Page 33 - 2020 Defence White Paper
P. 33

[Chart 1-2] North Korea’s Military Command Structure


                                         Supreme Commander                                             Chapter 1
                 Central Military   Military Security
                  Commission     Bureau                  Guard Command
                 General Political           General Staff           Ministry of National
                   Bureau                    Department                Defense

                 xxx   xxx    xxx   xx     xx   xx
                Regular   91 Capital   Anti-Aircraft   Armored   Cavalry   Artillery   Special   Naval   Air and Anti-Air   Strategic
                Corps (10)  Defense   Artillery   Division  and Infantry   Division  Operation Force  Force  Force  Force
                       Corps  Corps      Division (6)
                                                    11th Corps, etc.
                             Ground Force
               * XXX: Corps  XX: Division




               3. Military Capabilities


               Ground Force     The Ground Force is comprised of 10 regular forward- and
                                rear-deployed corps, 91 Capital Defense Corps, Anti-Aircraft
               Artillery Corps, 1 armored division, 6 mechanized divisions , and 1 artillery
                                                                  32)
               division under the control of the General Staff Department. The road construction
               corps and the specialized construction units such as military engineering corps
               are under the control of the Ministry of National Defense and the General Political
               Bureau, respectively.
                 North Korea maintains a readiness posture capable of carrying out a surprise
               attack at any given time by positioning 70% of its Ground Force south of the
               Pyongyang-Wonsan line. The forward-deployed 170 mm self-propelled guns and
               240 mm Multiple Rocket Launchers (MRLs), for instance, provide North Korea with
                                                                                     32)
               the capability for a large-scale and concentrated surprise f re targeted at the Greater   Two mechanized corps
                                                                                     were renamed to divisions;
               Seoul Metropolitan Area. It is focusing on building up its military force by operating   organized a total of six
                                                                                     mechanized divisions
               various MRLs that are powerful enough to strike the entire Korean Peninsula, such   including the existing four.
               as the recently developed 300 mm MRLs  and super-large MRLs with extended-  33)
                                                33)
               range munitions and precision-guided munitions. The armored and mechanized   North Korea has been
                                                                                     conducting several test
               units have more than 6,900 tanks and armored vehicles, and it has recently developed   launches since 2012, and
                                                                                     the assets were unveiled
               new tanks with improved maneuverability and survivability as well as an armored   at the military parade
                                                                                     on the 70th anniversary
               vehicle with various anti-tank guided missiles and mobile artillery, replacing old   of establishment of the
                                                                                     Workers’ Party of Korea in
               forces. Key assets of the North Korean Ground Force and its new assets identif ed at   October 2015. Meanwhile,
                                                                                     the improved versions of
               the military parade marking the 75th anniversary of establishment of its ruling party   the assets were unveiled
                                                                                     during the 75th anniversary
               are as shown in [Chart 1-3] and [Chart 1-4] below.                    in October 2020.




                                                          Chapter 1.  Changes and Challenges in the Security Environment
   28   29   30   31   32   33   34   35   36   37   38