Worker-Peasant Red Guards

Flag of the Worker-Peasant Red Guards

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 Military Affairs Department (until 2010 it reported also to the Civil Defense Department).

Worker-Peasant Red Guards

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, field guns and anti-aircraft guns and even modernized older equipment such as multiple rocket launchers like the BM-13 and older Ural D-62 motorcycles, although some units are unarmed indicating status as logistics and medical units.[3]

See also

Other nations:

References

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

  1. ↑ IISS Military Balance 2007, p.359
  2. ↑ "Golden Jubilee of Worker-Peasant Red Guards Marked", KCNA, January 13, 2009
  3. ↑ Bermudez (2001), pg 4–5.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, February 13, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.