Nuclear bees in North Korea

Army, Aug 2003 by Collins, John M

The DPRK and ROK both emphasize ground forces and field roughly the same number of divisions, but North Korea is quantitatively superior in most other respects. They have: 42 more separate combat brigades; three and one-half times as many main battle tanks (3,500 versus 1,000); 560 amphibious tanks (the ROK has none); an equivalent number of towed artillery pieces as the ROK, but the DPRK's are larger caliber with longer ranges; 3,000 more self-propelled tubes; 16 times as many multiple rocket launchers; and air defense suites that dwarf South Korean analogues. The South Korean Army is quantitatively superior only in armed helicopters.

Neither possesses a large navy. South Korean destroyers, frigates and corvettes outnumber DPRK holdings nearly five to one (43 against nine). Two ROK marine divisions and a separate marine brigade possess amphibious assault capabilities that North Korea can by no means duplicate, but the DPRK Navy is quantitatively superior in every other category. Its 26 submarines, 100-plus torpedo boats, 40-plus antiship missile craft and swarms of shallow draft gunships are especially well suited for hit-and-run operations along both coasts.

North Korea maintains something like 70 airbases, although most are skimpy installations on standby. Its bomber-fighter-attack aircraft inventories substantially ex-ceed South Korean counterparts (620 to 470). DPRK helicopter holdings are three-fourths as large as comparable ROK assets, all of which belong to the Army.

U.S. Army contributions to the defense of South Korea center on the truncated 2nd U.S. Infantry Division (Mechanized), which stands guard with two brigades astride high-speed avenues of approach between Seoul and the DMZ. That token force, in concert with associated combat and support troops, amounts to a 27,500-man "trip wire" that signals U.S. intent to honor treaty commitments if DPRK spearheads head south. Pacific-based reinforcements feature the 25th Infantry Division (Light) in Hawaii and major elements of one Marine expeditionary force in Okinawa.

Only two on-site U.S. fighter wings routinely furnish air cover over South Korea, but Air Force assets in Japan and Guam are readily available. Carrier aircraft based at Yokosuka, Japan, are merely minutes away when their ship is in port. Strategic reserves, mainly in the continental United States, would provide most of the naval and air power as well as air/missile defense augmentation during preemptive operations against North Korea.

It is true that quantity has a quality all its own. Large forces retain stronger capabilities than smaller forces after suffering heavy losses and possess otherwise unobtainable flexibility. The full significance of numbers, nevertheless, is revealed only in context with qualitative factors, many of which are intangible. Typical considerations include education, training and combat experience; discipline, loyalty, morale and adaptability; technological competence; logistical systems; command, control, communications and intelligence (C^sup 3^I); dispositions; and leadership. Distinctive strengths and weaknesses consequently are evident on both sides.