its military than North Korea.

But how are they doing this? Well, North Korea has a military force of around 1-1.4 million active personnel, with an additional 600,000-7.7 million reserves and paramilitary forces. This makes them the second-largest military in the world, despite a population of just 26 million people. Their military spending is around 24% of their GDP, making them one of the most militarized countries in the world.

North Korea has a unique relationship with Russia, providing tens of thousands of manual laborers to work in Russian factories in exchange for goods and military components. This has allowed them to obtain resources they couldn’t afford to buy or produce themselves.

The Korean People’s Army, or KPA, is organized around six different entities: the Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force, Strategic Force, Special Operation Forces, and Reserve and Paramilitary. They also have a seventh component, the Internal Security Forces, which are subordinate to the Ministry of People’s Security.

One of the key factors in North Korea’s military strategy is their use of artillery. They have over 14,000 pieces of artillery, with a significant number of them stored in underground facilities, known as “hearts”. These facilities allow them to deploy their artillery quickly, then retreat back inside, making it difficult for South Korea or the US to strike them.

North Korea’s military has a strong bias towards infantry, with only one armored division, four mechanized divisions, and 27 infantry divisions. This is largely due to the country’s mountainous terrain, which makes it difficult for vehicles and tanks to move around. They also have a large number of separate armor, infantry, and artillery brigades that can be used to supplement their forces.

Their real strength lies in their nuclear weapons, which they have developed significantly since first testing them in 2006. This has given them a powerful deterrent, making it highly unlikely that the US or South Korea would invade them. It’s also allowed them to use the threat of nuclear weapons to gain concessions in negotiations.