Page 37 - 2020 Defence White Paper

[Chart 1-7] Key Aircraft and Surface-To-Air Missiles of the North Korean Air Force Chapter 1

Transport Aircraft Helicopters
Fighter Aircraft Surveillance Aircraft (including AN-2s) (including Naval Surface-To-Air
Approx. 810 Approx. 30 Missiles
Approx. 350 Force’s) Approx. 290

Strategic Force It is estimated that North Korea has organized 13 missile
brigades that operate Scud, Nodong, and Musudan rockets
under the Strategic Force which is a separate military command. It is likely to
perform functions similar to those of China’s Rocket Force and Russia’s Strategic
Missile Troops.
To enhance its strategic attack capabilities, North Korea has continuously
developed nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, and chemical and biological weapons.
Since activating the 5MWe reactor located in the Yongbyon nuclear complex in
the 1980s, it is assessed that North Korea possesses around 50kg of weapon-grade
plutonium obtained by reprocessing spent fuel rods. It is also believed to possess
a substantial amount of highly enriched uranium (HEU) through its uranium
enrichment program. Considering that a total of six nuclear tests have been
conducted between October 2006 and September 2017, it is assessed that its ability to
miniaturize nuclear weapons has reached a significant level.
After beginning ballistic missile developments in the 1970s, North Korea
produced and field deployed Scud-B and Scud-C with ranges of 300km and 500km,

respectively, in the mid-1980s. In the late 1990s, North Korea field deployed the
Nodong missile with a range of 1,300km and, later, the Scud-ER, which is a scud
missiles with extended range. In 2007, North Korea field deployed the Musudan
missile with a range of over 3,000km. Through these successive additions to its
missile inventory, North Korea has gained direct strike capabilities against the ROK
and the surrounding countries of the Korean Peninsula.
Since 2012, North Korea has conducted in earnest test launches of missiles that
have been field deployed or are under development. In 2017, Pyongyang fired
Hwasong-12 missiles into the North Pacific Ocean, and test-fired Hwasong-14 and
Hwasong-15, which are capable of posing threats to the US mainland. However
further confirmation is required as North Korea hasn’t conducted actual range test
launches to verify whether it has acquired the atmosphere reentry technology. No
missile test was conducted in 2018. Since 2019, however, North Korea test-launched a
number of solid-fuel short-range ballistic missiles which have operational advantages

Chapter 1. Changes and Challenges in the Security Environment 35