History
The force was formed in the late 1940s and it outnumbered and outgunned the South Korean Army on the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950. North Korean ground forces formations which fought in the Korean War included the II and V Corps, the 105th Armored Division, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 12th, 19th, and 43rd Infantry Divisions. During the Korean War it also contained a number of independent units such as the 766th Infantry Regiment.
In 1960 the KPA GF may have totaled fewer than 400,000 persons and probably did not rise much above that figure before 1972. The force expanded over the next two decades. In 1992, there were approximately 1 million personnel. Before this expansion of the North Korean ground forces, the South Korean Army outnumbered the North Korean Army. From the 1970s on, South Korea started exceeding North Korea in terms of economics. Thus, South Korea could modernize its forces, which alerted North Korea and resulted in the expansion of the North Korean military. Ironically, the weaker of the two Koreas has maintained the larger armed force. The size, organization, disposition, and combat capabilities of the Ground Force give Pyongyang military options both for offensive operations to reunify the peninsula and for credible defensive operations against any perceived threat from South Korea.
Over time, this organization has adjusted to the unique circumstances of the military problem the KPA faces and to the evolution of North Korean military doctrine and thought.
Read more about this topic: Korean People's Army Ground Force
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The history of men’s opposition to women’s emancipation is more interesting perhaps than the story of that emancipation itself.”
—Virginia Woolf (1882–1941)
“It is the true office of history to represent the events themselves, together with the counsels, and to leave the observations and conclusions thereupon to the liberty and faculty of every man’s judgement.”
—Francis Bacon (1561–1626)
“My good friends, this is the second time in our history that there has come back from Germany to Downing Street peace with honour. I believe it is peace for our time. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. And now I recommend you to go home and sleep quietly in your beds.”
—Neville Chamberlain (1869–1940)