MREInfo.com

My Last word on the subject.

http://strategicstudiesinstitute.army.m ... ?pubID=771

Its the U.S Army War College Strategic Studies Institute analysis of NK capabilities.

Read it because it gives the best overview of NK tactics and analysis of military strategic and tactical evolution that I have seen. Its a great summary of NK capabilities. The overall conclusions are totally pessimistic for a U.S/ SK military victory over NK without "devastating losses". Direct quote. The author says that an attack would also be "fatal" for the North. Well we know that, but it wouldnt stop the West and our allies losing maybe a million or two dead, mostly civilians.

The NK military has extensively analysed the Arab Israeli wars, Vietnam, Iraq 1 and 2, and have made penetrating studies even of US intervention in Kosovo in 1999, where the terrain and weather was and is similar to NK. Thats where the West lost an F-117 and at least 1 F16-C. They have concluded correctly that U.S and western PGWs & avionics are often rendered less effective in mountainous terrain and poor weather. There are military connections with Serbia and NK.

Interestingly NK SFs (the largest SFs in the world) will probably cause the most damage the author theorises. The huge NK conventional presence along the DMZ is probably cover for the tens of thousands of SFs of various types that will be infiltrated into SK in a war. Imagine. It could completely paralyse the Wests counter -efforts. Check out the Tet offensive during the Vietnam war for a small -scale idea of what this would be like.
In 1984-5 the Nk air force purchased 87 Hughes 500 MD defender helicopters, identical to the SK force of the same model. They have been repainted in ROK colours and would be invaluable for SF insertion.
The NK rocket forces would also blanket the SK population centres with masses of missile, artillery and SF delivered nerve and mustard agents. They have over 900 Na Dong (Scud D copies) and they will be loaded with chem. They can deliver chem and nuke payloads with missiles. Do not assume they cannot.

The report concludes that a balance of deterrence still exists between the two sides. But it does not downplay the NK military threat. It does the opposite in fact.

Devastating is a pretty strong word for the US Army S.S.I to have authorised, unless they have calculated that there is a major military threat and capability from the North Korean armed forces. I think the analysis is correct.

even more worrying, the report was written in 2007. The position has deteriorated badly since then, with new confirmed successful NK missile test firings, 2 confirmed nuclear tests, in the last month the NKs OPENLY displaying hundreds of new centrifuges to a U.S delegation, the sinking of the SKN corvette and last months artillery strike.
Also confirmation of NKs exports of missiles and WMD capability to Iran and Syria, and the NK built reactor that the IDF F- 16Is' trashed in Syria in sept 2007.

The CIA said exactly the same thing as you are saying, weeks before the NKs invaded the South with huge force in June 1950. They were wrong sadly, and the West was pushed all the way back to the Pusan perimeter.

This is not the Iraqi army of 1990. Its a hundred times more formidable.

bb...you're 100% right!!!
that has been the problem for so many years...the underestimating of the opposition forces or the enemy. Not only in Korea during the 50's but in Iraq with the insurgency and now with the Talizombies in Afghan.....
I still have hope the strategists can "learn from the past".
Peace!!

Seems to me that if a confrontation becomes inevitable (which I don't think it is at the moment), then there is only one option for the US/ROK to take to try to minimize their losses - nuclear first strike. Take out all communications, command, wmds and troop concentrations with a mix of strategic and tactical weapons, with their further use to blow holes in NK formations for exploitation forces to move thorough. All the while bombing everything that moves with conventional munitions.

I don't relish the thought of killing hundreds of thousands, far from it. But if it would save lives on the Allied side then so be it. It would probably save NK lives too, if the initial strikes were so shatteringly hard that it broke their will to fight.

Strengths

- Massive military force
- Loads of material (vehicles, ships, airplanes)
- Loads of artillery (artillery, rocket artillery, scuds)
- NBC agents (All 3 kinds, nuclear, biological and chemical)

Weaknesses

- Aged technology
- Communication (they have communications, but far less then western powers)
- Poor leadership (totalitarian regime; might cause desertion)

---------------------------

North Korea is dangerous, no doubt about it. They simply have a lot of old stuff. But even old stuff can destroy a lot buildings and their residents. They really have enough explosives to plow the whole DMZ and beyond. And yes, the South and the US have a good missile defence (goalkeeper like weapons, patriots and other interception missiles etc) but not a single defence mechanism has a 100% success rate.

That means that some WMDs will come through. And the problem about those wacky little dictators, they are not afraid to use the WMDs. A nation with a sence of human rights, responsibility and the enviroment won't use them, maybe only as a last resort. But that Kim guy, and his generals, do not give a shit about civillian losses, fall out, half life, chemical clouds, epidemics etc. That is the biggest risk about North Korea.

They are like WW2 Russia:

You have to fight, no matter what.. you have to succeed, there is no way back. C
Heavy military and civillian losses? Doesn't matter.. That's all calculated.

Cracker wrote:Strengths

- Massive military force
- Loads of material (vehicles, ships, airplanes)
- Loads of artillery (artillery, rocket artillery, scuds)
- NBC agents (All 3 kinds, nuclear, biological and chemical)

Weaknesses

- Aged technology
- Communication (they have communications, but far less then western powers)
- Poor leadership (totalitarian regime; might cause desertion)

---------------------------

North Korea is dangerous, no doubt about it. They simply have a lot of old stuff. But even old stuff can destroy a lot buildings and their residents. They really have enough explosives to plow the whole DMZ and beyond. And yes, the South and the US have a good missile defence (goalkeeper like weapons, patriots and other interception missiles etc) but not a single defence mechanism has a 100% success rate.

That means that some WMDs will come through. And the problem about those wacky little dictators, they are not afraid to use the WMDs. A nation with a sence of human rights, responsibility and the enviroment won't use them, maybe only as a last resort. But that Kim guy, and his generals, do not give a shit about civillian losses, fall out, half life, chemical clouds, epidemics etc. That is the biggest risk about North Korea.

They are like WW2 Russia:

You have to fight, no matter what.. you have to succeed, there is no way back. C
Heavy military and civillian losses? Doesn't matter.. That's all calculated.

^ He's a playboy, not a ruthless dictator. What's said in the beginning is nothing short of an inflated view of North Korea. He may have some nukes, but what he does have he will not use. I still can't believe you guys haven't realized WE the US are the only ones who have actually used a nuclear weapon on an enemy. So all this talk of "has nukes and will not hesitate to use them" is utter bullshit. Not even the powerful Soviet Union ever launched a nuke and destroyed even a piece of a country. Yes, there have been tests and such that are used as scare tactics. All this playboy is doing is rattling his cup against the prison bars waiting for the rest of the world to fill it.

Hey Guys,

Did we ever come to a conclusion what type of ration(s) or feeding system NK has in place. I'm sure we know what the ration system is for the general population but did we ever talk about what the Army has. There was a bit of talk about what the Army has for a rationing system but that was it. Does anybody have anything else solid or would like post any pictures on here for discussion.

And please let's try an move away from the political science talk or open up another thread for it.

Treesuit....
so far i have looked all over and no info on the NKPA rations except pictures of large kitchen facilities full of vast quantities of cooked food presento to their supreme leader.....

Hmmm...Yeah, I kind of saw the same pics you've mentioned. Doesn't seem like NK is forthcoming with info like that.

http://www.eutimes.net/2011/02/north-ko ... nsumption/

If they're importing animal feed for human usage, I honestly doubt they have packaged rations.

I thought this was rather interesting considering the existing picture we have of Kim Jong Il "inspecting" food.