The Atlanta Journal-Constitution July 27, 2003
NORTH KOREA: Armed and dangerous
By WAYNE SNOW
Fifty years after the Korean War, North Korea is isolated and poor, but its roguish behavior and penchant for nuclear blackmail have put it at center stage. With more than a million troops in arms, an arsenal of ballistic missiles and maybe as many as three atomic bombs, North Korea causes nervousness throughout Northeast Asia and the United States.
A NATION DIVIDED
Korea was freed from Japanese control in 1945 following World War II but was divided at the 38th parallel. Unification talks failed, and in 1948 two governments were formed --- Communist North Korea and democratic South Korea. On June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea and by early September pushed Allied troops into the Pusan Perimeter in southeastern South Korea. In mid-September, U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur launched a brilliant amphibious attack at Inchon, deep in North Korea's rear. MacArthur quickly recaptured Seoul and by October had moved his troops deep into North Korea. On Oct. 25, 1950, China entered the war on North Korea's side and forced the allied troops back. The war stabilized near the 38th parallel. The fighting ended with an armistice on July 27, 1953, but the combatants have not signed a peace treaty.
50 YEARS OF STALEMATE The Korean peace has been marked by frequent military action, several high-profile incidents and largely unsuccessful diplomacy. JAN. 23, 1968: North Korea seizes the U.S. Navy spy ship Pueblo and holds its crew for 11 months.
APRIL 15, 1969: North Korea downs a U.S. Navy EC-121 spy plane, killing 31 Americans.
JULY 4, 1972: North and South Korea agree to seek reunification by peaceful means but the talks collapse.
OCT. 9, 1983: North Korean agents try to assassinate South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan, killing four cabinet ministers.
DEC. 12, 1985: North Korea signs the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty but doesn't ratify it until 1992.
NOV. 29, 1987: North Korean agents blow up a South Korean commercial plane, killing 115 people.
OCT. 21, 1994: North Korea agrees to freeze its nuclear program in return for U.S., South Korean and Japanese aid in building two power plants in North Korea and a U.S. pledge to give North Korea 500,000 tons of heavy fuel oil a year until reactors are operational. AUGUST 1998: North Korea test-fires a ballistic missile over Japan.
SEPTEMBER 1999: The United States agrees to lift some economic sanctions in return for North Korea's promise to drop plans for a second ballistic missile test.
JANUARY 2002: President Bush includes North Korea in the "axis of evil" in his State of the Union address.
OCTOBER 2002: North Korea admits it has carried out a secret nuclear weapons development program.
DECEMBER 2002: North Korea says it will restart the Yongbyon nuclear plant and a lab used to convert spent fuel rods into nuclear weapons material.
JANUARY 2003: North Korea says it will withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and says it is no longer bound by its moratorium on missile testing.
JULY 17, 2003: North Korea claims to have finished reprocessing the Yongbyon fuel rods into weapons-grade plutonium, but U.S. analysts are skeptical.
KIM JONG-IL: "DEAR LEADER"
Kim Jong-il is the oldest son of Kim Il-sung, the founder of North Korea. He holds the most powerful posts in North Korea -- chairman of the National Defense Commission, supreme commander of the Korean People's Army and general secretary of the Korean Workers' Party. Known as "Dear Leader," Kim Jong-il took control of the government after his father's death in 1994. He has not assumed the title of president that his father held. There is no known organized opposition to his regime. Often considered a madman in the West, he rules a nation with a confrontational foreign policy. His government is involved in many illegal activities, ranging from counterfeiting to trafficking in drugs, weapons, gold and ivory.
ARMED TO THE TEETH
North Korea has the fifth-largest military in the world, trailing only China, the United States, Russia and India. It is well trained, disciplined and motivated, although technologically inferior to South Korean and U.S. forces. Much of the North Korean force is deployed on or near the DMZ.
MILITARY FORCES AND SPENDING
Military personnel
North Korea: 1.13 million
South Korea: 726,125
(Color-coded bar graphs show relative sizes of Army, Navy, Air Force and indicate that South Korea's troops include some U.S. forces.)
Military spending as percentage of Gross National Product (pie charts)
North Korea: 31.3%*
* 2001 Fiscal Year
South Korea: 2.8%**
** 2000 Fiscal Year
FACILITIES
Weapons facilities and military bases are plotted on a map of North Korea and South Korea; inset map shows area of detail in Asia.
KEY:
* Biological weapons
* Chemical weapons
* Nuclear
* Missiles
* Navy base
* Air Force base
* Ground base
Biological weapons
North Korea can produce significant amounts of biological weapons but has not focused on the use of biological agents in offensive warfare. There are no reliable estimates on North Korea's inventory of biological weapons.
Chemical weapons
North Korea can use chemical weapons throughout the Korean peninsula. Analysts believe it has focused on mustard, phosgene, sarin and V-agents. It has an estimated 5,000 metric tons of chemical agents and as many as 150 chemical warheads for ballistic missiles.
Ballistic missiles
North Korea has the largest inventory of ballistic missiles in the developing world. It may be ready to deploy an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States. North Korea is believed to have from 375 to 875 ballistic missiles. North Korea considers ballistic missiles to be the best delivery system for nuclear weapons.
Nuclear weapons
Analysts estimate North Korea could have up to three nuclear weapons. If the fuel from the reactor at Yongbyon is reprocessed, it could provide material for four or five more. North Korea may have received uranium enrichment technology from Pakistan in the 1990s.
Hardened bunkers
Analysts believe that North Korea has built significant parts of its military infrastructure into hardened underground bunkers. The North Koreans also disperse their military facilities around the country. Those practices make North Korean facilities less vulnerable to attack.
NORTH KOREA'S MISSILE RANGE
Hwasong 5
Range: 186-248 miles
Payload: 1,000 kg
Hwasong 6
Range: 310 miles
Payload: 77 kg
No-dong
Range: 808 miles Payload: 1,000 - 1,200 kg
Taepo-dong 1
Range: 1,553 miles
Payload: 700 - 1,200 kg Taepo-dong 2
Range: 4,163 - 6,213 miles
Payload: 500 - 1,000 kg
(Illustrations of the five missiles show their relative sizes. Concentric circles traced on a globe compare the missiles' ranges, with North Korea at the center of the circles.)
CHINA
China has supplied North Korea with food, fertilizer, oil and perhaps money to buy military equipment from Russia. Relations are edgy because North Korea's nuclear gamesmanship could prompt its neighbors to bolster their military power. China is concerned about North Korea's improved relations with Taiwan.
RUSSIA
Russia would like to see improved North-South Korean relations that would allow it to carry out major infrastructure projects in North Korea. The greatest obstacle to warmer relations is North Korea's estimated $5 billion debt to Russia.
UNITED STATES
In January 2002, President Bush named North Korea part of the "axis of evil." In October 2002, North Korea admitted that it had carried out a secret nuclear weapons program. North Korea wants direct talks with the United States. Bush says any talks must include other states in the region.
SOUTH KOREA
North Korea has sent military forces across the DMZ, engaged in naval warfare and attempted to kill South Korean leaders. South Korea sends food and other aid to the north, partly because it fears thousands of refugees crossing the border should the North Korean regime collapse. South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun supports engagement rather than confrontation with the North.
JAPAN
North Korea's nuclear threat has prompted Japan to look harder at its defense preparedness. North Korea wants $10 billion from Japan as reparations for the Japanese occupation of Korea from 1910-1945. Despite North Korean provocations, Japan wants a diplomatic resolution of the North Korean-U.S. dispute.
ECONOMIC DISASTER
Mismanagement, heavy emphasis on defense spending and the collapse of the Soviet Union and its satellites have spelled ruin for North Korea. The country must rely on outside help to feed its people. Potential investors are wary of North Korea because of its roguish foreign policy and crumbling, inadequate infrastructure.
Gross Domestic Product (bar graphs)
South Korea: $931 billion
North Korea: $22 billion
GDP growth rate
South Korea: 5.8%
North Korea: 1%
GDP per capita
South Korea: $19,400
North Korea: $1,000
Exports
South Korea: $159 billion
North Korea: $826 million*
Imports
outh Korea: $146.6 billion
North Korea: $1.9 billion
Labor force
South Korea: 22 million (2001)
North Korea: 9.6 million (2001)
Note: Figures are 2002 estimates unless noted * 2001 estimate
Sources: CIA World Factbook, World Book Encyclopedia, Jane's Information Group, Monterey Institute of International Studies, GlobalSecurity.org, Associated Press / TROY OXFORD / Staff
GRAPHIC: Graphic: Graphic combines maps, military and economic charts, timeline, weapons illustrations, photos, and attached text. Sources: CIA World Factbook, World Book Encyclopedia, Jane's Information Group, Monterey Institute of International Studies, GlobalSecurity.org, Associated Press / TROY OXFORD / Staff; Photo: Photos within the graphic: Kim Jong-il, and Kim Jong-il leading a group of military officers.
© Copyright 2003, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
