What is North Korea’s military strength? Can America be destroyed if she wants to?

"Military-first politics" is not vulnerable, and it is entirely possible for all people to be soldiers in North Korea. North Korea is adjacent to China and is geographically connected to China through nepotism. In addition, North Korea itself has an army that cannot be underestimated. If the United States rashly launches a war against North Korea, it may have to pay a lot of political, military and diplomatic costs. The cost, and North Korea is unlikely to become Iraq's second.

"Military-first politics" was proposed by Kim Jong-il when he inspected Pansong Post on January 1, 1995. Simply put, it means putting military work first and giving top priority to everything.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, North Korea's insecurity grew stronger, and the U.S. war against Iraq exacerbated this. Therefore, in recent years, Kim Jong Il has repeatedly emphasized the need to adhere to "military-first politics." "The aggressive nature of imperialism will never change. Without strong military power, it is impossible to defend the autonomy, right to survival and socialism of the country and the nation." Kim Jong Il said on multiple public occasions, "Songjun politics is the universal sword. ".

"Military-first politics" mainly includes four aspects:

First, highlight the status of the military. By adjusting the order of social classes, North Korea places military personnel before the three major classes of workers, farmers, and intellectuals to highlight the status of military personnel.

The second is to implement the "military first" leadership style. Leaders should focus on military work, and then use military management methods to promote the work of the whole society. Leaders' efforts to grasp the military are mainly carried out by visiting and inspecting military units to provide on-site guidance. Regarding social work, North Korean leaders require cadres at all levels to direct work as if they were directing battles, and the proposed principles and policies are often expressed in military terms, such as "offensive warfare" and "annihilation warfare" for specific economic tasks.

The third is to ensure military investment. North Korean leaders have repeatedly emphasized that “no matter how difficult the national finances are, we must prioritize the expenditure of defense expenses.”

The fourth is to inspire the military spirit and enhance cohesion. Through "military-first politics", North Korea chooses military personnel as the forerunners of social progress, and uses the dedication of military personnel to energize the cohesion of the people.

Since proposing the "military-first politics", Kim Jong-il has implemented this idea personally. Every year when he goes out for inspections, the place he visits most is the army. According to statistics, in the seven years from the beginning of 1995 to the eve of 2002, Kim Jong Il traveled more than 177,000 kilometers and visited and inspected more than 700 military units.

Every time Kim Jong-il inspects the troops, he is very concerned about the lives of the soldiers. For example, in February 1995, when Kim Jong Il inspected a women's coastal artillery company located at the front of the military demarcation line, he found that the female soldiers' skin had been damaged by the sea breeze for a long time. He personally ordered that the female soldiers here be sent cream and other creams. Skin care products.

What best embodies Kim Jong Il’s “military-first thought” is his care for three female soldiers who were injured while protecting the “slogan tree.” The "Slogan Tree" is known as the "precious asset of the revolution" in North Korea. The tree is engraved with slogans such as "Long Live General Kim Il Sung" and is an important base for witnessing the history of the North Korean revolution and for political and ideological education. In 1998, three female soldiers were severely burned while rescuing the "Slogan Tree". Despite multiple treatments, scars still remained. In December 2004, after Kim Jong Il learned of this incident, he personally arranged for three people to go to China for plastic surgery.

In the barracks of the Korean People’s Army, you can see these two eye-catching slogans: “Defend the revolutionary leadership headed by the great leader Comrade Kim Jong Il with your life!” Hundred". A reporter once asked a soldier during an interview with the army: "What will you do if you run out of bullets on the battlefield?" The soldier said without hesitation: "I will rush to the enemy's position and hold the enemy with my chest." After the "first military politics" became the guiding principle, the status of the Korean People's Army has increased unprecedentedly, and many people are proud to be a soldier. There is a large family in Wonsan City with more than 20 members working in the army, and there is also a mother in Pyongyang City who sent all her eight sons to the army.

On January 11 this year, thousands of young students gathered at the Arc de Triomphe Square in the center of Pyongyang carrying slogans that read "Reinforcements" and "Join the Army."

Under the banner of "Military First" thought, North Korean girls also "do not like red clothes and prefer armed weapons." Heroic female soldiers abound, becoming a beautiful sight in the military camp.

In addition, in the eyes of North Korean girls, marrying into the military is a matter of pride, and many women make it their goal to choose a military husband.

The government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has a People's Armed Forces Province, and the permanent armed force is the People's Army, which is divided into three branches: land, sea and air force, with 1.055 million active troops. The permanent leading organs are the General Staff Headquarters and the General Political Bureau.

North Korea possesses 6-8 nuclear weapons. In addition, the South Korean Ministry of National Defense released the 2008 National Defense White Paper on May 23, claiming that North Korea has deployed new medium-range ballistic missiles with a range of up to 3,000 kilometers. On the 23rd, South Korea News Agency quoted an official from the policy-making department of the Ministry of National Defense as saying: "By reviewing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, North Korea has made up for its shortcomings and developed a new strategy." The defense white paper did not explain how South Korea obtained the information about this so-called "new medium-range ballistic missile" The source did not specify the location and quantity of North Korea's deployment of such ballistic missiles, but claimed that this new ballistic missile, which can carry a 650 kilogram warhead, has a range of 3,000 kilometers and can reach most of Alaska, Guam, northern Australia, India and Russia in the United States. area.

Paramilitary forces: Security and Border Guards (Ministry of Social Security) 189,000 people.

The Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Guards have about 3.5 million people, with the maximum age being 60 years old. They are established in roads, cities, villages and towns. Their command sequence is brigade-battalion-company-platoon. They are equipped with light weapons, mortars and anti-aircraft artillery. .

Foreign troops: Military advisers are dispatched to about 12 African countries.

The North Korean Army has 923,000 troops. There are 20 corps (including 1 armored corps, 4 mechanized corps, 12 infantry corps, 2 artillery corps, and 1 capital defense corps), 26 infantry/motorized infantry divisions, 15 armored brigades, 24 Motorized infantry brigade, 3 independent infantry brigades; 1 special operations corps with 88,000 people, 10 blocker brigades, 14 light infantry brigades; 6 directly affiliated heavy artillery brigades, 1 "Scud" surface-to-surface missile brigade , 1 "Frog" surface-to-surface missile brigade.

Main battle tanks: about 3,000, including T-54/-55, T-62, T-34 and 59.

Light tanks: about 500, the main models are PT-76 and M-1985.

Armored personnel carriers: 2,500, including БTP-40/-50/-60/-152, M-1973, etc.

Towed guns: 122mm, 130mm, 152mm, 3500 guns.

Self-propelled guns: 122 mm, 152 mm, 180 mm ***4500.

Mortars: 82 mm, 120 mm, 160 mm ***8100.

Bazookas: 107mm, 122mm, 240mm, 2600 pieces.

Recoilless rifles: 1,700 82 mm guns.

Anti-aircraft guns: 14.5 mm, 23 mm, 37 mm, 57 mm, 85 mm, 100 mm, 4,800 guns, and 3,000 fixed position guns.

Surface-to-surface missiles: 54 Frog-3/-5/-7 types and about 30 Scud C-types.

Anti-tank missiles: several "turtle", "fire-resistant box" and "spandrel".

Surface to air missiles: more than 10,000 SA-7/-16 types.

The North Korean navy has approximately 47,000 people. There are 2 fleet headquarters.

Submarines: *** 26, including 22 Soviet-made R-class vessels, 4 Soviet-made W-class vessels, about 45 small submarines, and 13 coastal submarines.

Frigates: 2 "Rajin" class, 1 "Suhu" class.

Light frigates: 3 "Sariwon" class ships.

Missile speedboats: 47 Soviet-made "Wasp" class, "Mosquito" class, etc.

Torpedo boats: ***198, including 158 of the Soviet-made "Vespa" class and 40 of the "Vanguard" class.

Patrol boats: 174, including 19 coastal patrol boats and 155 offshore patrol boats.

Mine sweepers: about 25.

Landing craft: 130, and about 130 momentum ships.

Support and chore ships: 7.

Coast defense force: 2 surface-to-ship missile regiments, 6 "Silkworm" missile bases; several 122mm, 130mm, and 152mm shore guns.

The North Korean Air Force has 85,000 people. Organized into 6 aviation divisions. 607 combat aircraft.

Bombers: 82 H-5s.

Ground attack/fighter aircraft: 525, including 107 MiG-17s, 159 MiG-19s, 130 MiG-21s, and 46 MiG-23s. There are 30 G-29s, 18 Su-7s, and 35 Su-25s.

Transport aircraft: ***300, including 282 An-2/Ya-5, 6 An-24, 2 IL-18, 4 IL-62M, 2 Tu-134s and 4 Tu-154s.

Helicopters: ***282, including 80 "Hughes" 500D, 139 Mi-2, 15 Mi-8/-17, and 48 Zo-5.

Training aircraft: ***228 aircraft, including 6 MiG-21 type, 170 Yak-18 type, 35 FT-2 (MiG-15) type, and 17 other types.

Air-to-air missiles: several "Atoll" and "Apex" missiles.

Surface to air missiles: 240 SA-2 types, 36 SA-3 types, and 24 SA-5 types.