North Korean Forces Equipment

I saw this on Yahoo news today it say N'Korea has :

Navy :

46,000 navy personal
88 Subs
9 "Combat" Ships

Air froce :

110,000 personel
590 aircraft

Surface :

950,000 troops
3,500 Battle tanks

Taepodong (quanity = unkown)
Taepodong 2 (quanity = unkown)

RoDong (quantity = 200, Range = 930 Miles)
SCUD Type (Quantity = 600, Ranges short/medium range)


Lin k to Picture


Although im sure there stuff is old and outdated that still is a pretty decent force considering the N.koreans have one advantage that neither the Afghans and Iraqis had that is foliage, Tress, forests/junmgles, rivers, mountains etc... like vietnam which makes it much more difficult to see your enemy and use long range missiles from helicopters becuase trees could be blocking your view stopping you from hitting people beyound visual range.

This is one advanatge they have they have to make up for there outdated forces.

But is anybody else surprised that they have 88 subs?

[edit on 7-7-2006 by iqonx]

[edit on 7-7-2006 by iqonx]

[edit on 7-7-2006 by iqonx]

I've been looking at North Korean defences and equipment in some detail. My observations:

Re huge army: probably true. The special forces are pretty well regarded but in general they are poorly equipped conscripts. North korea spends like 20% of its national budget on defense but ity still amounts to peanuts. Nearly all their equipment is out of date.

Navy: nothing remotely modern about 99% of it. lots of mini-subs but they don't seem to be all that threatening. missile boats are outdated although some reports of the compariatively potent Chinese C-801 anti-ship missile being in service - presumably in shore batteries.

Air force: A big joke really. Some Fulcrums but most aircraft appear in open storage and obsolete types are still in service. Few if any modern air-air missiles and no real evidence of modern air-defenses (SAMs etc). Their fake air bases are not convincing. Many of their bases are within artillery range of the South and lack hardened shelters.

Terrain: Mountainous, dusty, infirtile. Virtually every hill top is fortified with trenches but relatively few are accessible or large enough for vehicles.

Originally posted by iqonx
I saw this on Yahoo news today it say N'Korea has :

Navy :

46,000 navy personal
88 Subs
9 "Combat" Ships

Air froce :

110,000 personel
590 aircraft

Surface :

950,000 troops
3,500 Battle tanks

Taepodong (quanity = unkown)
Taepodong 2 (quanity = unkown)

RoDong (quantity = 200, Range = 930 Miles)
SCUD Type (Quantity = 600, Ranges short/medium range)


[edit on 7-7-2006 by iqonx]

They said all this about Iraq pre-1991, how it had a big scary army and etc, etc, and same with 2003.


It's called "let's make Country X look really, really scary" to the media and to those in power it suits to make them look scarier.

[edit on 7-7-2006 by Regensturm]

Originally posted by Regensturm
They said all this about Iraq pre-1991, how it had a big scary army and etc, etc, and same with 2003.


It's called "let's make Country X look really, really scary" to the media and to those in power it suits to make them look scarier.

[edit on 7-7-2006 by Regensturm]

Thee seems to be a real misunderstanding about the pre-1991 Iraq military. In retrospect, it seems like the initial reports were false. However, if you speak to veterans of the Gulf War who participated in battles and speak freely about the incident, they will tell you the hype was well-deserved (to an extent).

A common myth the media and the military flooded the mainstream with is that the Iraqis couldn't or didn't put up a fight. According to many veterans, this was 100% false. According to one Navy Corpsman, the Iraqis fought FEROCIOUSLY. Due to the sensitive nature of the Gulf War, information is still classified, but there were times when the coalition could've easily had their asses handed to them. Other veterans have said that it was no lie that the Iraqis had the fourth largest military in the world and were well-equipped and their ability to put up a fight combined with their size and power were a deady combnation.

The difference came, however, in training and tactics. Even a study of the Iran-Iraq War would show that the Iraqi military was severely deficient in strategy, tactics, and training. Their inability to really coordinate combined arms attacks was what cost them at Khafji, when they took on forces that were not only outnumbered but also outgunned. Had they been able to coordinate the assault, Khafji could have well resulted in a resounding defeat for the coalition forces.

Another example is air power. The Iraqi Air Force in 1990 was the largest in the Middle East as well as one of the most advanced and powerful. However, as experience in the Iran-Iraq War showed, the Iraqi Air Force never really took advantage or developed the capabilities a modern air force can provide. They never used the air force to support ground troops against the more powerful Iranian military, instead relying on helicopters like the "Hind," which experience in Afghanistan showed, were highly vulnerable to ground fire. In air-to-air engagements, the Iraqi Air Force also put up a very poor showing, choosing to retreat instead of engaging Iranian fighters (although this was also due to the presence of the F-14).

If anybody needs to be convinced, read the masterpiece of a book "Storm on the Horizon" by David J. Morris and its accompanying History Channel documentary. It creates a totally different perspective on the Gulf War and shows nothing is really that easy.

The point here is that Iraq had everything. They had a huge, world-class industrial military, an unparalleled fighing spirit. Yet in the end, their deficiency was training and tactics. Technology and fighting spirit will only take you so far. As another veteran said (in different words), they had a great military and could put up a fight, but they couldn't really get the fight together.

North Korea is different. They have larger forces, but their military is far worse off than that of 1990 Iraq.

Their ballsitic misisle forces are vulnerable too. (sitting on alaunchpad). Imo they are highly vulnerable to cruise missile attacks like the tomahwk.

there just trying to show off there new toys
if they start a war they would loose

Originally posted by shadowstriker
there just trying to show off there new toys
if they start a war they would loose

Why don't you back up your statement there with proof and source material stating that the defenses will not work.

posted by Planeman

I've been looking at North Korean defenses and equipment in some detail. My observations: Re huge army: probably true. but in general they are poorly equipped conscripts. Nearly all their equipment is out of date. Navy: nothing remotely modern about 99% of it. lots of mini-subs . . missile boats are outdated
Air force: A big joke really. Some Fulcrums but most aircraft appear in open storage and obsolete types are still in service. Few if any modern air-air missiles and no evidence of modern air-defenses (SAMs etc).

Terrain: Mountainous, dusty, infertile. Virtually every hill top is fortified with trenches but relatively few are accessible or large enough for vehicles. [Edited by Don W]

Thanks P/M, for confirming what the CIA estimate of NK GDP of $40 billion would indicate. This makes it all the more probable that NK is merely a convenient pawn in the hands of the Oval Office, the DoD and CIA for budget reasons. When South Korea begins to worry, I’ll begin to worry. In the meantime, I’m voting Democratic come November 7.

posted by Regensturm

They said all this about Iraq pre-1991, how it had a big scary army and etc, etc, and same with 2003. It's called "let's make Country X look really, really scary" to the media and to those in power it suits to make them look scarier. [Edited by Don W]

It’s budget time again, Reg. The Military Industrial Complex needs more money for Star Wars and the CIA needs more for human intelligence in the Far East. If they can make NK look like a threat equal to Mt Fuji erupting in Japan, they can push the semi literate Americans along easy enough. They can take our money and we’ll actually thank them for doing it.

posted by sweatmonicaIdo

There seems to be a real misunderstanding about the pre-1991 Iraq military. According to one Navy Corpsman, the Iraqis fought ferociously. Gulf War information is still classified. The Iraqis had the fourth largest military in the world. The difference came in training and tactics. A study of the Iran-Iraq War shows the Iraqi military was severely deficient in strategy, tactics, and training.

Their inability to coordinate combined arms attacks cost them at Khafji. Had they been able to coordinate the assault, Khafji could have resulted in a resounding defeat for the coalition forces. Another example is air power. The Iraqi Air Force in 1990 was the largest in the Middle East. However, the Iraqi Air Force never took advantage of its capabilities. They never used the air force to support ground troops, instead relying on helicopters like the "Hind" which experience in Afghanistan showed were highly vulnerable to ground fire.

Read the masterpiece book "Storm on the Horizon" by David J. Morris and see its History Channel documentary. The point here is that Iraq had everything. They had a huge, world-class military, an unparalleled fighting spirit. Yet in the end, their deficiency was training and tactics. Technology and fighting spirit will only take you so far.

North Korea is different. They have larger forces, but their military is far worse off than that of 1990 Iraq. [Edited by Don W]

I think everyone appreciates that [about NK] to be true. The American public is still perplexed. It wants to trust the president to tell the truth and to protect the country from another Nine Eleven Event. Yet common sense tells us that North Korea is really a paper tiger. It seems to more and more people the Oval Office is making a run to avert what 2 months ago looked like a GOP debacle, losing both the House and the Senate. Everything is geared to November 7. Bush43 can’t afford to have a Democratic Congress. There are so many investigations waiting in the wings that Bush43 would likely be #3 on the Impeached President List. What a legacy! And #1 to be convicted.



[edit on 7/8/2006 by donwhite]

So donwhite you got any comments about North Koreas forces and their equipment? Or is that too much to ask for?