North Korea celebrated with a grand parade on Wednesday the 75th birthday of its ”invincible” army, which experts say is capable of dealing a quick and devastating blow, but is hollow at the core.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il reviewed the parade of military hardware and goose-stepping soldiers through central Pyongyang, waving to the enthusiastically cheering crowds” from a balcony, North Korea’s KCNA news agency said.
”Columns of rocket units also went past the tribune of honour, demonstrating the invincible might of the KPA [Korean People’s Army], equipped with modern offensive and defensive means,” KCNA said.
It was not clear if those units included the Taepodong 2 rocket, which defence analysts say can reach parts of the United States.
”Our military and people need to join forces, holding big faith in great leader Kim Jong-il,” Kim Kyok-sik, chief of staff for the KPA, standing by Kim Jong-il, said in a statement broadcast on state television.
The KPA dates its origin back to 1932 when it organised resistance movements against the Japanese occupation of the Korean Peninsula, which ended after World War II.
With nearly 1,2-million soldiers, the secretive communist state today has one of the largest standing forces on the planet. But the crippled economy has left the military short of food for its soldiers as well as lacking fuel and parts for its tanks, planes and ships.
The army would not last long in a prolonged conflict with superior forces such as the US military, but it could inflict a lot of damage before falling, experts say.
”North Korea can provoke a war and has the military power to cause initial damage, but does not have the ability to carry out and win the war,” said Baek Seung-joo, a military expert at the South’s Korea Institute for Defence Analyses.
Wipe out Seoul
North Korea can deliver a quick strike with rockets and artillery that would likely wipe out Seoul, inflict serious damage on almost every major South Korean city, and trigger turmoil in global markets, experts said.
South Korea’s Defence Ministry said the North had amassed more than 13 000 pieces of artillery and multiple rocket launchers, many of them aimed at Seoul.
Jane’s International Defence Review estimates if North Korea launched an all-out barrage, it could achieve an initial fire rate of 300 000 to 500 000 shells an hour into the Seoul area, home to half the country’s 49-million people.
Forces from United States, which deploys about 30 000 troops to support South Korea’s 670 000-strong military, have been poised for decades to deliver a quick counter-strike to knock out the North’s artillery.
But North Korea also has about 800-ballistic missiles behind its artillery array, one of the largest such arsenals in the world.
Proliferation experts do not believe North Korea, which conducted its first nuclear test in October, has the ability yet to miniaturise a nuclear warhead to mount on one of its missiles.
But it has been working toward that end and has also been trying to develop chemical and biological weapons.
The average North Korean soldier lives in squalid conditions that reflect the poverty of the country, but may have a few more perks than the average worker.
North Korea admits to economic shortcomings, but says the military will still triumph.
”A rosy future is in store for the people, who though not fed well, give priority to the development of the defence industry, build their army into a strong one and convert their whole country into an impregnable fortress,” KCNA said.
Kim’s power stems from his position as the chairperson of the National Defence Commission. His late father, Kim Il-sung, is the country’s ”eternal president” and his portraits festooned Kim Il-sung Square, where the parade was held, KCNA said.
”The National Defence Commission has the people who have Kim Jong-il’s utmost trust and those he needs,” said Jeung Young-tae of the Korea Institute for National Unification. — Reuters