Armed Forces of North Korea Volume 4: Special Operations Force and Missile General Bureau

Modernity has lifted the obsessive veil of secrecy in military innovation in all but one country: North Korea. With both its past and present a mystery, there exists little reliable information on one of the most exotic armed forces in the world today. Having essentially run aground its entire economy for the twin purposes of Juche (self-reliance) and Songun (military first), the DPRK today fields a uniquely diverse inventory of indigenous weaponry, and adheres to a military doctrine unlike any other. This highly unconventional situation is simultaneously one of the most precarious in the world, with the possibility of conflict ever looming on the horizon. To many, North Korea has become synonymous with the threat of nuclear war, having seen ballistic missiles soar and the ground tremble under a succession of escalating strategic weapons tests. The international focus on this topic has resulted in an imbalance of information, where its equally significant and numerically vast conventional forces are typically ignored. More than just posing a threat in its immense proportions however, the KPA remains a force to be reckoned with due to a continuing drive for modernisation, that though struggling under the pressure of a defunct economy appears to be serious in scope and realism. Any assessment of its abilities that omits such developments is invariably inaccurate, and with literature sparse and available sources often disseminating misinformation more than anything else, there is no definitive framework for placing new information about the KPA's Special Operations Force and Missile General Bureau in its proper context. This book aims to provide precisely such a framework by setting out its history in detail and mapping pretty much all there is to know about the DPRK's current military endeavours. This comprehensive information is accompanied by well over 170 unique images, most of which have never been seen by the general public. Furthermore, a number of high quality artworks provide a better look at those armaments that have managed to evade getting caught on camera, or that deserve being highlighted in perfect detail. This work is the fourth and final volume in a small series on North Korea's elusive military, giving both the casual reader as well as those with a professional interest a complete overview of even the most secretive aspects of a military that is unlike any other. Originally published as part of The Armed Forces of North Korea: On The Path Of Songun, the contents have been revised and updated for the Asia@ War series. AUTHORS: Stijn Mitzer is a conflict analyst specialising in modern-day weaponry and military tactics, especially in relation to active warzones and military hot spots. His extensive experience in covering today's conflicts has resulted in an in-depth knowledge of currently relevant trends in warfare, as well as a clear perception of the military situation in virtually any country. Having worked for open-source intelligence websites such as Janes, Bellingcat and NK News, he runs the independent analysis website www.oryxspioenkop.com with his co-author Joost Oliemans, and authored The Armed Forces of North Korea: On the Path of Songun. Joost Oliemans is an analyst and author focusing on Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. Together with Stijn Mitzer, he is the author of The Armed Forces of North Korea: On the Path of Songun. Joost Oliemans also writes for various news agencies and websites about military-related matters. 2 b/w photos, 183 colour photos, 9 colour profiles