North Korea's Military Told To Take 'Further Steps To Establish Discipline In The Ranks'

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends a drill by a unit of the Korean People's Army (KPA), North Korea in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on February 29, 2020. KCNA via REUTERS

Daily NK: N. Korean military takes further steps to establish discipline in the ranks

Kim Jong Un reportedly designated June as the country’s “month for establishing military discipline"

North Korea’s military has taken further steps to establish discipline within the ranks and has even warned that military commanders will be “jointly responsible” for infractions committed by soldiers under their command, Daily NK has learned.

On June 11, Daily NK learned from a source inside the country that a North Korean communist party committee focused on military affairs adopted a “resolution” that was then sent to the political offices of each branch of the military on June 1.

The resolution appears to have its origins in a comment made by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at an expanded meeting of the Central Military Committee on May 23. During that event, he spoke about resolving a “spate of deviance within military and political activities.”

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WNU Editor:  It looks like there are some rumblings in the North Korean military on the current state of affairs in North Korea.

Scores Of North Korean Military Aircraft Line Up At Wonsan Airport

Satellite imagery from Nov. 13 shows rows of airplanes at Kalama Airfield in Wonsan, North Korea. Satellite imagery from Planet Labs Inc. Aircraft identification by 38 North.

38 North: Military Aircraft Lined Up at the Wonsan Airport

A 38 North exclusive with analysis by Peter Makowsky and Jenny Town

Recent commercial satellite imagery shows tens of military aircraft parked wingtip to wingtip along the taxiways and parking aprons at North Korea’s Wonsan-Kalma International Airport. While the purpose of the display is unclear, the North may be preparing for a site visit by Kim Jong Un and possible demonstration of its air force capabilities. Similarly, it may be reviving the suspended annual Korean People’s Army Air and Anti-Air Force Flight Drill Competition, which is usually observed by Kim Jong Un and demonstrates the air force’s ability to destroy enemy targets. Other explanations may be staging for possible air exercises, although the wingtip-to-wingtip formation makes this scenario less likely, or potentially an air show like what took place in September 2016, although without a grand audience seems unlikely as well.

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Update: North Korea Seen Lining Up Military Aircraft For Possible Show (NPR)

WNU Editor: An inspection? An airshow?

This Is How North Korea's Artillery Would Wage War

Reuters

David Ace, National Interest: This Is How North Korea's Artillery Would Wage War

Key Point: North Korea has 13,000 artillery pieces that would kill thousands.

Pyongyang on May 9, 2019 launched a second “projectile,” South Korean officials said.

The May tests of at least one apparently nuclear-capable short-range missile startled foreign observers and threatened to elevate tensions between the United States and its allies South Korea and Japan on one side and, on the other side, North Korea and its main patron China.

But a less dramatic test of North Korea’s heavy artillery that occurred at the same time as the May 4 rocket launch arguably is more important.

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WNU Editor: That is a lot of firepower.

North Korea Confirms Test-Firing Of 'Super-Large' Multiple Rocket Launcher

Daily Mail: North Korea confirms test-firing of 'super-large' multiple rocket launcher which it claims will be able to destroy enemy targets with surprise attacks

* North Korea fired two projectiles from an airbase that flew 230 miles Thursday
* On Friday it confirmed it had tested a 'super-large' rocket artillery system
* It said rockets can destroy targets with 'super-powered blows' in surprise attacks
* Test is the Hermit Kingdom's twelfth this year, and comes ahead of a year-end deadline that Kim has set Trump to restart stalled nuclear talks

North Korea confirmed it carried out a successful new test of its 'super-large multiple rocket launcher' system on Friday.

State-run media said the test confirmed the 'combat performance and perfection of the supersonic weapon', which the Hermit Kingdom has tested twice before.

It comes a day after South Korea said it had detected two projectiles launched from North Korea's South Pyongan which flew approximately 230 miles.

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More News On North Korea Confirming The Test-Firing Of A 'Super-Large' Multiple Rocket Launcher

North Korea says it test-fired new multiple rocket launcher -- FOX News/AP
North Korea Conducts New Test Of "Super-Large" Rocket Launcher: Report -- NDTV/AFP
North Korea hails test of 'super-large multiple rocket launcher' -- The Guardian/Reuters
N.Korean State-Run Media Confirms Successful Test of Super-Large Multiple Rocket Launchers -- Sputnik

North Korean Keader Kim Jong-un Oversaw Test Of A New ‘Super-Large’ Multiple Rocket Launcher

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the test-firing of what state media said was a 'super-large multiple rocket launcher' (AFP Photo/KCNA VIA KNS)

AFP: N. Korea's Kim oversaw test of 'multiple rocket launcher': KCNA

Seoul (AFP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised the test-firing of a "super-large multiple rocket launcher", state media reported Sunday -- further muddying the waters for any resumption of denuclearisation talks.

Pyongyang fired what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles on Saturday, Seoul's military said, the latest in a series of launches in recent weeks in protest at US-South Korean joint military exercises, which wrapped up nearly a week ago.

Kim said the "newly developed" system was a "great weapon," and expressed "high appreciation" for the scientists who had designed and built it, the country's official Korean Central News Agency said.

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WNU editor: Now that is one big multiple rocket launcher.

More News On North Korea's New ‘Super-Large’ Multiple Rocket Launcher

N. Korea tests new ‘super-large’ multiple rocket launcher -- AP
North Korean leader Kim oversaw test of 'super-large multiple rocket launcher': KCNA -- Reuters
N. Korea: Test of "super-large rocket launcher" -- NHK

The North Korean Airforce Is Still Using Biplanes

YouTube screenshot

Sputnik: Pyongyang Using Ancient Biplanes to Practice on South Korean F-15 Mockups (Photo)

According to a South Korean newspaper, North Korea has a special bombing range complete with mockups of South Korean F-15K Slam Eagle jets. Is this for its advanced fleet of MiGs? No, apparently the range is for its ancient An-2 biplanes.

Seoul-based Chosun Ilbo reported Thursday that outside North Korea’s Sondok Military Airport, the Korean People's Army Air and Anti-Air Force (KPAAF) has intricate grass cut-outs in the shape of various pieces of South Korean hardware, including their advanced F-15K jets purchased from the United States.

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WNU Editor: You go to war with what you have.

A Look At North Korea’s Military Capabilities

Vehicles carry missiles during a military parade in Pyongyang. Sue-Lin Wong/Reuters

Eleanor Albert, Council On Foreign Relations: North Korea’s Military Capabilities

North Korea has embarked on an accelerated buildup of weapons of mass destruction and modernization of its already large conventional force.

The United States and its Asian allies regard North Korea as a grave security threat. North Korea has one of the world’s largest conventional military forces, which, combined with its missile and nuclear tests and aggressive rhetoric, has aroused concern worldwide. But world powers have been ineffective in slowing its path to acquire nuclear weapons.

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WNU Editor: For North Korean watchers, the above post is a must read.

U.S. Intelligence: North Korea's Weapons Test On Thursday Was Not A Ballistic Missile

CNN: What US intelligence believes happened with North Korea's weapons test

The US does not believe North Korea successfully launched a fully operational new weapon after Pyongyang claimed it had conducted a "new tactical guided weapons firing test" on Wednesday, according to a US official directly familiar with the latest assessment.

The initial US intelligence assessment is North Korea tested components for an anti-tank weapon, rather than a fully operational new weapon, the official told CNN on Thursday.

The assessment is based on a review of information gathered from satellites and aircraft that did not register any indication of a launch of any type of short-range tactical weapon or a ballistic missile, the official said.

North Korea's state media agency reported that the country's leader Kim Jong Un inspected and directed the test.

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Update #1: Pentagon confirms North Korea test launch, says it wasn’t a ballistic missile -- Military Times/AP
Update #2: Acting Pentagon chief: North Korea weapon test was 'not a ballistic missile' (The Hill).

WNU Editor: U.S. intelligence is saying that it was an anti-tank missile test.

Does North Korea Have Human Torpedo Suicide Subs?

Left to right: KPN hovercraft, mystery ship, Krivak-class frigate, and a second hovercraft. A narrow patrol boat-type warship is tied up next to the Krivak, and a second of the class is in drydock at the bottom of the screenshot. Screenshot: Google Earth

Foxtrot Alpha: Is This North Korea’s 'Human Torpedo' Suicide Sub?

What may well be a small, one or two-person submarine and mothership has been sighted at a military base in Nampo, North Korea. The small submarines are allegedly meant to conduct suicide attacks on enemy ships, and their appearance could be part of a regular training cycle, or something more sinister.

The ship is tied up alongside other Korean People’s Army Naval Force ships at the port of Nampo. It’s approximately 30 meters (about 98 feet) long.

The vessel features a rectangular-shaped section in the stern that appears lower than the rest of the ship, casting a shadow. Inside that section, about 10 meters long, is a bullet-shaped object perhaps six or seven meters long.

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WNU Editor: It is hard to tell from the above image on what type of ship it is, but it would not surprise me if North Korea does have suicide squads that would do such a mission.

Will North Korea's 200,000 'Commandos' Be A Formidible Threat In Any War?

Dave Majumdar, National Interest: North Korea Has 200,000 'Commandos' Ready to Attack

By air, North Korea has a notional fleet of two hundred elderly An-2 Colt short-takeoff and -landing transports. Capable of flying low and slow to avoid radar, each An-2 can carry up to twelve commandos, landing on unimproved surfaces or parachuting them on their targets. The regime also has a fleet of about 250 transport helicopters, mostly Soviet-bloc in origin (and age) but also including illicitly acquired Hughes 500MD series helicopters similar to those flown by the Republic of Korea. Pyongyang also appears bent to acquire modern, long-distance transports such as this aircraft, manufactured in New Zealand. Aircraft such as the P-750 XSTOL would allow North Korean special forces to reach as far as Japan and Okinawa, both of which would serve as forward bases for U.S. forces in wartime.

One of the most vital parts of North Korea’s war machine is one that relies the most on so-called “soldier power” skills. North Korea has likely the largest special-forces organization in the world, numbering two hundred thousand men—and women—trained in unconventional warfare. Pyongyang’s commandos are trained to operate throughout the Korean Peninsula, and possibly beyond, to present an asymmetric threat to its enemies.

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WNU Editor: These soldiers have probably been heavily indoctrinated. To put it bluntly .... many of them are not going to give up easily. We can only hope that these reports are true .... North Korean officials ransacking farmers' homes to find food for Kim's hungry army, report says (FOX News).

Is The North Korean Army A Pushover?

Reuters

Dave Majumdar, National Interest: North Korea's Army Is 1 Million Strong (And No Pushover)

North Korea is also modernizing its armored forces—but the mechanized troops are not the main focus of the regime in Pyongyang. “Equipment modernization is also constantly pursued, such as replacing the existing T-54 and T-55, the main tanks of the armored and mechanized units, with the Chonma-ho and Songun-ho tanks,” the white paper reads. The DPRK has more than 4,300 tanks and 2,500 other armored vehicles at its disposal according to South Korea.

As Washington ratchets up the pressure on North Korea—or potentially launches a preemptive strike—the Kim regime in Pyongyang has options to strike back hard at the United States and South Korea using purely conventional means.

While analysts often focus on the so-called Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s arsenal of ballistic missiles, the real threat emanating from the North comes in the form of heavy artillery and special operations forces, which could wreak havoc on the South. In the event of a war on the Korean Peninsula, Pyongyang’s ground forces are the greatest threat to the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the U.S. forces stationed there—short of nuclear weapons.

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WNU Editor:  While I suspect that many North Koreans will not fight .... because they do not have the will nor the means to fight .... I do suspect that many will. Either way .... such a war .... especially at the beginning .... will be one of the most intense conflicts of our generation.

In The Event Of War Will North Korean Troops 'Fight Like Tigers'?

Images from an April 15 military parade in Pyongyang show what appear to be North Korean 'commandos' carrying AK-47 assault rifles with attached grenade-launchers. But they are really 'helical' magazines designed to store bullets in a spiral shape

USA Today: In case of war, North Korean troops 'will fight like tigers,' some to the death

North Korea may have short soldiers who look hungry. Their equipment may be antiquated. And some troops have intestinal parasites. But the fourth-largest military in the world still poses a formidable threat, analysts say.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Friday told the United Nations Security Council that while the U.S. does not want war with North Korea, it will “use all necessary measures to defend itself against North Korean aggression.”

The door is open for U.S.-North Korea talks, but “a sustained cessation of North Korea’s threatening behavior must occur before talks can begin,” Tillerson said. “North Korea must earn its way back to the table."

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WNU Editor: This will be a war between Koreans. Will the North Korea soldiers "fight-like tigers" against their southern cousins? I suspect that many will .... I also suspect that many will not.

Life As A Women Soldier In The North Korean Army

YouTube

BBC: Rape and no periods in North Korea's army

A former soldier says life as a woman in the world's fourth-largest army was so tough that most soon stopped menstruating. And rape, she says, was a fact of life for many of those she served with.

For almost 10 years Lee So Yeon slept on the bottom bunk bed, in a room she shared with more than two dozen women. Every woman was given a small set of drawers in which to store their uniforms. On top of those drawers each kept two framed photographs. One was of North Korea's founder Kim Il-sung. The second was of his now deceased heir, Kim Jong-il.

It was more than a decade ago that she left, but she retains vivid memories of the smell of the concrete barracks.

"We sweat quite a bit.

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Update: Conditions for female North Korean soldiers are so brutal their periods stop and rape is commonplace, defector says (Daily Mail)

WNU Editor: So much for the North Korean claim that it is a worker's paradise.

Pictures Reveal A North Korean Army Not Ready For War

North Korean troops on the move. Picture: Pen News

Herald Sun: Pictures reveal a North Korean army totally unprepared for war

PICTURES smuggled out of North Korea by a tourist appear to reveal the true unprepared reality of Kim Jong-un’s army.

As the North Korean leader continues to ratchet up his rhetoric with US President Donald Trump amid heightened fears of a nuclear war on the Korean peninsula, these revealing snaps show a different side of the story.

The pictures, taken between Mount Kumgang and the city of Wonsan on North Korea’s east coast, show trucks that date back to World War II, dangerously overladen vehicles, female soldiers wearing high heels, fighters who appear to be carrying fake weapons and exhausted troops sleeping by the roadside.

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WNU Editor: The above pictures remind me of what I saw in China in the mid-1980s .... ill-equipped soldiers in every way. But will these soldiers still fight .... the answer is yes.

North Korean Special Forces Train To Attack South Korea-U.S. Military Command

The Telegraph: North Korean special forces use paragliders in simulated attack on South Korean-US military HQ

North Korean special forces have carried out an exercise in which they used paragliders to simulate infiltrating behind South Korean lines and launch an attack on the headquarters of the joint South Korean-US military command.

Officials of Seoul's Defence Ministry told Yonhap news that the exercises were conducted over a number of days in mid-September and were the first time that the tactic had been tested by the North.

Special forces troops used paragliders to land on a training ground where a mock-up of the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command in Seoul had been constructed.

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Update: N.K. special forces conduct drills to paraglide into Combined Forces Command (Yonhap News Agency)

WNU Editor: The para-gliders will be hard to detect .... doubly so at night time.

North Korea Is Claiming That 5 Million Want To Join The Military

Soldiers march past the podium during a military parade in Pyongyang (Reuters)

Washington Post: North Korea claims almost 5 million have signed up to join its already enormous army

North Korea's state newspaper reported Thursday that 4.7 million students and workers have expressed a desire to enlist or reenlist in the nation's army, potentially adding a major boost in manpower to what is already one of the largest armed forces in the world.

It is difficult for outside analysts to gauge the accuracy of the report in the Rodong Sinmum newspaper. North Korean state media has issued similar claims during past moments of tension. Earlier this summer, for example, it claimed that 3.5 million citizens had signed up for the army after the United Nations imposed new sanctions on Pyongyang.

Most estimates suggest that North Korea has an unusually large number of armed forces personnel for its population of 25 million. The U.S. State Department has estimated that North Korea had more than 1.18 million armed forces personnel in 2014, making it the fourth-largest army in the world after China (2.37 million), India (1.41 million) and the United States (1.43 million).

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Update #1: North Korea: Millions sign up for military to fight against U.S. -- USA Today
Update #2: NK claims 4.7m young people volunteer to join military against US -- The Korea Herald

WNU Editor: Only 5 million?

Sizing Up The North Korean Military

North Korea claims to have three missiles capable of striking Guam, the Hwasong-12 (pictured), the Pukguksong-2 and the Musadon

Daily Mail: How Kim's Korean People's Army sizes up to Trump's military might as tensions rocket amid Pyongyang's threats to strike US Guam Air Force Base

* North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un raised fears of a military clash after threatening US military base in Guam
* It came hours after US President Donald Trump warned vowed 'fire and fury' if Kim threatened United States
* Some military analysts believe North Korea has weapons capable of striking Guam, around 2,100 miles away
* As well as 60 potential nuclear weapons, Kim Jong-un boasts around one million active soldiers, 5,000 tanks
* In comparison, the United States has around 80,000 soldiers and 240 planes in Japan, South Korea and Guam

Kim Jong-un's announcement that he is looking into the logistics of striking US military base in Guam is not the first time he has threatened America - but it is the first time he has singled a territory out.

Following a failed missile test in April, Kim warned of a 'super mighty pre-emptive strike' to wipe out US forces in South Korea and reduce its mainland 'to ashes'.

It was dismissed by most experts as saber-rattling but his most recent claim to strike Guam, an American territory around 2,100 miles from the Korean Peninsula, seems worryingly more specific.

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WNU Editor: Yup .... Why it could take months for the US to get ready for war with North Korea (CNN). It should be noted that if war does break out .... it will not be the U.S. fighting this war (especially at the beginning), it will primarily be the Koreans.

Update: There is probably some truth to this (at least that is what some are hoping for) .... North Korea probably couldn't nuke the US military in Guam even if it tried (Business Insider). But they can still do a lot of damage with their conventional weapons .... What damage could North Korea do even without nuclear weapons? (Jonathan Marcus, BBC).

More News On The Current U.S. Military Assets In The Region

What is the US military's presence near North Korea? -- The Guardian
Japanese fighters conducted air drills with U.S. B-1B bombers on Tuesday -- Reuters
US Nuclear Bombers Buzz Korean Peninsula as Kim Jong-un Threatens Guam -- Sputnik
US Air Force jets 'ready to fight tonight' says Trump, as US tension with North Korea continues -- Yahoo News UK
What nuclear weapons does North Korea have, who would Kim Jong-un target in a missile attack and what are the sanctions against the state? -- The SUN

What Is Life Like For A Soldier In Kim Jong Un's Army

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un laughs with General Ri Pyong Chol, right, at a photo session with the participants of the first meeting of the airpersons of the Korean People's Army in Pyongyang on April 17, 2014, in this photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on April 20, 2014. REUTERS/KCNA

Eleanor Ross, Newsweek: North Korea Military: What To Know About Life As A Soldier In Kim Jong UN's Army

On June 18, a North Korean soldier fled to South Korea by swimming across a river, the second defection by a member of the military in a week. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said the man had escaped by swimming across a narrow part of the fast-flowing Imjin River, which crosses the demilitarized zone.

He used makeshift foam floating devices to help him cross. Another soldier crossed the demilitarized zone by foot on June 13. The North Korean surrendered himself to a South Korean soldier on the other side, and the South Korean army confirmed there was no exchange of fire.

Conditions must be bad for members to desert the army, but how bad?

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WNU Editor: The sad part of this story is that if push came to shove .... most of these North Korean soldiers will still fight for the Kim Jong Un.

North Korean Defector Claims Norht Korea Has 300 To 400 Drones That Can Launch A Biological And Chemical Attack On Seoul

North Korean drones, according to South Korean intelligence estimates. © PHOTO: SPUTNIK, WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, PRC DEFENSE MINISTRY, ROK DEFENSE MINISTRY, YOUTUBE/MBCNEWS

Washington Times: North Korea attack drones carrying biological, chemical weapons can strike Seoul within 1 hour

North Korea’s military has 300 to 400 attack drones capable of carrying biological and chemical weapons that could reach the South Korean capital of Seoul within one hour, according to a high-level defector from the isolated regime ruling Pyongyang.

The claim from a 42-year-old former third secretary who fled Kim Jong-un’s regime in 2015 coincides with heightened international concern over a different threat from North Korea: mobile, medium- to long-range missiles that Pyongyang has tested with increasing frequency.

After successfully launching one of the solid-fuel missiles Sunday, North Korean leaders said they are ready to begin deploying and mass-producing the Pukgukson-2 projectiles, which Pyongyang says are capable of reaching major U.S. military bases in Japan.

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Update: Defector: DPRK Drones Can Hit Seoul With Biochemical Attack in One Hour (Sputnik)

WNU Editor: These claims have been circulating for the past few months .... North Korea reportedly has a fleet of 1,000 drones it can use for chemical attacks (Business Insider)

Could North Korea's Artillery Destroy Seoul?

Kyle Mizokami, National Interest: Could North Korea Annihilate Seoul with Its Artillery?

For most armies, artillery is just one component of an all-arms force consisting of infantry, armor and artillery. But North Korea’s curious strategic location, with the enemy capital within striking range, has turned the country’s arsenal of howitzers and rocket launchers collectively into a weapon of mass destruction, capable of reducing Seoul to rubble within days. Or does it? Has the threat to the capital by North Korea’s “King of Battle” been overstated?

During the Cold War, North Korea built up an oversized army—and artillery corps—as part of its goal of re-invading South Korea. The North Korean People’s Army Artillery Command is responsible for 12,000 pieces of tube artillery and 2,300 pieces of multiple launch rocket artillery over 107-millimeters. The majority of tube artillery are 122-, 130-, 152- and 170-millimeter units, and on the rocket side the majority are 240-millimeter units.

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WNU Editor: In my first visit to South Korea during the 1988 Olympics, I asked a good South Korean friend of mine that of all the weapons that North Korea had which did he fear the most .... his answer was .... the artillery. Over the years .... and many trips to South Korea .... when I asked that question I have always been given the same answer.  North Korea's artillery capacity is no joke ,,,, it is their weapon of mass destruction, and they will use it to destroy Seoul.