Irregular bits on the DPRK's armed forces

By Maurice Hartsinck

North Korea is easily one of the most difficult countries to understand. It has estranged itself from the international community and it does little to make itself understood. The society is structured in a way which is completely different from other societies with the cult of personality around the Kim dynasty being one example of this.  Its military is equally unorthodox. The North utilizes both the relative modern MiG-29 as well as the antiquated Yak-18, designed in 1946. Its military parades show sophisticated ballistic missiles as well as artillery designed in 1938. This has resulted in a situation in which the North is little understood, even mocked by some. Its society would be on the brick of collapse and the military crumbling to a mere pile of dust as spare parts and fuel are absent. This is what we regularly hear in the media.

However, many of these assumptions are based on mistakes. The fact that it has managed to preserve itself for more 60 years and, in spite of the existential threat of facing an immeasurably more successful Korean state across the border, the North has shown itself to be calculating and resilient. North Korean expert successfully tune in outside radio and television, read outside books and newspapers detailing our politics and society while we remain seemingly clueless about the North’s internal affairs and capabilities. As a substitute for knowledge we have developed a fog of myths about them. These myths, handed down from generation to generation, make it difficult for us to avoid walking in circles. The North Koreans reap tactical benefit from our ignorance.

Let’s start with the military aspect. If there is something constant in coverage on North Korea, it is the tendency to underestimate its technical capabilities in the military realm. The recent reports on the drones found in South Korea are compelling confirmations of this tendency. These drones have been called simple, low-tech and failures. What people seemingly forget is that these are simple recon drones. They are practically made to be low-tech, and definitely not to carry missiles and carry special technology. Who would fly expensive drones with high-grade technology in one of the most heavily protected countries, while facing the risk losing them and giving technology to the enemy? Besides, let’s not forget that one of these drones flew over Seoul without being spotted by the South Korean military at all. Lastly, how do we know that these things haven’t flown dozens of times in the South’s territory? It is important that we keep this in mind: North Korea has remained a serious military factor. It is worth remembering that North Korea has a per capita GDP comparable to that of poor African countries and suffers from numerous international sanctions. Nonetheless, it has successfully developed medium-range ballistic missiles and even plutonium-based nuclear devices. It is also working ardently to develop long-range missiles and uranium-based nuclear devices. It goes without saying that most countries with comparable economies would struggle to manufacture decent rifles, let alone nuclear devices and ballistic missiles.

This paradox is actually quite typical for regimes typical to that of North Korea. Take the Soviet Union for example, which, with its centralist economy, was able to maintain the world’s second most powerful military, even though its economy was in poor shape. While the people were struggling, the country was still able to produce packs of tanks and hoards of fighter jets.

Reports of the North Korean air fleet being in dire condition, with most of the planes inoperative because ‘lack of spare parts and fuel’ are mentioned practically on a monthly basis while even the most rudimentary research can easily refute this. By carefully looking at satellite imagery of the past few years it is evident that the planes are constantly used, moved and repaired.  Not to mention the abundant KCNA footage of flying planes. During the “Key Resolve” exercise in 2013, North Korean planes and helicopters performed 700 sorties on one single day.

There are no hints that its military is weakening or in a dire condition. On the contrary, as recent military parades and KCNA footage have been hinting, North Korea is eagerly trying to significantly modernize its military. They are working actively on their drone capabilities and anti-air forces. Over the past few years North Korea has developed tanks, ships and artillery of its own.  Almost all vehicles in the military parades carry MANPADs and North Korea is actively developing its KN-06 project, based on the Russian S-300, with the Pŏn’gae-5 and Pŏn’gae-6, a project that would greatly increase their anti-air capabilities.

Politically and socially, our misconceptions on North Korea are strengthened by occasional reports of found unicorn lairs, that every student needs to have the same haircut like Kim Jong Un, that the North Korean government told their citizens that Americans live of eating snow and birds, and that Kim Jong Un fed his uncle to exactly 120 hungry dogs. These reports have all shown to be fictitious but their harm has already been done, they have contributed to an even more inaccurate and narrow-minded image of North Korea.  Many mistakes are based on language barriers. By the time these reports passed through the linguistic barriers of translation or correct interpretation, the meaning was already lost.  In some cases, inaccuracies merely produced temporary confusion; in others, they produced serious policy debates based on false premises or incorrect interpretations.  

Good foreign policy should be based on a comprehensive understanding of the capabilities, interests, perceptions and objectives of other nations. In the case of North Korea, lack of reliable information and the North’s deliberate efforts to exploit this ambiguity to improve its negotiating position greatly complicates this task.  The made-up or misinterpreted stories in the media complicate this even more.  The barriers to an accurate understanding of North Korea described in this article have had a real impact on the international policy and public view toward North Korea. When policymakers are forced to make important decisions with incomplete information and in ambiguous circumstances, cognitive simplifications are often used to compensate for uncertainty. Misconceptions and misunderstandings have exerted a larger and lasting influence on international policy and, moreover, on public understanding of North Korea.

The, as far as I know, first footage of the ancient 2K6 Luna (3R9/Frog-3) short range ballistic missile (SBM) arose in a recent military documentary on KCNA (link). 

The 2010 Military Balance of the ISS mentioned 24 FROG-3/FROG-5/FROG-7 TELs in the DPRKs inventory, however the 3R9 (known as FROG-3) and 3R10 (known as FROG-5) have never actually been seen before. The 2K6 Luna was produced from 1960 until 1964 in the Soviet Union. The SPU 2P16 launch vehicle can carry both the 3R9 and 3R10. Whereas the 3R10 missile carries a larger (nuclear) payload, the 3R9 range has a larger maximum range of over 40 km, in comparison with the 3R10s 32 km. 

Nevertheless, the 2K6 Luna is, with both the 3R9 and 3R10, extremely outdated, having been decommissioned by the Soviet Union in 1982. The missiles have both poor range and poor accuracy. The Circular Error Probable is a terrible ~1 km.

http://spioenkop.blogspot.com/2014/01/north-korea-and-her-fighting-vehicles.html

This list, written in cooperation with the author of Oryx Blog, tries to map the all of the Korean People's Army's military land vehicles, using the best pictures avaiable for each entry. A similar list by the same authors on the Korean People's Air Force can be found here:

http://spioenkop.blogspot.com/2013/09/north-korea-and-her-air-force.html

During the Cold War North Korea received Romeo and Whiskey class submarines on several occasions. During 1973-1974 four Chinese Type 033 class were purchased and directly shipped to the West coast along with (18) kits for assembly in North Korea, which happened at least up until 1994. How many of the original Soviet Romeo and Whiskey (of which four were bought initially) class submarines remain is uncertain.

Three naval bases with visible submarines can be identified, two on the East coast and one on the West coast.

Pip'a-got naval base on the West coast, housing the four Type 033 class submarines delivered from China.

A naval base near Ch'aho. At least two inlets leading to underground storage facilities are visible. Eight Romeo/Whiskey class submarines can be seen at most.

Mayangdo naval base (encompassing the entire island and harbour). Up to 17 Romeo/Whiskey class submarines are visible at one time in satellite footage, with three apparantly having run aground during the 6-8-2004 to 15-8-2009 period as can be seen in the following pictures:

Do note that there is a slight possibility these were purposely sunk after their retirement to be used in diving training (Mayangdo is also house to a large amount of "manned torpedoes", confirming the presence of a diver force). The first submarine also appears as though it was modified for crew training.

Another submarine was reported lost by the KCNA recently during combat exercises. Judging by the large death toll this is likely to have been a Romeo/Whiskey class, bringing the total (visible) fleet of Romeo and Whiskey class submarines to about 24.

Some pictures of a KPAN Type 033 from http://blog.sina.com.cn/007xd:

http://fotos.subefotos.com/3b6cfa7b6392675ac5a9312b113fefa7o.jpg

http://fotos.subefotos.com/73bf37a030ff07b6e295cd7a3ec278e1o.jpg

http://fotos.subefotos.com/d1d93e64027d0754a4b856dfccc19e88o.jpg

Coordinates on Google Earth:

 38°35'36.54"N

124°58'25.59"E (Pip'a-got)

 40° 0'41.88"N

128°10'32.17"E (Mayangdo)

 40°12'6.91"N

The DPRK is often noted as the last operator of the Su-7 in the world. Its Su-7 fleet is stated by SIPRI to have consisted of 28 Su-7Bs orginally, ordered in 1969 and delivered in 1971. Other sources explain it to be the Su-7BMK, which is far more logical as the Su-7B was produced from 1960 to 1962 and the Su-7BMK from 1967 to 1971 (the Su-7s were new, according to SIPRI).

Despite the relatively high number of aircraft the Su-7 has remained fairly elusive both in propaganda and satellite footage (the former provides us no images whatsoever as far as I know). The only visual proof it is indeed operated by the North until recently consisted of a single aircraft at Pukchang airfield. A large amount (12) near Koksan airfield finally caught my attention, though wether they are still operational is debatable.

Imagery of the single Su-7 at Pukchang airfield (near the helicopter pads):

Date: 18-12-2006

Note that it wasn't visible at Pukchang in 2004.

Date: 28-5-2009

Presumably the same aircraft, moved a little to the right.

Date: 22-9-2011

Another picture of either another Su-7 stored in the shelters on the West end of Pukchang (which would mean more Su-7 might be kept there too), or the same aircraft moved to the other side of the airfield. No Su-7s were visible on 18-3-2011.

Imagery of 12 Su-7s at Koksan airfield (next to the dirt landing strip in the South):

Date: 26-10-2009

The first footage of Su-7s near Koksan (date of last picture: 5-10-2007). Nothing larger than a dirt road leads to this landing strip, meaning they must have flown in by themselves.

Date: 24-3-2011

The only other picture of the aircraft on Google Earth. It appears none of the jets have moved at all in nearly two years, perhaps indicating they are in the process of being retired.

Date: 8-2-2011

This picture from TerraServer has probably been dated wrong or the planes have been returned extremely carefully to their former positions. It shows a last Su-7, which is gone too in the next picture. The oddity here is that the aircraft were brought here presumably to be retired, yet almost two years later they are flown away again, proving they are at least flight capable.

A possible explanation for all this could be that the Su-7 fleet is still formally not retired and kept operational, but due to a shortage of jet fuel and spare parts effectively grounded.

Sources:

http://www.terraserver.com/

http://portal.sipri.org/publications/pages/transfer/trade-register

Coordinates on Google Earth:

 38°40'10.09"N

126°35'45.57"E

and

 39°29'26.26"N

This North Korean documentary about Kim Jong-un (and partially his father and his father's father), was published a few days after he was declared Supreme Leader, on his birthday. It shows, among other things, Kim Jong-un touring the country, providing lots of imagery on military related hardware, including several firsts that were picked up on by media only much later.

This picture (which is zoomed in, the video also has a wider take) shows what I earlier described as the M1991 30mm gatling gun (in the center and right corner at the bottom, another one right of the MLRS in the middle), but what turns out to be a new six-barreled 14.5mm gatling gun, according to KPA Journal Vol. 2 No. 8. This weapon appears to be more common than I previously thought, providing the Korean People's Navy with a pretty good close range anti-aircraft weapon (besides the actual, automatic 30mm M1991). These boats are also outfitted with BMD-20 launchers (described by Maurice in his post about the BMD-20 and BM-24) and an MLRS system similar to that of the BM-21.

Here we see Kim Jong-il walking in front of a Komar/Sohung-class missile boat, which is quite rare considering North Korea has at most 16 and the original design stems from the 1950's.

A T-55 using its snorkel equipment, supposedly during a river crossing exercise.

A P 6-class torpedo boat, most which are thought to have been retired in the KPN due to their age.

This picture was described in the latest KPA Journal (Vol. 2 No. 11). I decided to post it here anyway both due to the extensive research put into discovering what this radar structure might be, and due to the rarity of footage of North Korean PKMs (lower left). Edit: The author of Oryx Blog corrected me and the KPA Journal by identifying it as the very common Type 73, a weapon thought to be derived at least partially from the PK.

Two North Korean Mi-2's with 2 UB-16-57UMP rocket pods (carrying 2x16 S-5 rockets). They also appear capable of carrying four Malyutka ATGM.

A Chongjin class patrol boat, based on the P 6 hull but armed with a 76 (likely no longer in use), 85 or 100mm cannon. During the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong one of these boats armed with the 85mm cannon immediately scored a direct hit, proving the system's capabilities.

Kim Jong-un next to a BTR-80A APC, which was only seen in parades until now.

Kim Jong-un with an unknown/new type of grenade launcher, also described with additional photos by KPA Blogger.

Another interesting aspect of the video is that it contains the first bits of footage of the domestically developed helical magazines used by Kim Jong-un's bodyguards. As with the grenade launcher, it was only covered in the media much later.

KPA Blogger on the new grenade launcher:

http://kpablogger.tumblr.com/post/49880406769/the-rather-curious-m2013-grenade-launcher

The KPA Journals:

http://www.kpajournal.com/storage/KPAJ-2-08.pdf (for the 14.5mm CIWS,  M1991 and BTR-80A)

http://www.kpajournal.com/storage/KPAJ-2-11.pdf (for the radar structure and PKM)

The video (which contains lots of other great footage):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxBLe9A2gXY

http://spioenkop.blogspot.nl/2013/09/north-korea-and-her-air-force.html

In this list, created in cooperation with the author of http://spioenkop.blogspot.nl/, the equipment of the Korean People's Air Force is described in detail, using pictures for each aircraft (if avaiable).

http://i.imgur.com/C1rfx.jpg (it's too big to place here directly)

This picture was discussed a lot the moment it was released, as it shows a hall with much of the KPA's most modern equipment. Especially interesting and attention grabbing is the row of Chonma-ho and "Pokpung-ho" MBTs, which will probably be covered extensively later on this blog. However, it seems these tanks diverted a lot of attention away from other interesting vehicles on display, about which barely anything has been written ever.

First a few vehicles that have been identified before, starting with artillery going front to back:

1. The "1972" (designated as the M1974), a self propelled 152mm A411 modification on a "Tokchon" (ATS-59) chassis. Curiously, the A411 is often called the M1981, casting doubt on these designations.

2. The "1978" (designated as the M1981), a self propelled 122mm D-74 on a "Tokchon" (ATS-59) chassis.

3. (probably) The "1974" (designated as the M1992), a self propelled 130mm SM-4-1 on a "Tokchon" (ATS-59) chassis.

4. The "1973" (designated as the M1978 Koksan), a self propelled 170mm gun on a T-54 or Type-59 chassis.

5. The "1983" (designated as the M1989 Koksan), a self propelled 170mm gun on what looks like a reversed T-62 chassis with a cabin for crew at the rear (which is the front).

Another artillery piece can be seen in the back of the picture near the bottom of this post showing the hall from the other end. This is the "1978" (designated as the M1977, the year indiscrepancy can be explained either as a typo in the introduction date or the "1978" is one of the newer M1977 variants), a self propelled 122mm D-30 on a "VTT-323" chassis.

Two more "direct fire" self propelled guns (the 103mm 1972 and 100mm 1974, the gun used is not known) are visible in the left back of the above mentioned picture. 

It should be noted that these first three have some sort of windowpanes installed which usually aren't present on parade versions.

While interesting, this was nothing new, and certainly not the latest in North Korean artillery. I will now discuss the rightmost row, from the front to the back.

The first vehicle of which we can only see the rear, looks like an anti tank gun mounted on a "VTT-323" chassis. A post about variants of the "VTT-323" might be made later.

Behind it, another "VTT-323" with an 18x 107mm MRL and a KPVT 14.5mm heavy machine gun, as seen in the 1992 parade.

Next, a visually similar vehicle with again an 18x 107mm MRL and KPVT, but the MRL seems to be mounted on a platform capable of rotating. The vehicle itself has only been seen in more recent parades and is thus likely to be an upgrade of the previous one.

Behind these, a "simple" truck with a 24x 122mm MRL and two MANPADS. While seemingly insignificant and as far as I know without designation, this particular type has participated in multiple parades so far since 1973.

Now, some of the never before seen (at least by me) vehicles:

  A M1992 APC modified to carry four MANPADS on its back.

An upgraded mobile S-125 variant. While the DPRK is known to have upgraded some of their S-125 (these were also shown in parades), it seems this is yet another, perhaps newer, upgraded variant, with a different truck.

The mobile S-75 SAM I wrote about in an earlier post.

The last two vehicles I will mention here are the KN-06 SAM in the left back and the carried S-200 SAM behind it.

  An article on jajuminbo explaining the introduction dates:

http://www.jajuminbo.net/sub_read.html?uid=13215

The other picture showing the hall from the other end:

http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/mar12/24149259/300691/300691_640.jpg

A still from a video, showing the "PT-85" in the lower left:

http://s21.postimg.org/j7lcqukuf/kju9283.png

- Joost

Well, finally time for my (Maurice) first contribution: 

Two interesting military vehicles in the DPRKs inventory that are not covered a lot are the little-known BM-24 MLRS and the even more unknown BMD-20 MRLS. It's not even mentioned on the English version of Wikipedia that they are operated by the DPRK. Which is quite logical as they aren't shown a lot in public. 

The BM-24 is a multiple rocket launcher designed around 1949-1951. The idea behind is was to destroy strongholds and artillery positions. The BM-24 followed the same design form and function as the BM offerings before it. According to the SIPRI Arms Transfers Database North Korea received 200 of them. The basic launcher was a rather simplistic steel cage consisting of 12 240mm rockets. North Korea seems to be utilising the modernised variant, the BM-24M. The main difference is that the BM-24M is mounted on a ZiL-157 truck instead of the older ZiS-151. 

The projectiles of the BM-24 were based on the the Wgr. 32 projectile of the Nazis 21 cm Nebelwerfer 42 MRL. The Soviets acquired this weapon after the World War II. 

Nebelwerfer 42

The DPRK seems to be using the 240 mm M-24F or M-24FUD projectiles. The M-24F has a range of approx. 6000 to 7000 m and the FUD has a range of approx. 10300 to 11000 m. The BM-24 is also capable of firing chemical rockets, the MS-24 and MS-24UD, utilising 19 kg of the chemical agent P-35 "Sarin."  I myself believe that the ones on the first picture are M-24FUDs as they seem a bit too large for M-24Fs but I am not certain. The range is a lot less than most more modern systems. The BM-21 Grad for instance has a range of 20 km and more. However, the BM-24 does still have the ability to inflict damage on an area of multiple acres because of the large calibre ammunition. If used properly it's still able to stun forces or inflict damage to larger (military) installations. 

  The BMD-20 "Storm-1" resembles the BM-24 a lot. the DPRK reportedly received 200 of those as well after the Korean War in the mid 50s.

The BMD-20 was introduced in 1951 and originally mounted on the ZiS-151. The DPRK is using the more modern ZiL-157 for these as well. The BMD-20 had the same purpose as the BM-24, namely to destroy hardened positions. The BMD-20 has a range of approx. 19 km, considerably more than the BM-24. The missile is the 200mm  MD-20-F and all 4 missiles can be launched in 4 seconds. It's accuracy is limited and so is its use. Its main advantage is the larger rocket which is able to inflict a lot of damage. That is, if it hits something. 

Interestingly, the DPRK seems to have fitted the BMD-20 launcher on some of its patrol boats as shown in the picture below. Every boat carries 8 missiles instead of the BMD-20s 4. I can imagine that they can be of relative good use on sea. I have not been able to identify these Patrol boats yet.   

Sources and more information: 

http://fictionbook.ru/author/evgeniyi_kochnev/avtomobili_sovetskoyi_armii_1946_1991/read_online.html?page=10

http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/БМ-24

http://www.xliby.ru/transport_i_aviacija/tehnika_i_vooruzhenie_1999_01/p6.php

http://epizodsspace.no-ip.org/bibl/shirokorad/ot-min/04.html

http://cris9.narod.ru/rva_bm24.htm

http://rbase.new-factoria.ru/missile/wobb/bm24/m-24.shtml

http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/БМД-20

http://rbase.new-factoria.ru/missile/wobb/bmd-20/md-20-f.shtml

Since I already made a start with rare North Korean radars, I might as well continue with this picture I got off of a korean blog.

The most prominent one is the P-8/10 KNIFE REST radar, the other one (top right corner) is well identifiable by its characteristic shape as the YLC-8 (though there are few sources on this radar), a Chinese radar system derived from the P-12/18 SPOON REST family. Another clear picture of it:

I can't remember having seen either of these radars before in footage from the DPRK.

This post was updated on 17-9-2013.

I have long wondered what happened to the DPRK's reserve of T-34's (and other older designs). Have they been decommissioned, or are they still maintained?

It appears to be the latter, though obviously I can't make any sensible guesses regarding the amount that is still operational based on footage of a single tank.

Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up7ZuBXs3NU

The vehicle in this picture, about which I wrote here earlier, turns out not to be what it seemed. Instead of a massive MLRS in the 350-400mm range, a source provided by calimero2 of the militaryphotos.net forums shows it to be something else entirely. First off, the source appears to claim the missiles fired in the test (described two posts earlier) to have come from a PHL96 copy, which itself is a copy of the 300mm BM-30 Smerch. Second, what we actually saw in the picture is described as a 3-barreled 370mm recoilless gun, the "1984", based on a 5-wheel chassis, with a crew of five and an undisclosed range.

Source:

http://www.jajuminbo.net/sub_read.html?uid=13215

A translated summary:

http://www.tank-net.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=38019&p=1026590

To supplement my previous post, a more detailed analysis of some interesting parts of the video.

I have been unable to find any written or other sources on this topless SPAAG-like vehicle. It would appear to me that the gun is around 37mm, perhaps of the same type as the M1939.

Later edit: The vehicle appears identical to the M1992 (?) 37mm SPAAG on a VTT-323 chassis. This would mean it has two 37mm guns though, which I'm not able to discern from this picture.

North Korea's M1992 30mm SPAAG, derived from the ZSU-23-4. The upgrade has only two guns however, of a larger caliber. As far as I know this is the first footage of it in the field.

On the right one of the very few bits of footage of the 30mm M1991 6-barreled gatling gun. Apparantly this is a development of the 4-barreled M1990.

I'm not sure what to make of this picture. While both the TEL and missile (a Nodong/Hwasong variant) have been seen before, I can't remember seeing these two together. This could mean a couple of things: 1. I haven't looked enough. 2. It's a new development in the series, not entirely impossible given the time they filmed this one vehicle compared to other systems in the video. 3. They ran out of 4-axle TELs (hah).

There's a big twist on the 3-barreled MLRS story, but more on that in a seperate post.

In a new video by the YouTube channel of stimmekoreas, Kim Jong-il is seen visiting various places in North Korea, and finally, a large weapons depot/museum. The hardware shown made me cheer out loud.

A row of "Pokpung-ho" tanks.

The launcher of a Hwasong-6 (I believe).

An 8-axle TEL (reportedly based on the Chinese WS51200) as seen in previous parades. Mind you though, this is from BEFORE those parades. The TEL does not appear to be carrying a missile, what this construction might else be I don't know.

Another TEL on the other side of the room, with its massive Hwasong-13 missile.

Kim Jong-il in front of the Taepodong-1 missile as seen in other scarce footage.

At the sight of this piece of video I broke out in cheers. Not because of the Koksan artillery pieces, but because of the massive 3-barreled MLRS next to them. I believe this never before seen system to be the one which was tested about a year ago and which had the South Korean government scratch its head as it had a rocket trajectory, but with a whooping 200 km range. Some sources claimed it to be a tube launched 300mm missile, the size of these tubes appear a lot bigger though (more in the 350/400mm range).

Kim Jong-il next to what appears to be another kind of massive missile, which with this footage alone I have not been able to identify yet.

Vehicles waiting for what I assume must be a military parade.

Since the video is only a day old, I haven't had much time to properly analyse it yet. Updates will follow on other parts of the video, rest assured.

The video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dPB76SIO_0

Sources on the new MLRS, provided by Maurice:

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/yonhap-news-agency/130701/n-korea-launches-short-range-projectiles-ahead-parks-china-t

http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?nseq=147386

With this short post I would like to introduce myself as an extra member of this research page on the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. My name is Maurice and I will be joining Joost with his venture 'koreadprk' and together we will show you our analysis on DPRK related matters.