Worker-Peasant Red Guards

Flag of the DPRK's Red Guards Militia

The Worker-Peasant Red Guards (로농적위군) is a paramilitary force in North Korea. It is the largest civil defense force in the DPRK with an estimated 2007 strength of approximately 3.5 million.^[1] It was established in January 14, 1959 by Kim Il-sung^[2] and is not only under National Defense Commission and Ministry of People's Armed Forces control, but is also attached to the Worker's Party of Korea under its Department of Civil Defense.

Red Guards militia on Parade in Pyongyang, DPRK

The militia is organized on a provincial/town/city/ village level, and structured on a brigade, battalion, company, and platoon basis. The militia maintains infantry small arms, with some mortars and anti-aircraft guns and even modernized older equipment such as multiple rocket launchers like the BM-14 and older Ural D-62 motorcycles, although some units are unarmed indicating status as logistics and medical units.^[3]

See also

• Korean People's Army

Other nations:

• Liberation Army Militia (China)
• Combat Groups of the Working Class (East Germany)
• Workers' Militia (Hungary)
• People's Militias (Czechoslovakia)
• Patriotic Guards (Romania)
• Territorial Defence (SFR Yugoslavia)

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Library of Congress Country Studies.