Military of China, force comment.
Military of China, force comment.

Data for: Korean People’s Army patrol
data for: South Korean Navy KDX-II missile destroyer fleet

Articles freelance writer/Yuanlin

following the second nuclear After the test, on July 2 and 4, North Korea has fired 11 missiles with a range of 300 to 500 km short-range missiles. This will enable North Korea in Northeast Asia, especially on the Korean Peninsula situation even more tense.

At this point, the overall military balance on the Korean peninsula to become a compelling issue.

air forces: 1:10

about 11 million people in the Korean Air Force, equipped with the Korean War era MiG-17 fighters and 107 80 Il-28 bombers, more than 100 shelves mid 1950s fighter MiG -19, 120 shelves in the early 1960s the MiG-21 fighters, 45 of the shelves in the early 1970s and MiG-23 fighter 20 shelves in the early 1980s the MiG-29 fighters.

Soviet Union into a serious crisis in North Korea, South Korea’s radar, then take off very little Korean fighter training. In 1996 the Korean Air Force captain defected to South Korea Li Zhexiu driving fighter, the MiG -19 fighters with their poor state, not only the performance of the aircraft can be seen behind the Korean Air Force, and the maintenance of poor performance on the backward than its original target lower . Li said that since 1986 it joined the Air Force to the defection of a full 10 years, he only flew 35 hours on average per year, with pilots in other countries every year 200-300 hours of flight time than is really pitiful. A serious shortage of training, the Air Force’s combat capability will enable North Korea worse.

South Korean air force advanced US-made F-16 fighter 160, US-made F-15K fighter 40. South Korean Air Force fighter technical condition, and are superior to the Korean Air Force pilot training; to mention South Korea, the United States Air Force can get satellite and early warning aircraft, electronic support aircraft, so without the United States and Japan, only South Korea, the Korean Air Force will form an absolute advantage.

North Korea’s missile air defense network by the mid-1950s the SA-2, the early 1960s the SA-3, the 1970s formed the SA-5. Behind the artillery and machine gun in combat, but also some of the power play, while the anti-aircraft missiles, once backward, its combat power will be directly reduced to zero. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the United States to obtain samples of these missiles, break it completely secret, so today North Korea’s air defense missile network to the United States, South Korea and Japan, bombers, stealth bombers, especially the United States defenseless.

but almost all of the Korean Air Force to the airport, underground military bases, aircraft and military usually are hiding underground. As a result, the United States, Japan, Korea Air Force is difficult to remove short Korean military, the war may be like the bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 when it was dragged on dozens of days, captured North Korean casualties and economic cost may be a hundred times in the capture of Iraq.

naval forces: 1:100

about 4.6 million people in the Korean Navy, the total number of 800 ships of various ships, but the three medium-sized ships have long stopped at the military port, said loss of service due to insufficient funds navigation and combat capability. Ships in more than 400 small and medium sized vessels, displacement of 600 tons of “sand in the hospital” grade and T-class corvettes 6, and a displacement of 300 tons of various types of missile boats of about 38, are used in SS-N-2 ” Styx “anti-ship missiles. The anti-ship missile was the world’s first anti-ship missiles into the sea, but today it has 50-year-old “old age”, in the United States, Japan, South Korea’s electronic interference, the hit rate will be close to zero. Hundreds of small boats at sea can only be used gunboats and small-scale police action military conflict in modern war is almost useless.

Korean Navy 50 years ago, four W-class submarines, R-class submarine 22. The two “antique” old-fashioned submarine’s own noise level greatly, and not equipped with underwater missile – “guided torpedo” attack South Korea if the voyage, not the world’s first run for the U.S. Navy, only South Korea to introduce Germany’s advanced conventional AIP submarines, old enough to overwhelm the Korean submarine.

North Korea also has about 40 special operations use of small submarines, including the famous “Mountain high” level of small submarines, as well as part of the semi-submersible submarine. These submarines are too small, no place to install enough sonar and torpedoes, basically do not have the naval capability, they are primarily perform special operations missions.

Korean navy 50 years ago, the small torpedo boat 103, but they are obviously not possible to attack South Korean waters. Of course, if the United States and South Korea in the Korean shores, hidden in the ground terminal of the torpedo boat and submarine attacks coming out of landing craft, the landing would pose a threat.

addition to South Korea has six older “Ulsan” outside of class frigates, also equipped with the support of the United States KDX-1 level (King Gwanggaeto class) guided missile destroyer 3. Followed by South Korea and equipment 6 5,000-ton displacement of the KDX-II (Admiral Yi-class) destroyer, the ship uses stealth technology, to launch the United States’ standard -2 BlockIII “ship-air missile. South Korea and later equipped KDX-III class (King Sejong-class) destroyer, load displacement of nearly 1 million tons, even more than the U.S. “Ticonderoga-class Aegis” guided missile cruiser, and one to create a 3, the Korean Large Navy surface ships reached the world advanced level.

power in surface ships, the gap between North and South Korea to a hundred times. South Korea’s “King Sejong” class, and Japan, “Atago” class destroyers, as are improved using the latest U.S. “Aegis” system and SM-2 missiles, technology not only overwhelm the Korean Navy, and the latest warships Russia and other countries, compared Korean-Japanese destroyers are obvious home advantage.

Army: North Korea’s easily defensible

about 70 million people in the Korean Army. With 2270 of the 1950 T-55, 1960s of T-62 medium tank. South Korean army of about 560,000 people. A total of 2130 tanks, including the 1980s the K1 type about 1000, T-80U Model 80, the 1950′s M-48 type 850. South Korea’s M-48 tanks through a substantial improvement, technical performance has not improved much much better than the North Korean tanks.

if North Korea attacks South Korea, the Army tanks crossed the military demarcation line will be found when the United States and Han Lujun tank beyond the direct range of North Korean tanks 700 ~ 1000 meters. That is, when the United States Hanlu Jun tanks destroyed when North Korean tanks, tank artillery North Korea did not hit each other. At the same time the United States Han Lujun advanced tank gun from any angle breakdown of North Korean tanks behind the armor, the North Korean tanks, tank artillery obsolete tanks can not breakdown the other positive advanced composite armor.

the other hand, modern war, the U.S. is actually on the plane with a ground surveillance radar distance found each other’s vehicles, personnel, and its location, then guide the air power to destroy. Dominant in South Korea in the case of the Korean army tank simply can not afford to leave their underground fortifications launched a massive offensive, threatening South Korea.

But if North Korea invaded South Korea, North Korea ubiquitous tank tank obstacles and minefields will trouble the US-ROK, the DPRK can be hidden in the old fortifications in the tank, close attack and South Korea advanced breakdown weak lateral tank armor.

Korea needs to be considered a threat: Seoul, South Korea is only about 50 kilometers from the military demarcation line, while the North Korean Army is equipped with a large range of over 50 km of 170 mm self-propelled cannons, 240 mm rockets and tactical missiles. South Korea has often claimed to have the ability to invade and occupy the entire Korean short time, North Korea publicly declared its artillery “Seoul can mix the flames.” Position of absolute dominance of the South Korean side did not, as captured in Iraq, North Korea, North Korea long-range artillery is a very important factor.

missiles: the old to the new

North Korea’s ballistic missile models “Scud” (range 300 km), “Labor -1″ (range 550 ~ 600 kilometers) tactical missiles, and a small amount of “Lo-hole -1″ and “Lo-hole 2″ missiles (range of 1300 km or so), “Taepodong-1″ (range 1500-2200 km) and the “Taepodong-2″ (range 3750-6000 km) ballistic missile. South Korean side said the DPRK’s “labor” and “Scud” missiles total nearly gold. North Korea’s economic power is very weak, and ballistic missile production cost is extremely high, so the number of North Korean ballistic missile is unlikely to have grown substantially.

US-South Korea in 1978, “Nike,” based on a large surface to air missiles, successfully developed two kinds of ground – ground ballistic missiles. More to the United States in 1997 provided 111 South Korea-based Army Tactical Missile Block 1, a range of 165 km. Was also provided 110 Block IA M39 missiles with a range of 300 km, can hit from 38 near the line in China. US-made missile uses inertial plus GPS composite guidance, the best accuracy of 15 meters, far better than North Korea’s missiles. US-made missile warheads installed on the 273 anti-personnel/HEAT, far more than the power of the old North Korean missile.

2006 年 10 月 24 South Korean publicly announced the successful test-firing a range of 1,000 km cruise missile hitting the target. Advanced cruise missiles not only Korea, North Korea hit the target, but can also hit the neighboring capital. And North Korea seems to be no cruise.

Americans claim that North Korea’s long-range missile threat to the United States. However, North Korea reach the United States range from tens of thousands of kilometers of missile technology is extremely difficult, at least in recent years, North Korea is also difficult to have reliable, long-range missiles to threaten the United States.

nuclear weapons as a key

in the former Soviet Union, the DPRK does not attach importance to update the equipment, its land, sea and air force equipment on average than other countries lagging behind the Soviet bloc 20 years. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, North Korean military equipment update completely stopped today, the Korean military equipment behind the United States, Japan and other countries have been more than 40 years. With the retirement of old equipment for wear and tear, and today the number of conventional weapons North Korea has reduced, or even weaker than it was 20 years ago.

the 1960s, North Korea on the help of the Soviet Union built the Yongbyon nuclear facility, was forced to develop nuclear weapons if the resistance is much smaller than now.

in the Soviet Union, Korea and other countries of sudden loss of Soviet nuclear and conventional military umbrella to protect. In this case, the Korean people around the world against nuclear weapons despite the voices began to develop nuclear weapons, and the imposition of two underground nuclear tests condemned by all countries.

way to produce nuclear weapons if enriched uranium, to spend a lot of power. North Korea economically backward power is limited, so in this way to obtain a limited number of enriched uranium. With the Yongbyon plutonium production reactor, International Atomic Energy Agency study concluded that its plutonium production is very limited. Generally estimated that North Korea has nuclear material, can assemble the power shortage of about 10 nuclear fission (atomic bomb). By North Korea’s basic strength constraints, the number of North Korea’s nuclear bomb can not be too far off the base. While North Korea can not afford to throw the bomb into the United States, North Korea’s nuclear force weak enough to deter the United States. But enough to deter a nuclear bomb in Korea and Japan. ★

(The writer is a writer of military science; this information mainly from the world famous military weapons Yearbook “Jane’s Yearbook”)