What fighters are in service with the DPRK. Air Force of the Korean People's Democratic Republic. Selection and training

Air Defense and Aviation of North Korea presented
KN-06 aka 번개 -5 호 aka Pon "gae-6 - 16 S-300 PT machines were purchased in an unnamed country along with documentation for the production of 5V55KD missiles. Technologically, they can only do that. Then, art deco processing was done. To hide where the fireballs come from. The radar imitating the radar from the HQ-9 and S-300V is just an imitation and an illumination emitter. Real guidance occurs from the 5N63 installation, which stands aside :). The stock of missiles is already more than 200 missiles. What can the S-300 PT ? 6 target and 12 missile channels. Range from 5 to 75 km, height up to 27 kilometers. The acquisition took place by barter - slaves in the Russian Federation in exchange for complexes from Ukraine. :)
S-200 75 missiles BUT, how many of them will fly is a big question, they are not produced, and the resource has long expired. Most likely if the pair takes off already steeply. So it's purely radar.
S-125 300 missiles and the same NO.
S-75, but the production of these 11D missiles in both versions is. Total 180 launchers, and over 2000 missiles in stock. the disadvantages of this system are that their radio command guidance is well jammed. Range up to 34 km, with an altitude of up to 27 km. The speed of the missiles is Mach 3. This is the main air defense of the DPRK.
There were 75 S-25 missiles in 1961, but this is nothing for a long time. These are essentially purely locator stations. How many of them are workers ....
Cube-M1 - there were 18 pieces. Why was it? Because there are no missiles for them. So it is also purely radar with mock-ups.
Buk-M1 - 8 pieces from an unnamed country. There are no missile docks. The missiles were sold 50 pieces. It is capable of hitting aircraft from 3 to 35 km, missiles - 25 km at an altitude of 22 km, the maximum target speed is 800 m / s. Julia? You? As you can :).
Copies of 9K38 Igla MANPADS with a range of up to 5 kilometers are also being produced in the DPRK. They could even be seen in Syria. In total, more than 1000 complexes were manufactured, but most of them were sold.
Old arrows are available. But they will shoot from the strength of 100 or even less.
there are 1200 barrels of 23 mm anti-aircraft guns (in assemblies of 2,4,6,8) and the production of cartridges for them.
Aviation
from all Aviation poses a real threat
MiG-29 is 30 machines 9-12A aka MiG-29A and 5 machines 9-51 aka MiG-29UB without radar. Of which about 23 are combat-ready. And also there is a sufficient stock of ammunition for them. Which is updated a little through the illegal market.
MiG-23 is 48 MiG-23MF and 8 MiG-23UB. BUT .... Of these, 18 combat-ready MiG-23MF vehicles. And two MiG-23UB can take off and land.
Su-25 is 26 simple and 8 UB. Almost all of them fly, but these are all the same attack aircraft.
The rest is flying debris, most of which is no longer flying originals and Chinese copies of the MiG-15, MiG-17, MiG-19, MiG-21, Il-28, Su-7, An-2. They are suitable only for museums, or as flying targets. In total, 700 such targets are listed in the open media. Which, of course, is sheer nonsense. MiG-15 and MiG-17 - 60 years old. Their engines have exhausted their resources a long time ago. If a few pieces for a museum look go up, that's already cool. MiG-19 45 years old. here, well, two dozen can take off. IL-28 is the same. There were fewer of them. Su-7 was not enough if one took off abruptly. MiG-21 was officially 26 pieces. But spare parts for them are still easy to get. Therefore, there are 20 of them flying. But which one is the rival for the F-16 or F-15K ... ridiculous. An-2 ... maize ... with a machine gun ... Arctic fox. In total, there are 80 such aircraft in the sky, if they lift it, it will be a fascinating shooting of targets :).
So there are 41 vehicles that can actually fight in the air. 43 cars that can try to show the attack and die. That's all for the Air Force.
Oh yes, helicopters.
Mi-24 is listed as 20, flies 12. Mi-14 is listed as 8 flies 3. Mi-8 is listed as 40 flies 32. Polish copies of the Mi-2 are listed as 46 flies 12.
But the main helicopter is unexpectedly - the American MD500, aka Hughes OH-6 Cayuse, and yes it is produced in the DPRK. How do you like these pies? The core of the North Korean helicopter force is the AMERICAN MILITARY HELICOPTER. At the same time, not only the helicopters themselves were sold to the DPRK, but also a full set of technical documentation, including the Allison Model 250 engine. In my opinion, this is enchanting :). Armament or two blocks of 70 mm nourses with 7 missiles in each. Or two 12.7 mm machine guns. Either other NURS blocks of the same size and weight, or 4 ATGMs of the Kornet type. 5 passengers.
On the this moment 96 cars were produced and all are active. The armament of this helicopter, of course, has nothing to do with air defense, but it can be quite unpleasant for the enemy. The DPRK has no problems with NURS, since they are not difficult to manufacture and are produced.
The navy has practically no air defense and is represented only by anti-aircraft machine guns and even those only 300 barrels.
From the above, from the point of view of air defense, only the kits provided in the course of cooperation with the Russian Federation pose a serious threat.
Namely S-300PT disguised as KN-06 up to 75 km, Buk-M1 up to 35 km, as well as S-75 up to 34 km. In addition, 41 MiG-29 and MiG-23 aircraft have a full range of ammunition. In addition, for low-flying targets at altitudes up to 5 km, high saturation of Igla-1 MANPADS, 43 Su-25 and MiG-21 aircraft and 140 OH-6, Mi-24, Mi-8 helicopters pose a danger.
However, this state of affairs is only due to the repair problem that exists in the DPRK. The DPRK has its own CNC and they were supplied to the Russian Federation. However, the level of materials science is at the level of the 1970s and has failures. This leads to the fact that not everyone can produce engine parts for the MiG-23 in the DPRK. There are also technological failures - the DPRK cannot repair the radar for the MiG-29, but it can repair it for the MiG-19. They can repair any body part on the MiG-29, but they cannot repair the engine. They can make the allison 250 engine, but they cannot do anything with the MiG-21 engine.
Key industries for the DPRK are materials science, engine physics, locators, and their allies - which is why so many students from DPRK study it. When they master it, they will need a number of equipment that they have already purchased and are purchasing. Then they will be able to lift many of the landed machines. However, this will increase the number of dangerous vehicles by only 80%.
But time is not the only thing working for the DPRK. The thing is that the DPRK has mastered the release of serious missiles that raise the DPRK's air defense radius from 35 to 75 kilometers. And a matter of time when there will be more.
Already at the moment, the ROK itself is not independently capable of suppressing the DPRK's air defense without serious losses. However, for a coalition with a powerful fleet and a ground segment, which will increase the concentration of anti-air defense weapons by five times, it will allow blocking the DPRK within the North, preventing a breakthrough through the DMZ not only by land but also by air.
The forces of the coalition, in the form to which it is possible, if a war occurs within a year from the current one, it is enough to destroy aircraft in three days of battles, helicopters in a month, to suppress air defense in a month in a safe mode of battles. However, this requires massive missile strikes across the territory of the DPRK. The Republic of Kazakhstan will not have enough strength for that on its own. A much higher saturation of air defense in the region is needed - which would allow safe sorties for the aviation of the South and the Coalition. Otherwise there will be losses.

The first operation of the DPRK Air Force during the so-called. The "War for the Liberation of the Fatherland" (this is the official name of the war in Korea, which went on in June 1950-July 1953) was the attack by Yak-9 fighters on the territory of Seoul International Airport on June 25, 1950. Before the start of the UN operation three months later North Korean pilots on Yak-9 fighters had five confirmed aerial victories: one B-29, two L-5s, one F-80 and one F-51D, while not suffering losses. The situation changed completely when the air forces of the international coalition countries settled in the South, and the DPRK air forces were almost completely destroyed. The remaining aircraft were airlifted across the Chinese border to the cities of Mukden and Anshan, where the United Air Force was formed in November 1950, together with the Chinese Air Force. The PRC continued to provide shelter and assistance to its southern neighbor, and by the end of hostilities in 1953, the CPV Air Force numbered approximately 135 MiG-15 fighters. A peace treaty between North and South Korea was never signed, and a fragile peace has existed between the two camps ever since.

From 1969 to the present, the DPRK Air Force has not shown high activity, with the exception of occasional false attacks by jet aircraft in the area of ​​the Demilitarized Zone (DZ) / Tactical Action Line, which are supposedly aimed at checking the reaction time of the South Korean air defense. For example, since 2011, North Korean MiG-29 fighters have repeatedly forced South Korean F-16 and F-15K to take off to intercept.

Selection and training

Cadets for the Air Force are selected from other branches of the Armed Forces, are called up or recruited on a voluntary basis. The flight crews are drawn from the most successful members of the Youth Red Guard (17-25 year olds) and usually come from politically influential families with a higher educational level than the average North Korean.

The first step for those who want to become a military pilot in the DPRK is the Air Force Academy. Kim Chheka in Chongjin, where cadets are trained for four years. Their flight service begins with 70 hours of flight practice on the Nanchang CJ-6 training aircraft, which is a Chinese copy of the Soviet Yak-18. 50 of these aircraft were received in 1977-1978. They are based at two airfields on the east coast at Chongjin and Gyeongsong. Subsequently, after receiving the rank of second lieutenant or "Sowi", the cadets move on to a 22-month advanced course at the Gyeongsong Officer's Flight School. It includes 100 hours of flight time on the MiG-15UTI combat training fighters (50 were purchased in 1953-1957) or about the same outdated MiG-17 fighters that are deployed at the nearby airbase in Oran.

After graduating from flight school with the rank of first lieutenant or "Jungwi", the freshly baked pilot receives an appointment in warhead for further two years of study, according to the results of which he is considered fully prepared. Future helicopter pilots undergo training on Mi-2 helicopters, and transport aviation pilots on An-2. An officer can count on 30 years of service, but promotion to higher ranks, the highest of which is Air Force General or "Deajang," requires many additional courses, and the highest positions are political appointments.

Training follows the rigid doctrine of the Soviet era, and must conform to the highly centralized leadership and command structure of the Air Force. Through interviews with defectors to South Korea, it is clear that poor aircraft maintenance, fuel shortages that limit flight time, and a generally inadequate training system hinders the training of pilots on the same level as their Western counterparts.

Organization

The current structure of the DPRK Air Force includes headquarters, four aviation divisions, two tactical aviation brigades and so many sniper brigades (forces special purpose), which are designed to carry out the drop of the landing in the enemy's rear in order to disorganize it in the course of hostilities.

The main headquarters is located in Pyongyang, it directly supervises the special flight unit (VIP transportation), the Gyeongsong officer flight school, intelligence, electronic warfare, test units, as well as all air defense units of the DPRK Air Force.

Offensive and defensive weapons are part of the three air divisions stationed in Kaesong, Toksan and Hwangju, which are responsible for the use of numerous anti-aircraft artillery systems and air defense systems. The remaining air division in Oran is dedicated to operational training. Two Tactical Transport Brigades have their headquarters in Tachon and Seongdok.

Air divisions and tactical brigades have several airfields at their disposal, almost all have fortified hangars, and some have separate elements of infrastructure hidden in the mountains. But not all of them have their own planes. The DPRK's plan in case of war provides for the dispersal of aircraft from the main bases in order to complicate their destruction with a preemptive strike.

The Air Force has not only "stationary" air bases at its disposal: the DPRK is braided by a network of long and straight highways, which are crossed by other highways using large concrete bridges. And although this can be observed in other countries, there is no private transport in the DPRK, moreover, women are even prohibited from driving a bicycle. Freight is transported by rail and road transport is very small. Highways are designed for the rapid movement of military units across the country, as well as spare airfields in case of war.

The main task of the DPRK Air Force is air defense, which is carried out by an automated airspace control system, which includes a network of radars located throughout the country, and which provides coverage of the air situation over the Korean Peninsula and southern China. The entire system consists of a single air defense district, in which all operations are coordinated from a combat command post at the headquarters of the DPRK Air Force. The district is divided into four sector commands: Northwest, Northeast, South and Pyongyang Air Defense subsector. Each sector consists of a headquarters, an airspace control center, an early warning radar regiment (s), an air defense system regiment (s), an air defense artillery division and other independent air defense units. If an intruder is detected, the alarm is raised in the fighter units, the planes themselves rise into the air, and the air defense missile system and anti-aircraft artillery take the target for escort. Further actions of the air defense missile system and artillery must be coordinated with the headquarters of fighter aviation and the combat command post.

The main components of the system are based around semi-mobile early warning radars, including Russian early warning radars and 5N69 guidance systems, two of which were delivered in 1984. These systems, whose declared detection range is 600 km, are supported by three ST-68U missile detection and control radars received in 1987-1988. They can simultaneously detect up to 100 air targets at a maximum range of 175 km and are optimized for the detection of low-flying targets and the guidance of S-75 air defense missile systems. Older P-10 systems, 20 of which entered service in 1953-1960, have a maximum detection range of 250 km, and five more relatively newer P-20 radars with the same detection range are elements of the radar field system. It includes at least 300 fire control radars for cannon artillery.

It is unlikely that the North Koreans have only these systems. The DPRK often finds ways to bypass the international sanctions regime designed to prevent new weapons systems from falling into their hands.

Operating doctrines

The actions of the DPRK Air Force, the number of which reaches 100,000, is determined by two main provisions of the basic doctrine of the North Korean army: joint operations, the integration of guerrilla warfare with the actions of regular troops; and "war on two fronts": coordination of operations of regular troops, partisan actions, as well as actions of forces special operations deep in South Korea. Four main tasks of the Air Force follow from this: the country's air defense, the landing of special operations forces, tactical air support for the ground forces and the fleet, transport and logistics tasks.

Armament

The solution to the first of four missions, air defense, lies with fighter aircraft, which consists of approximately 100 Shenyang F-5 fighters (Chinese copy of the MiG-17, 200 of which were received in the 1960s), the same number of Shenyang F-6 / Shenyang F-6S (Chinese version of the MiG-19PM), delivered in 1989-1991.

The F-7B fighter is a Chinese version of the later MiG-21 variants. 25 MiG-21bis fighters remain in service, which are the remnants of those 30 former Kazakh Air Force vehicles illegally purchased in Kazakhstan in 1999.The DPRK Air Force received at least 174 MiG-21s of various modifications in 1966-1974. Approximately 60 MiG-23s, mostly modifications of the MiG-23ML were received in 1985-1987.

The most powerful fighters of the DPRK are the MiG-29B / UB, those that remained from the 45 purchased in 1988-1992. About 30 of them were assembled at the Pakcheon aircraft factory, which was specifically designed to assemble this particular type of aircraft. But the venture collapsed due to the arms embrago imposed by Russia due to disputes over payments.

North Korean ingenuity is beyond question, and there is no reason to believe that, given the regime's attention to military issues, they cannot keep aircraft that have long been in a scrap yard, as is the case with Iran, in flight. Of these aircraft, only the MiG-21, MiG-23 and MiG-29 are armed with air-to-air missiles: 50 R-27 (purchased in 1991), 450 R-23 (delivered in 1985-1989) and 450 R-60 purchased at the same time. More than 1000 R-13 missiles (Soviet copy of the American AIM-9 Sidewinder) were received in 1966-1974, but their service life should have already expired by now. Additional shipments may have taken place in violation of international sanctions.

The strike force is represented by up to 40 Nanchang A-5 Fantan-A attack aircraft delivered in 1982, the remaining 28-30 Su-7B fighter-bombers acquired in 1971, and up to 36 Su-25K / BK attack aircraft received at the end 1980s The DPRK maintains a significant number (80 or more) of front-line bombers Harbin N-5 (Chinese copy of the Soviet Il-28) in flight condition, some of which belong to the reconnaissance modification HZ-5.

Most of those delivered in 1985-1986 provide direct support to the troops. 47 Mi-24D helicopters, of which only 20 are estimated to remain operational. They, like the Mi-2 helicopters, are armed with the Malyutka and Fagot anti-tank missiles, produced in the DPRK under a Soviet license.

Part of the N-5 bombers is adapted to launch the North Korean version of the Chinese anti-ship cruise missile CSS-N-1, designated KN-01 Keumho-1. The missile has a firing range of 100-120 km, 100 were fired in 1969-1974. In 1986, five Mi-14PL anti-submarine helicopters were received, but their current state unknown.

It is believed that the DPRK is armed with UAVs, it is also known that the Russian complex "Malachite" with ten tactical UAVs "Shmel-1" was purchased in 1994. It will not be a surprise to know that Pyongyang used them as models for the development of its own UAVs.

Logistic support is provided by Air Koryo, a state-owned air carrier that is also a DPRK Air Force transport regiment. Today, the airline's fleet consists of a single Il-18V (delivered in the 1960s), as well as three Il-76TDs (in operation since 1993). Other types of aircraft are represented by the An-24 family, four Il-62Ms, the same number of Tu-154Ms, a pair of Tu-134 and Tu-204. The company also operates an unknown number of helicopters. Although their primary purpose is military, they carry civil registration, which allows them to fly outside the DPRK.

There are currently no clear signs of North Korea's modernization of its aviation, despite the fact that a senior North Korean procurement delegation visited Russia in August last year.

Missile defense

Of course, the DPRK's air defense system is based on three main "pillars" - air defense systems. This is the S-75 air defense system, in 1962-1980. 2000 missiles and 45 launchers were delivered, and this system is the most numerous. Many have recently been deployed near the 38th parallel, and most of the rest protect three corridors - one along Kaesong, Sariwon, Pyongyang, Pakcheon and Sinyiju on the west coast. The other two run along the east coast between Wonsan, Hamheung and Sinpo, and between Chongjin and Najin.

In 1985, 300 missiles and eight S-125 air defense systems were delivered, most of them cover high-value facilities, especially Pyongyang and military infrastructure. In 1987, four launchers and 48 S-200 air defense missile systems were purchased. These long-range systems are for medium and high heights use the same guidance radars as the C-75. Four regiments armed with this type of air defense system are deployed alongside their counterparts with the C-75 air defense system (optimized to combat high-altitude targets).

Another numerous type of air defense system is the KN-06, a local copy of the Russian two-digit air defense system S-300. Its firing range is estimated at 150 km. This truck-mounted system was first publicly unveiled at a military parade marking the 65th anniversary of the founding of the North Korean Workers' Party in October 2010.

Significant efforts are expended on making it more difficult to destroy from the air. missile systems and associated radars. Most North Korean early warning, target tracking and missile guidance radars are located either in large underground concrete bunkers protecting against weapons of mass destruction, or in dug mountain shelters. These facilities consist of tunnels, a control room, crew quarters and blast-proof steel doors. If necessary, the radar antenna is lifted to the surface by a special lift. There are also many dummy radars and missile launchers, as well as spare sites for the air defense systems themselves.

The DPRK Air Force is also responsible for the use of MANPADS. The most numerous are the Strela-2 MANPADS, but at the same time in 1978-1993. the troops were supplied with approximately 4,500 North Korean copies of the Chinese HN-5 MANPADS. In 1997, Russia handed over to the DPRK a license to manufacture 1,500 Igla-1 MANPADS. "Strela-2" is a first-generation MANPADS that can only target near-infrared radiation, mostly engine exhaust gases. On the other hand, Igla-1 is equipped with a dual-mode (infrared and ultraviolet) guidance head, which can target less powerful radiation sources emanating from the airframe of the aircraft. Both systems are optimized for use against low-flying targets.

Speaking about artillery air defense systems, it should be noted that their backbone is the 100-mm KS-19 guns developed in the 1940s. 500 guns of this type were delivered in 1952-1980, followed by another 24 guns in 1995. More deadly are the approximately 400 self-propelled anti-aircraft guns - 57-mm ZSU-57 and 23-mm ZSU 23/4, received in 1968-1988. This arsenal covers large cities, ports, large enterprises. The DPRK also developed its own self-propelled 37-mm anti-aircraft gun, named M1992, which strongly resembles Chinese samples.

The state is a pariah

The available weapons made it possible to create one of the most dense air defense systems in the world. The emphasis on air defense systems and barreled artillery is a direct result of Pyongyang's inability to acquire modern fighters or even spare parts for the antiques that make up the bulk of the DPRK Air Force. The probing of the positions of China and Russia in 2010 and 2011 was rejected by both countries. As a rogue state on the world stage, the CPV has gained a reputation as a non-obligatory payer for goods already delivered, and even China, which has been an ally and aide to North Korea for many years, is irritated by the demeanor of its southern neighbor. Much to Beijing's annoyance, it deliberately refuses to create market economy the same type that has proven so successful in China's reforms.

Maintaining the status quo and continuing the oppression of their people are the main driving forces of the DPRK leaders. It turns out that it is much cheaper to create or threaten to create nuclear weapons that can harass and threaten potential external aggressors than buy and maintain modern military forces. The North Korean leadership quickly learned from the fate of Colonel Gaddafi, who succumbed to the demands of the West and destroyed his nuclear potential and other types of weapons of mass destruction by joining the "good guys" club.

Korean peninsula

The second task facing the DPRK Air Force is to send special operations forces to the Korean Peninsula. It is estimated that the North Korean army has up to 200,000 people who are called upon to perform a similar task. The landing is largely due to 150 An-2 transport aircraft and its Chinese counterpart, the Nanchang / Shijiazhuang Y-5. In the 1980s. around 90 Hughes 369D / E helicopters were secretly purchased in circumvention of the sanctions, and it is believed that today 30 of them are still capable of taking off. This type of helicopter makes up a significant part of the South Korean fleet, and in the event that special operations forces penetrate south of the border, they can confuse the ranks of the defenders. Interestingly, South Korea also has an unknown number of An-2, presumably having similar tasks.

The next largest type of helicopter in service in the DPRK is the Mi-2, of which there are about 70. But they have a very insignificant payload. Probably, the veteran Mi-4 is also in service in small quantities. The only modern types of helicopters are the Mi-26, four of which were received in 1995-1996. and 43 Mi-8T / MTV / Mi-17, at least eight of which were obtained illegally from Russia in 1995.

Should we be afraid of North Korea?

The North Korean armed forces exist solely for the defense of the Fatherland and the threat of an invasion of South Korea. Any such invasion would begin with a massive attack from the South from low heights, and special operations forces would be thrown over the front lines to “shut down” strategic targets ahead of a land offensive through the Demilitarized Zone (DZ). Although such a threat may seem fantastic due to the state of the DPRK Air Force, it cannot be completely discounted. The importance that South Korea attaches to its own defense bears witness to this. Over the past twenty years, four new North Korean air bases have been created near the DZ, which reduces the flight time to Seoul to several minutes. Seoul itself is a major target and is one of the largest cities in the world, with a population of over 10 million. More than half of South Korea's population lives in the surrounding metropolitan area of ​​Incheon and Gyeonggi province, which is the second largest in the world: 25 million people live here and most of the country's industry is located.

There is no doubt that even if the North suffers huge losses as a result of the conflict, it will also be destructive for the South. The shock to the global economy will also be severe. It is worth mentioning that at the end of 2010, when the northerners shelled the South Korean island, there were also major maneuvers, during which a large-scale air raid was practiced, which was supposedly an imitation of a large-scale war. The result has turned to some extent into a farce, since aircraft collisions took place during the exercise, low reliability, weak command and control, and an unsystematic plan were revealed.

No one can say in which direction the modern leader of the DPRK, Kim Jong-un, will lead the country, and to what extent he is just a puppet in the hands of the old guard who has usurped power. What you can be sure of is that there are no signs of change on the horizon. And he looks at the country with suspicion global community, and the latest nuclear tests on February 12, 2013, only strengthened it in this.

Combat composition of the DPRK Air Force. According toAirForcesIntelligence as amended by AST Center

Originalpublications: Air Forces Monthly, April 2013 - Sérgio Santana

Translation by Andrey Frolov

On June 5, 1950, at 3 p.m. KST, a pair of Yak-9P fighters with North Korean Air Force markings appeared over the Gimpo airfield near Seoul, where the Americans were evacuating at a feverish pace in anticipation of the imminent capture of the South Korean capital by ground searches of the DPRK. The Yaks fired at the command tower, destroyed the fuel tank, and then damaged the US Air Force C-54 military transport aircraft standing on the ground. At the same time, a link of "yaks" was damaged by 7 aircraft of the YUKA Air Force at the Seoul airport. At 19:00, the Yaki stormed Gimpo again and finished off the C-54. It was the first combat episode of the Korean War and the debut of the North Korean Air Force.

The formation of the North Korean Air Force began much earlier than the events described above. Less than three months after the end of World War II, the great leader of the Korean people, Kim Il Sung, had already delivered a speech "Let's Create a New Korea Air Force" (November 29, 1945). Aviation, as well as the army as a whole, had to be created practically on a bare spot - those airbases and aircraft repair enterprises that remained in Korea from the Japanese were concentrated mainly in the south of the peninsula and went to the Americans, and then South Korea. The training of the air force of the "new Korea" began (according to the experience of the "great northern neighbor") with the organization of air clubs in Pyongyang, Sinju, Chongjin - where the aviation units of the Soviet occupation forces were based. The instructors, programs and aircraft were Soviet: Po-2, UT-2, Yak-18 (perhaps there were also Yak-9U, La-7, Yak-11).Selection of flight technical personnel was a serious problem. Those Koreans who served in the Japanese Air Force during the war were declared "enemies of the people" - they were supposed to be caught and tried. After the arrival of Soviet troops, the intelligentsia, the bourgeoisie and other most literate representatives of Korean society, most of them fled to the American zone of occupation, probably foreseeing what the “bright kingdom of socialism” in Korean style could become in reality. ”On the other hand, the bulk of the Korean population was illiterate peasants who had very vague ideas about aviation. A simple "rice plowman" could be relatively easily trained to shoot with a PPSh or a Mosin rifle, having first hammered into his head several theses from the "Program of the Provisional People's Committee of North Korea", but made him a pilot was a rather difficult task.

In part, this problem was solved due to the military specialists from Soviet army(from among suitable, literally and figuratively, persons - Soviet Chinese, Koreans, Buryats, etc.) In other respects, the communists tried to attract the most literate youth to the aviation clubs and the military aviation schools created a little later, and first of all, from among the students , both boys and girls. Regular flights of military transport aircraft Li-2 and C-47 from Pyongyang to the Soviet Primorye (Vladivostok, Khabarovsk) and China (Harbin), which began and at the end of 1917, became the "first swallow" of the new air force in the north of Korea. The flights were performed by mixed Soviet-Korean crews. The main task of these flights was to maintain regular communication between the "Provisional Committee" and then the government of the DPRK with the "fraternal parties."

In 1948, the troops of the USSR and the United States left the Korean Peninsula. Almost immediately, the "Provisional People's Committee of North Korea" announced the creation of the Korean People's Army - the KPA, and only six months later the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was formed - such an unconventional sequence allowed Pyongyang by the end of 1948 to have a rather powerful army of several divisions, equipped with Soviet weapons.

Of course, in all the headquarters were Soviet (sometimes Chinese) military advisers. The DPRK Air Force was commanded by General Wang Len and his adviser, Colonel Petrachev. Officially under their control was one mixed air division by the middle of 1950, but its number significantly exceeded the Soviet one. According to American estimates, the DPRK was armed with 132 combat aircraft, including 70 Yak-3, Yak-7B, Yak-9 and La-7 fighters, as well as 62 Il-10 attack aircraft. The exact number is represented by Soviet military advisers: 1 AD (1 ShAP - 93 Il-10, 1 IAP - 79 Yak-9. 1 UchAP - 67 training aircraft and communications aircraft), 2 aviation technical battalions. Total - 2829 people. The backbone of the Armed Forces consisted of both former Soviet aviation specialists and flight technical personnel who passed in 1946-50. training in the USSR, China and directly on the territory of the DPRK.

So, in the reports of American pilots of the first weeks of the war, there are references to air encounters with North Korean jet fighters of the "redone" scheme (Yak-17, Yak-23 or even Yak-15), from which American historians conclude that the DPRK Air Force on the eve of the war, they began to master jet technology. There is no confirmation of this in Soviet sources, although it is known that the Chinese at that time (i.e., when training on the MiG-15, while the MiG-15UTI was not yet there) were training on the Yak-17UTI. These aircraft were available, in particular, in Mukden. However, American pilots dreamed of North Korean and Chinese La-5s in the skies of Korea. Pe-2, Yak-7, Il-2 and even Airacobra!

Talking about the causes and course of the Korean War is beyond the scope of this story, so we will touch on these events briefly. We are interested in this war insofar as all events in one way or another affected the formation of the North Korean Air Force. Originally fighting went well for Pyongyang; the tank columns advanced almost unhindered, and the yaks and silts provided them with air support. For the "battles" in the area of ​​Seoul and Daejeon, some units of the Korean People's Army even received guard ranks. Among them were four infantry and one tank brigade, four infantry and two anti-aircraft artillery regiments, a detachment torpedo boats... Among others, the title of "Guards Daejon" was awarded to the DPRK Air Force Fighter Regiment. To this day, this unit is the only guards unit among the North Korean Air Force.

So on initial stage success was on the side of North Korea. This continued until the United States intervened in the war. As a result, by the beginning of August 1950, the aviation of the northerners was defeated and ceased to offer any significant resistance to the UN troops. The remnants of the Air Force flew into Chinese territory. Continuous attacks by American aircraft forced the ground units of the KPA to switch to night combat operations. But after the landing on September 15, 1950 in the rear of the DPRK troops in the Incheon area of ​​the UN amphibious assault and the simultaneous start of the American counteroffensive from the Pusan ​​bridgehead, the Korean People's Army was forced to begin a "temporary strategic retreat" (translated into Russian - drapanula to the north). As a result, by the end of October 1951, the North Koreans had lost 90% of the territory, and their army was almost completely defeated.

The situation was corrected by the entry into Korea of ​​the "Corps of Chinese People's Volunteers" Marshal Peng Dehuai under the cover of the Soviet 64th Air Defense Fighter Air Corps, equipped with MiG-15 aircraft. The Chinese volunteers threw the Americans and their allies back over the 38th parallel, but were stopped at these lines. As for the DPRK Air Force, in the winter of 1950-51. only the night bomber regiment widely described in the literature was active, flying first on Po-2, then on Yak-11 and Yak-l8. But, strange as it may seem, the real value from their combat work was. No wonder the Yankees seriously discussed the "Po-2 problem". In addition to the fact that "crazy Chinese alarm clocks", as the Americans called them, constantly pressed on the enemy's psyche, they also inflicted tangible damage. Subsequently, a couple of squadrons from the 56th Fighter Aviation Regiment and some Chinese air units were connected to the night work - they both flew mainly La-9/11 !.In November-December 1950, the formation of the Sino-Korean United Air Force (OVA) began. It was dominated by the Chinese, the commander of the OVA was also the Chinese general Liu Zhen. On June 10, 1951, the KPA Air Force had 136 aircraft and 60 well-trained pilots. In December, two Chinese fighter divisions on the MiG-15 began combat operations. Later, they were joined by the KPA Avid Division (by the end of 1952 their number was brought to three).

However, the activity of the Korean aviation left much to be desired. The main burden of the fight against enemy aircraft was borne by the IA and ZA 64IAK, so that the basis of the DPRK's air defense was Soviet units, and the Koreans and Chinese played a supporting role throughout most of the war. And their air defense, although it was, was in the appropriate state.

Almost the only air defense units remained groups of "gunner-hunters for aircraft", created by order of Kim Il Sung on December 2, 1950. The meaning of this "great initiative" was that in each rifle regiment there was a platoon that began to fight the enemy airplanes with the help of improvised means - from easel and light machine guns to the cables stretched between the tops of the nearby hills. According to North Korean propaganda, some groups (for example, the calculation of the Hero of the DPRK, Yu Ki Ho) managed to knock 3-5 enemy planes in this way! Even if we consider this information to be exaggerated, the fact remains that the "riflemen-hunters" became a mass phenomenon at the front and spoiled a lot of blood on the UN pilots.

On the day of the signing of the armistice, June 27, 1953, the North Korean aviation was still of little combat capability, but quantitatively already exceeded the pre-war level. Various experts estimate its number during this period at 350-400 aircraft, including at least 200 MiG-15s. All of them were based on Chinese territory, since the pre-war airfields in North Korea were destroyed and were not rebuilt during the war. By the end of 1953, the Chinese Volunteer Corps was withdrawn from the DPRK and the positions at the 38th parallel came under the control of the KPA units. A deep reorganization of all branches of the North Korean army began, accompanied by extensive supplies of new military equipment from the USSR.

For the Air Force, a dozen air bases were being built at an accelerated pace, a unified air defense system was created along the 38th parallel with radar stations, VNOS posts, communication lines. The "front line" (as the DPRK still calls the zone of separation of troops) and large cities were tightly covered with anti-aircraft artillery. In 1953, the complete transition of the DPRK Air Force to jet technology began: for the next three years, large batches of MiG-15s were received from the USSR and China. Even before the end of the war, the first Il-28 jet bombers arrived, ten of them took part in the "Victory Parade" on July 28, 1953 over Pyongyang.

Major organizational changes also took place in military aviation - the Air Defense Command, naval and army aviation were separated from the Air Force.
The air defense headquarters was subordinated to the air target detection system, anti-aircraft artillery and fighter aircraft. Naval aviation included several fighter squadrons covering major ports, and not a large number of IL-28, designed for reconnaissance and attack of naval targets. Since 1953, the army aviation has also carried out all civil air transportation within the DPRK, their volume was especially large in the first post-war years, while bridges, highways and railways remained unrepaired. In addition to the old Po-2 and Li-2, the army aviation received An-2, Il-12 and Yak-12. According to unverified data, it was in 1953-54. the North Koreans began to send their agents by air to the South. At the same time, army aviation planes not only threw out paratroopers, but also made secret landings on the territory of South Korea. One of the An-2, entirely painted black, was captured by the South Korean security service during a similar operation and is still on display in the military museum. However, the South Korean Air Force was also very active in sending spies to the DPRK. One of their successful operations, carried out jointly with the Americans, was the "Hunt for the Mig": On September 21, 1953, senior lieutenant of the North Korean Air Force Kim Sok No, attracted by the promise of a reward of 100 thousand dollars, hijacked a MiG-15bis ni Yug. This allowed the Americans, who until then had only the wreckage of shot down "moments", to conduct comprehensive tests of the aircraft, first in Okinawa, then in the United States.

In general, violations of the demarcation line on land, at sea and in the air, as well as mutual unprovoked shelling, have occurred hundreds of times since the 1950s. The most frequently mentioned in the literature is one of the episodes that occurred on February 2, 1955 over the Sea of ​​Japan. Then eight North Korean MiG-15s unsuccessfully tried to intercept the American RB-45 Tornado reconnaissance aircraft, which was photographing the DPRK coast under the cover of the US Air Force F-86 Saber fighters. As a result of the air battle, two "blinks" were shot down, the Americans had no losses. On November 7, 1955, another scandalous incident took place, when near the 38th parallel, an An-2 UN aircraft with Polish observers on board crashed while flying over the demilitarized zone. There is reason to believe that he was shot down by a mistake by the South Korean air defense.

In 1956, the 20th Congress of the CPSU introduced the concept of "personality cult" into the international lexicon. In the world communist movement a deep rift was formed between supporters and opponents of Stalinism. In the DPRK, the Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea disapproved of "the culmination of the intrigues of anti-party counter-revolutionary factionalists and revisionists" and began a grand purge of the party ranks. At this time, the term "Juche" ("helping oneself", in the sense of building socialism in a single Korea, and even relying solely on one's own forces) was first used. In North Korea, not only the Soviet, but even the Chinese leadership was now considered insufficiently self-sufficient in ideological terms. However, this did not interfere with continuing to equip the army with the latest weapons from the USSR and the PRC, while simultaneously subjecting the most competent military and technical specialists from among those trained in the socialist countries to repression.

The strengthening of the armed forces in 1956 was in full swing: the navy was formed, the organizational development of the Air Force was completed, and the modernization of the army began. Several dozen MiG-17F fighters, Mi-4 and Mi-4PL helicopters entered service. In 1958, the Koreans received MiG-17PF interceptor fighters from the USSR. On March 6, 1958, a pair of American T-6A training aircraft that violated the "front line" were fired upon by anti-aircraft artillery and then attacked by "blinks". One of the "Texans" was shot down, its crew was killed. The North Koreans said that the Americans "made a reconnaissance flight" ...

In 1959, Kim Il Sung solemnly announced the "victory of Juche socialism" and set out to lead the Korean people straight to communism! And in South Korea, by this time, the local "left" with the support of northern agents brought the former Lisymanov government to a complete loss of control of the situation. The situation in 1960 was saved by South Korean generals, who, rejecting the "ideals of democracy", staged a military coup with the full approval of the United States, harshly defeating the organized opposition in the country and thereby providing conditions for the subsequent "economic miracle." US troops in South Korea received tactical nuclear weapons and their delivery vehicles - Sergeant, Honest John and Lance missiles, and somewhat later - Pershing. The South Korean army, together with the 7th Infantry Division stationed in the South, practiced the use of weapons during the exercises mass destruction... In the early 1960s, the South Koreans erected the so-called "reinforced concrete wall" along the 38th parallel (a chain of fortifications reinforced not only with conventional minefields, but also, according to some sources, nuclear bombs), which became the subject of constant sharp criticism from the DPRK ... However, the North Koreans, amid this noise, built a strip of much more powerful and carefully camouflaged fortifications on the armistice line.

In 1961, an Agreement on Mutual Assistance and Defense Cooperation was signed between the USSR and the DPRK with a host of additional secret protocols that have not yet been declassified. In accordance with them, the DPRK Air Force received in 1961-62. supersonic fighters MiG-19S and anti-aircraft missile systems S-25 "Berkut".

KHA received aviation and artillery chemical ammunition, personnel began training in the conduct of combat in conditions of chemical and radiation contamination. After 1965, the MiG-21F fighters and anti-aircraft missile complexes S-75 "Dvina".

In December 1962, Kim Il Sung on the 5th plenum of the Central Committee of the WPK announced a new course towards "parallel economic and defense construction." The measures he proposed provided for the complete militarization of the economy, the transformation of the entire country into a fortress, the armament of the entire people (that is, the entire population was regular military personnel), and the modernization of the entire army. This "new course" defines the entire life and policy of the DPRK up to the present; North Korea spends up to 25% of its gross national product on its armed forces.

The sixties - seventies for the DPRK Air Force were a time of numerous border conflicts:
- May 17, 1963 ground vehicles Air defense fired at an American OH-23 helicopter, which then made an emergency landing on the territory of the DPRK;
- On January 19, 1967, the South Korean patrol ship "56" was attacked by North Korean ships, then it was finished off by MiG-21 aircraft;
- On January 23, 1968, northern aircraft and helicopters attacked the US Navy support vessel "Pueblo", and then pointed their ships and boats at it; the ship was hijacked and towed to one of the naval bases of the DPRK;
- On April 15, 1969, air defense missiles shot down a four-engined US Air Force reconnaissance aircraft of the EC-121 type;
- June 17, 1977 MiG-21 planes shot down an American helicopter CH-47 Chinook;
- On December 17, 194 North Korean ground-based air defense was shot down by an American OH-58D helicopter, one helicopter pilot was killed, and the second was captured.

In all cases, the North Koreans claimed that the attacked planes, helicopters and ships deliberately invaded the DPRK air and sea space for espionage purposes, while the South Koreans and Americans denied this. Considering that in those same years, South Korean aircraft repeatedly violated the borders of the USSR (remember the "Boeings" shot down near Arkhangelsk and over Sakhalin), then the DPRK's position seems more or less plausible.

In turn, the South Koreans during this period sank a couple of North Korean ships (now the DPRK screamed about an "act of vandalism" against "defenseless trawlers"), and also repeatedly noted the violation of its airspace by North Korean planes and helicopters. In the eighties, Pyongyang's hopes for a large-scale military conflict between NATO and the Warsaw Pact countries, under the cover of which the DPRK could have won a victory over South Korea, did not come true. On the contrary, the end of the 20th century was the time of the massive collapse of the communist regimes in the countries that were once "friendly to the USSR". However, the USSR itself no longer exists, and such "apologists of communism" as Albania and Romania went bankrupt much earlier than the "big brothers". In the Far East, China and Vietnam are also slowly but surely moving away from Marxist ideology. Apart from Cuba and some African countries, which would be glad to come to an agreement with the West, but do not yet know how to do it, by the beginning of the 90s the only stronghold of communism was essentially only the DPRK. Despite the loss of almost all allies and the growing pressure from the "free world", the ruling circles of North Korea are still full of faith in the final victory of communism in their particular country.

Their confidence is supported by the fact that the KPA is still one of the most powerful armies in the world. True, the complete closeness of North Korea allows foreign military analysts to make only the most rough estimates of the general state of the country, and especially the technical equipment of its armed forces. In the DPRK itself, they write little and very one-sided about the Korean People's Army: it can be said that the North Koreans have surpassed their Soviet and Chinese friends in the field of ostentation and secrecy. Of course, state propaganda constantly asserts that the KPA is invincible, and its unsurpassed fighters and commanders are ready to fight "one-on-one." American experts partly agree with this, believing that "the North Koreans have outdated weapons and Combat vehicles, but the fighting spirit is exceptionally high, these are well-trained soldiers, accustomed to iron discipline. "Which, incidentally, did not prevent the" great commander "Kim Il Sung at all party congresses to regularly pull his marshals out for" loss of vigilance, lack of fighting spirit and peaceful mood in troops. "The basis of the combat power of the Korean People's Army is tens of thousands of artillery barrels and up to 7 thousand armored vehicles, from obsolete Soviet tanks T-55 and T-62, Chinese T-59 until the more modern T-72M, BMP-2, BTR-70 received in the late 1980s. Some Western experts are overly optimistic that the anti-tank weapons available to the South Koreans and the US troops stationed in Korea are capable of "turning the North Korean armada into the world's largest dump of scrap metal."

The Americans write no less cheerfully about the North Korean military aviation, claiming that "the DPRK Air Force is in a worse technical condition than the Iraqi Air Force. The aircraft are so old that their first pilots have already become grandfathers. Today's pilots are poorly trained, their annual flight time is no more than than seven hours. If they manage to lift their sobs into the air, then most likely they will fly in a southerly direction and, in the tradition of kamikaze, will send their planes to the first ground object they meet. "

It is hardly possible to rely one hundred percent on such statements, although it is absolutely clear that the equipment of the Soviet-Chinese production, which is in service with the DPRK Air Force, is mainly represented by outdated samples and little adapted modern conditions war, and the flight personnel trained according to outdated methods and in conditions of an acute shortage of fuel really have little experience. But on the other hand, North Korean aircraft are safely hidden in underground hangars, and there are plenty of runways for them. With the complete absence of private cars and a small number of trucks, the DPRK has built a mass of highways with concrete surfaces and arched reinforced concrete tunnels (for example, the Pyongyang-Wonsan highway), which in case of war will undoubtedly be used as military airfields. Based on this, it can be argued that the first strike will hardly be able to "disable" North Korean aviation, especially given the powerful air defense system, which American intelligence considers "the most dense missile and anti-aircraft defense system in the world."

In the air defense of the DPRK, according to Western analysts, more than 9 thousand anti-aircraft artillery systems are deployed at firing positions: from light anti-aircraft machine gun installations to the world's most powerful 100-mm anti-aircraft guns, as well as self-propelled anti-aircraft installations ZSU-57 and ZSU-23-4 "Shilka". In addition, there are several thousand anti-aircraft missile launchers - from stationary complexes S-25, S-75, S-125 and mobile "Kub" and "Strela-10" to portable installations, "whose calculations do not know the word fear." In terms of quality, the DPRK Air Force is also by no means a continuous bunch of rusty cans. True, even by the beginning of the 90s, more than 150 MiG-17 and 100 MiG-19 remained in them (including their Chinese versions of the Shenyang F-4 and F-6, respectively), as well as 50 Harbin H-5 bombers (the Chinese version Soviet Il-28) and 10 Su-7BMK fighter-bombers. But by the beginning of the 1980s, military aviation had embarked on a new stage of modernization: in addition to the previously available 150 MiG-21s, a batch of 60 MiG-23P interceptor fighters and MiG-23ML front-line fighters was received from the USSR, and 150 from the PRC. attack aircraft Q-5 Phanlan. Army aviation, which had only the bottom of a dozen Mi-4 helicopters, received 10 Mi-2 and 50 Mi-24. In May-June 1988, the DPRK received the first six MiG-29s; by the end of the year, the transfer of the entire batch of 30 aircraft of this type and another 20 Su-25K attack aircraft was completed. At the end of the 1980s, two dozen American Hughes 500 helicopters, acquired in a roundabout way through third countries, became an unexpected addition to the Air Force; they are unarmed and used for communications and aerial surveillance.

Outdated aircraft (MiG-15, MiG-17, MiG-19) in the same years were transferred to "fraternal countries fighting against world imperialism" - primarily Albania, as well as Guinea, Zaire, Somalia. Uganda, Ethiopia. In 1983, 30 MiG-19 fighters used in the war with Iran were transferred to Iraq. The same aircraft, deployed at Iraqi airfields as decoys, took over the attack from the multinational forces during Operation Desert Storm.

It should be noted that the DPRK does not have civil aviation as such. All flights, whether it is the delivery of food and medicine to remote areas, domestic passenger flights or chemical treatment of fields, are carried out by airplanes and helicopters bearing Air Force insignia. The basis of the fleet of this "military-civilian" aviation is still about 200 An-2 and their Chinese counterparts Y-5. Until the beginning of the 70s, flights to the "fraternal countries" were carried out on five Il-14 and four Il-18, then the DPRK aircraft fleet was replenished with 12 An-24 (according to other sources, some of them belong to the An-32 type), three Tu154B and the "presidential" Il-62, on which Kim Il Sung made a number of official foreign visits. After the collapse of the USSR, the North Korean air fleet was replenished with a number of civilian aircraft bought cheaply from the SS "independent airlines", the largest of which were several Il -76. At the beginning of 1995, the DPRK signed international treaty on the opening of its airspace for passenger flights of foreign airlines. In this regard, North Korean aircraft flying overseas received civilian markings from the newly formed Chosongminghan airline, but military crews continue to operate them.

To train flight personnel, by the beginning of the 90s, there were more than 100 piston aircraft CJ-5 and CJ-6 (Chinese modification of the Yak-18), 12 jet L-39 Czechoslovak production, as well as several dozen combat training MiG-21, MiG -23, MiG-29 and Su-25. It is only natural to assume that pilot training for more modern aircraft types is well above the average of "seven flight hours per year." These include, first of all, the pilots of the elite 50th Guards and 57th fighter regiments armed with MiG-23 and MiG-29 aircraft; they are based near Pyongyang and provide air cover for the DPRK capital. The instructors who trained aviation specialists in many countries of the "third world" have also gained considerable experience. We should not forget that the DPRK has surface-to-surface missiles of various types, many of which are produced at its own factories. It was with the North Korean "Scuds" that Saddam Hussein frightened the United States and Israel during the conflict in the Persian Gulf. Then the Americans managed to shoot down with their newest anti-aircraft complexes"Patriot" is not more than 10 percent of the missiles launched by Iraq, despite the fact that these launches were made with very low intensity.

So the North Korean Air Force today is still a pretty impressive force that the Americans have to reckon with.

More than half a century ago, one of the bloodiest military conflicts of the second half of the last century ended - the war on the Korean Peninsula. 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 decades, since the agreement on reconciliation and non-aggression 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 is calming down, then again heating up to a dangerous degree, threatening to escalate into the Second Korean War, in which neighboring countries, including the United States and China, will inevitably be drawn. The situation worsened further after Pyongyang received nuclear weapons. Now every missile or nuclear test conducted by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is causing serious international stir. Recently, such exacerbations have occurred every one to two years.

In 2019, another Korean crisis coincided with the beginning of the work of the new President of the United States, Donald Trump, who, even during the election campaign, promised the Americans to solve the DPRK problem once and for all. However, despite the belligerent rhetoric and a significant build-up 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 has the American army - by far the strongest on the planet today - never dared to launch hostilities?

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, a battle with which will be a serious test for any enemy. Today, the DPRK has under arms a million people, 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. There is still a planned economy here, there is occasional famine, dissenters are sent to concentration camps, and public executions for North Koreans are commonplace.

The DPRK 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 numbers and weapons.

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

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

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

History of the DPRK army

The first Korean paramilitary formations were created in the early 30s of the last century on the territory of 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 numbered 188,000. One of the army commanders was Kim Il Sung - the actual creator of the DPRK and the first of the Kim dynasty, which has ruled for nearly half a century.

After the end of the war, Korea was divided into two halves - the north, which was under the control of the USSR, and the south, 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 armed forces of the communists 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. In late 1950, an army of thousands of Chinese crossed the border of North Korea and pushed the Americans and South Koreans far 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 of the two Koreas - the 38th parallel. The turning point of the war was the death of Stalin, shortly after Soviet Union decided to get out of the conflict. China, left alone with the Western coalition, agreed to a truce. But a peace treaty that 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 being its main allies. All this time, North Koreans have invested heavily in the development of the armed forces and the military-industrial complex. The situation in the DPRK worsened significantly after the collapse of the socialist camp and the introduction of Western sanctions against the country. In 2013, during another exacerbation, the DPRK leadership tore up all non-aggression agreements with its southern neighbor, and also annulled the agreement on the denuclearization of the peninsula.

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

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

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

The DPRK Armed Forces consist of:

• Ground Forces;
• The Navy;
• Air Force;
• Special Operations Forces.

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

Most (and better) of the country's armed forces are deployed in close proximity to the demilitarized zone.

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

Ground troops

The basis of the armed forces of the DPRK is made up of ground 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.

The figures regarding the number of military equipment in service with the ground forces of the DPRK army vary greatly. In case of war, North Korean generals will be able to count on 4.2 thousand tanks (light, medium and main), 2.5 thousand armored personnel carriers and 10 thousand. artillery pieces and mortars (according to other sources 8.8 thousand).

In addition, the DPRK ground forces are armed with a large number of rocket systems. salvo fire(from 2.5 thousand to 5.5 thousand units). They have the North Korean Armed Forces and operational-tactical, as well as tactical missile systems, their total number is 50-60 units. The DPRK army 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 outdated Soviet models or their Chinese counterparts: T-55, PT-85, Pokphunho tanks (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 Soviet T-34-85s that have survived from the Korean War.

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

Air Force

The strength of the Korean People's Army Air Force is approximately 100,000. The 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 air 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's 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 overwhelming majority of them are Soviet vehicles, the 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 artillery anti-aircraft 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 system. It should be noted that the DPRK has a lot of these complexes (about a thousand units).

Naval forces

The North Korean Navy has a strength of about 60 thousand people (in 2012). It is divided into two parts: the Eastern Sea Fleet (operates in the Sea of ​​Japan) and the Fleet western sea(designed for combat missions in the Korean Gulf and the Yellow Sea).

Today, the North Korean Navy includes about 650 ships, their total displacement exceeds 100 thousand tons. The DPRK has a fairly powerful submarine fleet. It includes about a hundred submarines different types and displacement. The DPRK's 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 different 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 North Korean naval forces is to cover the coast and coastal zone.

Special Operations Forces

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

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

Rocket troops

In 2005, the DPRK 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 is old Soviet missiles or their copies. For example, "Hwaseong-11" or "Toksa" - tactical missile, a copy of the Soviet "Tochka-U" with a range of 100 km or "Hwaseong-5" - an analogue of the Soviet missile R-17 with a range of 300 km.

However, most North Korean missiles are of their own design. The DPRK 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 1.2 thousand ballistic missiles of various types. Its buyers include Egypt, Pakistan, Iran, UAE, Syria and Yemen.

Today in service with the DPRK Armed Forces are:

• The 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. It is believed that between 300 and 600 of these missiles are currently in service;
• Hwaseong-7 medium-range missile. Introduced into service in 1997, it can hit targets at a distance of 1300 km;
• The No-Dong-2 medium-range missile, which was put into service in 2004, has a range of 2,000 km;
• Hwaseong-10 medium-range ballistic missile. It has been in service since 2009, the flight range is up to 4.5 thousand km. Pyongyang is believed to have up to 200 such missiles today;
• 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 US territory, 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, an artificial satellite "Gwangmyeongseong-3" was launched into Earth's orbit.

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1. In this photo, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sits in the cockpit of a fighter jet. His father was afraid to fly, but Kim Jong-un himself, on the contrary, has an unprecedented craving for the sky and, at times, controls planes himself. He even built several small airstrips near his palace.

2. An employee of the ground services of Air Koryo at Pyongyang airport

4. Kim Jong-un speaks with officials on board his private plane at Pyongyang airport.

5. A stewardess tidies up the cabin on an Air Koryo plane that flew to Pyongyang from Beijing.

6. Two North Korean men walk past a tourist at Pyongyang airport

7. An employee at Sunan Airport in Pyongyang near an Air Koryo plane

8. Kim Jong-un and his wife arrived at the competition site among the command personnel of the North Korean Air Force

9. In this photo, Kim Jong-un is photographed next to female fighter pilots of the North Korean Air Force.

10. Worker at Sunan Airport in Pyongyang

11. On the 62nd anniversary of the victory over militarist Japan, a competition was held among the commanders of the Air Force and Air Defense Forces. In this photo, a stormtrooper flies past the podium where North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is present.

12. On the same day, but already two fighters fly past the stands.

13. And in this photo, the plane is parked at the new terminal of Pyongyang airport.