Navy of the Korean People's Army

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Navy of the Korean People's Army

Flag of the Korean People's Navy.svg

Flag of the Navy of the Korean People's Army
Lineup June 5, 1946
Country Korea NorthNorth Korea North Korea
Armed forces Korean People's Army
Type Armed forces ( navy )
Strength approx. 46,000 soldiers
guide
Commander in chief Fleet Admiral Li Yong-ju

The Navy of the Korean People's Army (조선 인민군 해군, English : Korean People's Military Navy ) are the naval forces of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea .

history

The history of the North Korean Naval Forces is short compared to most modern naval forces. It began with the creation of a "Maritime Security Force" on June 5, 1946. The headquarters of the force was located in the North Korean city of Wŏnsan and was operational from July 1946. The headquarters were then expanded and relocated to the capital, Pyongyang , in order to control maritime traffic more effectively. In addition, the Maritime Security Force was renamed Marine Patrols in December of the same year. The Marine Patrol Academy was established in Wŏnsan in June 1947 to train and instruct a professional corps of naval officers .

Originally working under the umbrella of the North Korean Interior Ministry, the authority was transferred to the Department of National Security on August 20, 1949. With the introduction of a torpedo squadron into the unit on August 29, it was officially recognized as a naval force and the date was celebrated as Naval Day until it was changed in 1993 in honor of June 5.

Lineup

Najin-class frigate

The Navy, with its 46,000 man has the smallest branches of the armed force over a frigate of Soho - and two of Najin class as the largest naval units . They are North Korean in-house designs, about which not much can be learned. A size of around 1,500 to 2,000 ts is expected and an armament consisting primarily of artillery and light rapid-fire weapons, supplemented by outdated missile systems for combating sea and air targets. There are also 140 rocket and torpedo speedboats for use near the coast, supplemented by around 75 lightly armed patrol boats , as the backbone of the Navy. 26 diesel-electric submarines of the Russian Romeo and Whiskey class are officially in service, here too the problem of obtaining spare parts should significantly reduce the number of boats actually ready for use. The submarine weapon is supplemented by an unknown number of small submarines ( Sang-o-class ), which are primarily used to drop spy and reconnaissance troops in South Korea . Such primitive, but in the fulfillment of their task quite effective boats have often fallen into the hands of the South Korean Navy through accidents or technical defects (see Korean submarine incident (1996) ). The international investigation report on the case ascribes the sinking of the South Korean corvette Cheonan to a torpedo fired from such a mini-submarine .

The Navy also has a remarkably strong amphibious component of about 270 DropShips (of which about 130 hovercraft ), which is also the offensive combat doctrine North Korea stresses. To support amphibious operations, 23 small mine-layers and around 100 small coastal gunboats are available.

On April 23, 2016, off the east coast near the city of Sinp'o-shi ( Hamgyŏng-namdo province ), a submarine-supported ballistic missile (SLBM) was deployed for the first time from a submerged, conventionally operated submarine (probably project 629 , NATO code name: Golf II class). The rocket flew around 30 kilometers.

On August 24, 2016, a submarine-supported ballistic missile (SLBM) of the type KN-11 was successfully launched again off the east coast near the city of Sinp'o-shi, contrary to international agreements. The missile flew around 500 kilometers in the direction of the Japanese Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The People's Army in the Making. In: Federation of American Scientists Official Website. Retrieved November 13, 2019 .
  2. ^ The People's Army in the Making. In: Federation of American Scientists Official Website. Retrieved November 13, 2019 .
  3. ^ Joint Investigation Report On the Attack Against the ROKS Ship Cheonan . September 2010. Archived from the original on October 16, 2011. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  4. ^ Bill Powell: South Korea's Case for How the Cheonan Sank ( EN ) Time . August 13, 2010. Archived from the original on August 16, 2010. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  5. ↑ North Korea Says Submarine Ballistic Missile Test 'Great Success'. Huffington Post, April 24, 2016, accessed April 24, 2016 .
  6. ^ North Korea fires submarine-launched ballistic missile towards Japan. Reuters , August 24, 2016, accessed August 27, 2016 .