Combined Forces Command shed light on key war scenarios, but their results are not public. What is fairly certain, however, is that unless the KPA won decisive battles early in a conflict, North Korean forces will almost assuredly be overwhelmed by ROK and U.
Despite its lightning warfare strategy, the KPA lacks war sustainment capabilities, which would make any advantage it would have early in a conflict short-lived. Even then, given the high costs that such a war would impose, it is prudent to assess what capabilities North Korea would field in a conflict and how it would likely deploy them.
The North Korean military boasts an enormous ground force that would form the backbone of any invasion. The ROK Armed Forces are concerned that, in a conflict, the KPA would use its ,strong special forces to infiltrate the forward and rear positions of South Korean forces using underground tunnels and various aircraft. Given that the KPA cannot put all its battle tanks on the front lines at once to capitalize on this numerical advantage, their overall combat power is inferior to those in the ROK military.
First-generation battle tanks—such as the T, T, and T—were introduced immediately after the Korean War in Given their age, their actual combat value is likely to be significantly lacking. Moreover, this capability gap is likely to grow when the ROK military acquires additional K2 battle tanks, which are equipped with 1, horsepower maneuverability, reactive armor, an active protection system, an automatic loading device for quick shooting, and targeting accuracy within 2 kilometers even while maneuvering.
Unlike its more numerous ground troops and tanks, North Korea has fewer and less powerful armored combat vehicles than South Korea does. North Korea still uses many aging weapons systems, though it has unveiled some new ones at military parades in recent years. North Korea showed off some new weapons at the September military parade in downtown Pyongyang for the Day of the Foundation of the Republic.
The M has a maximum range of 54 kilometers, but it is limited to twelve rounds and is not very accurate. In addition, the frontline division of the KPA has a millimeter self-propelled artillery, which has a less advanced, automated weapon fire system.
The South Korean military wields millimeter K self-propelled artillery and 1, millimeter K-9 self-propelled artillery. The highly accurate K-9 has a maximum range of 40 kilometers; the forty-eight shells it carries are loaded into and fired from armored vehicles.
In past cases, like the December shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, the accuracy and firepower of North Korean artillery was limited. At that time, the KPA shot more than shells using millimeter MRLs, half of which fell into the sea; what is more, 25 percent of the eighty rounds that landed on the island failed to detonate.
The combat effectiveness of these weapons has not been closely evaluated. That said, North Korea has significantly improved its MRL systems compared to previous generations like the M with more limited ranges. Beyond the aforementioned artillery batteries, the North Korean strategic forces have an estimated short-range ballistic missiles and intermediate-range ballistic missiles that can reach anywhere on the Korean Peninsula.
In the event of war, the KPA would support ground operations by attacking major South Korean targets with an array of ballistic missiles. The missiles that the country would use for early ground operations are not very precise, although more advanced navigation systems such as the U. In addition to these short- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles, the KPA has at least long-range artillery aimed at the Seoul metropolitan area and northern parts of South Korea; the North Korean military would presumably target civilian facilities in the densely populated metropolitan area to induce widespread public panic.
Therefore, North Korean long-range artillery shells would probably be fired temporarily into civilian-populated metropolitan areas at the beginning of a war and then would be redirected at military targets. The two fleet commands are comprised of thirteen naval squadrons and two maritime sniper brigades. Initially deployed in the early s, these ships are equipped with two SS-N-2 Styx anti-ship missiles kilometer range and two Soviet-produced millimeter guns made in Five other KPA Navy ships, including the Sariwon-class corvette, are not equipped with anti-ship-to-ship missiles.
In addition, the North Korean navy has about small, high-speed coastal vessels including the Osa-class missile boat and the Komar-class missile boat. South Korean naval vessels are well-equipped to take advantage of the vulnerabilities of North Korean vessels.
Given their various limitations, in a naval battle, North Korean small naval vessels would presumably strike from afar with Styx missiles and flee, rather than engage in close combat. One potential challenge is that the North Korean Navy can deploy a relatively large swarm of small vessels to battle at once. That said, the KPA Navy has more than just surface vessels, and its underwater forces supply its most lethal offensive firepower.
And in , a North Korean Shark-class submarine was found stranded in the East Sea, revealing that it was attempting to infiltrate waters off of South Korea. Environmental considerations compound these difficulties: the East Sea, in particular, has cold and hot sea currents flowing simultaneously, making it very hard to detect submerged submarines.
North Korea has recently strengthened its underwater forces, including the construction of a Sinpo-class or Whale-class submarine capable of carrying and launching two to four ballistic missiles. On the whole, the KPA Navy has many small and medium-sized vessels capable of fast maneuvering and enough submarine power to be adept at surprise attacks.
The ROK Navy, on the other hand, has large ships capable of coastal combat with automated strike systems and superior radar detection. The KPA Air Force and Anti-Air Force consist of four air divisions, one tactical transport brigade, three air force sniper brigades, and air defense forces.
F and F The MiG is equipped with R air-to-air missiles that have a maximum range of 73 kilometers. Moreover, the MiG has no air-to-ground precision strike capability, whereas the FK and KF can use day-and-night ground target navigation, air-to-ground missiles, and guided bombs.
This capability gap is set to widen, as the ROK Air Force introduced forty Fs, a fifth-generation stealth combat aircraft, starting in They also operate the Joint Direct Attack Munition a type of air-to-ground guidance bomb , small diameter bombs, and other munitions. In addition to their technological disadvantages, North Korean aircraft must also contend with other limitations. At least three North Korean fighter jets crashed in alone. South Korean aircraft enjoy other technological edges too.
KPA Air Force combat aircraft lack an aerial refueling capability, whereas the ROK Air Force has aerial tankers, so its combat aircraft can be refueled in the air without spending valuable time returning to base.
Nevertheless, if a conflict broke out, the ROK Armed Forces would almost certainly sustain massive damage from an initial, large-scale, surprise attack by North Korean combat aircraft. The ROK Armed Forces believe that North Korea would seek to drop general-purpose bombs on major military installations, such as South Korean radar sites, air force bases, and military command facilities at the beginning of such a war.
North Korea has recently tested what it claims to be new hypersonic and anti-aircraft missiles. The South meanwhile has recently tested its own submarine-launched weapon. In his speech at the Self-Defence exhibition held in the North's capital, Pyongyang, Mr Kim addressed the military build-up in the South and said that North Korea did not want to fight its neighbour. Mr Kim, surrounded by an array of military hardware including tanks, accused the US of stoking tensions between North and South Korea.
He said there was "no behavioural basis" to make North Korea believe that the US was not hostile. The US under President Joe Biden has repeatedly said it is willing to talk to North Korea, but has demanded Pyongyang give up nuclear weapons before sanctions can be eased. North Korea has so far refused.
Kim Jong-un didn't just talk about his new military might - he showed it to us. This was the equivalent of a military parade. We have not seen this kind of defence exhibition since Mr Kim took power. Surrounded by intercontinental ballistic missiles and portraits of him dressed in military uniform, he told those gathered that he felt "bottomless pride" as he touched the missiles. And he made it clear that he's not done building his arsenal, which he says he needs as a deterrent.
He vowed to continue work on his wish list of weapons, while noting that South Korea was doing the same by building up its defence force in recent years. This is Mr Kim's way of telling those criticising his arms programme that they are hypocrites. He wants Pyongyang to have the right to build up its military - just like Seoul. Yet, just days earlier he urged his officials to focus on improving the lives of North Korean people as they face a "grim" economic situation.
With limited funds and under strict economic sanctions, can he really build an "invincible" force and help his people? North Korea is banned from testing ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons by the UN. It has repeatedly flouted these bans and has been heavily sanctioned as a result. Last month, the UN atomic agency said North Korea appeared to have restarted a reactor which could produce plutonium for nuclear weapons, calling it a "deeply troubling" development.
North Korea has always maintained that it needs to continue developing weapons for defence. But observers say it is also being used as a way to rally the impoverished country. North Korea is thought to be in dire economic straits after authorities shut borders to stop the spread of Covid
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