Sorry if this has been mentioned before, but I'm rather busy with other things, and I don't feel like searching.
I've heard that DPRK military has deadly artillery trained at Seoul, yet they would get their butt kicked in an straight engagement with the modern-equipped US/ROK army. And the Navy and Air Force are only slighly better.
I'm basically looking for more details so I can get a better idea what quality their equipment is exactly.
Also, likely tactical performance would be helpful.
Go to Global Security. Links at bottom of the page will provide data. If you see a blank page, scroll down. Links to individual weapons systems are also at bottom of relevent page. "http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/dprk/index.html"
They have a lot of old Soviet gear that is more obsolete than Iraq's weapons were, but we should assume that their tanks weren't the Lemons that were sent to the middle east. I'm sure that, like the Soviets, they never threw anything away. My guess is that it isn't easily accessible to whatever they have as third line reserves.
They have very little fuel and their soldiers have been known to rob dog farms to feed themselves, despite the fact that they are in the second priority in food distribution (behind the ruling class). Desperation would be their greatest strength.
Their Air Force and Navy are both in a sad shape. The Air Force pilots in North Korea supposedly get only roughly seven hours of flight time. Their most modern aircraft are MiG-29s, the rest of their inventory is comprised mainly of MiG-21s and -17s. Their Navy won't likely pose a threat to the much more modern US and ROK Navies.
It all depends on what the conflict would start over. I honestly don't see the PRC getting involved if North Korea looses one of their nukes on South Korea, and they'd probably launch an invasion of their own if they end up being crazy enough to send one at Guam or even Pearl Harbor.
Details on the morale of their military are obliviously pretty limited but they are still considered to be motivated and devoted to their country and leader. Most of their tactics are probably of the old Soviet style we trained to fight against so long during the Cold War. Equipment is not very good in terms of quality. They may well have stuff we don't about, but would likely rely more on sheer numbers in a fast paced armored assault.
Originally posted by fishnfanatic: N. Korea isn't much of a threat. China is, and you know China would jump right in to protect them.
In 1953...
However the year is 2009 and the world has changed greatly. The US, Japan and South Korea make up the top 3 trading partners of China. North Korea is little more than a nuisance, an the only reason it is propped up is to keep millions of refugees from streaming into Manchuria.
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