North Korea's military is falling apart

[DrLeftover]

6 August

In the aftermath of the Korean War, North Korea built up a large military. The goal was to reunify North and South Korea — by force if necessary. The Soviet Union, happy to tie down American troops garrisoning South Korea, lavishly outfitted the North Korean military with tanks, artillery, submarines, fighters, and other military hardware.

The Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, and military aid to Kim Il Sung, grandfather of current ruler Kim Jong Un, dried up to virtually nothing. The new Russian government was not interested in socialist charity and wanted cash for weapons. The North Korean Army began to feel the pinch.

Nearly 25 years later, the North Korean People's Army, Navy, and Air Force are relics of a different era. Nearly everything is obsolete. North Korean tanks and armored fighting vehicles are up to 50 years old. This summer, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was photographed onboard an old Romeo-class submarine, an antiquated design first produced in the 1950s. The North Korean Air Force is only slightly better off; its newest fighter jets are now 25 years old (most are closer to 50).

Not only is the equipment obsolete, it's becoming unusable. Late last year during naval exercises, two North Korean People's Navy patrol boats sank within days of each other, killing tens of North Korean sailors. On June 24, a helicopter exploded in midair.

One major problem: North Korean equipment is so old nobody makes spare parts anymore. For years the military has cannibalized some equipment in order to keep the rest running. The fact that three MiG-19s have crashed in the span of seven months is a strong indication that cannibalization is no longer working and entire types of equipment are overdue for a trip to the junk heap.

http://theweek.com/article/index/265873/north-koreas-military-is-falling-apart--is-kim-jong-uns-regime-next

 

[MrDawn]

I feel like China or someone out there is giving them new toys to play with now so they'll be an actual threat to the US. The new tanks of theirs. Next they'll probably be getting new planes for their air force and then next battle cruisers for their navy, yay.....

 

[Webster]

North Korea Prepares for War

Your thoughts? Is North Korean leader Kim Jong Un about to go to war with South Korea and the United States? Some experts think it's possible. Kim has ordered his military to prepare for the occupation of South Korea, and is, according to some, engaged in "frantic military development."...

offtopix.com

Continuing from my post above, China's only going to do enough to keep North Korea from collapsing; at best, this means getting military equipment a generation or two behind everyone else (like getting say an F-4M Phantom II instead of an F-15/16 Eagle/Falcon or F-22 Raptor).

China may not care for the other half of the Korean Peninsula but they sure as hell don't want to see the 1953 armistice falling apart.