North Korea: Threat or Blackmailer?

Here is a Library of Congress country study on NK (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/pdf/CS_North-Korea.pdf), start at page 245 (p. 285 in my Adobe reader) for a list of NK units as of 2009, Honestly I thought the chart gave a nice clean breakdown, and don't really even understand what you are disputing about it, it was just a base info sheet

For starters that jpeg uses some of the most recent goofy pictures of NK buffonery.
Makes me not want to read it at all. How can it be taken seriously?

The B-2s are not there, neither are the F-22s.
The warship quantity should re-written as 47 "warboats".
They are barely worth mentioning as they will all dissapear in the first 10 days if things got real bad.
700 fighters? Total bullshit.
Even if you wittled that down to 300, most of them are 1960s technology.
Some left over from the original war and I'd venture that all of them are dependent on ground control during combat.
They still use MiG-17s. You see more of those in airshows than you do in someones military.
That jpeg is meant to impress complete laymen.

Here is a Library of Congress country study on NK (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/pdf/CS_North-Korea.pdf), start at page 245 (p. 285 in my Adobe reader) for a list of NK units as of 2009, Honestly I thought the chart gave a nice clean breakdown, and don't really even understand what you are disputing about it, it was just a base info sheet

Looks interesting but I cant load that here at work on this crappy PC.
I'll take a look at it when I get home.

For starters that jpeg uses some of the most recent goofy pictures of NK buffonery.
Makes me not want to read it at all. How can it be taken seriously?

The B-2s are not there, neither are the F-22s.
The warship quantity should re-written as 47 "warboats".
They are barely worth mentioning as they will all dissapear in the first 10 days if things got real bad.
700 fighters? Total bullshit.
Even if you wittled that down to 300, most of them are 1960s technology.
Some left over from the original war and I'd venture that all of them are dependent on ground control during combat.
They still use MiG-17s. You see more of those in airshows than you do in someones military.
That jpeg is meant to impress complete laymen.

I didn't mean it to do more than just give a ball park comparison, which I think it did nicely. Sorry it doesn't do it for you.

Meh......their air force and navy are not the concern anyways AFAIC.

Nukes
Chemical weapons
Their large artillery force.
Their large mobile infantry.

Those are the four things I would be worried about most.

...
If North korea has 700 fighter jets then my name is Alice Cooper.
...
From the Library of Congress Document I linked earlier (p.252 actual 291 acrobat reader)
the [North Korean]air force has about 110,000 airmen and is equipped with an aging fleet of more than 1,600 aircraft that includes about 780 fighters, 80 bombers, 300 helicopters, 300 An–2 biplanes, and more than 100 support craft. About 70 percent of the fixed-wing aircraft are first- and second-
generation Soviet-made fighters and bombers, including MiG–15,
–17, –19, and –21 fighters and Il–28 fighter-bombers. The air force
also has many third- and fourth-generation Soviet-made aircraft such
as MiG–23 and MiG–29 fighters and Su–25 ground attack aircraft.

Among its rotor-wing fleet are a significant number of Mi–2s, Mi–4s, Mi–8s, Mi–17s, and Hughes–500 multirole helicopters.

Can I call you Alice now?
(I understand they aren't a threat per se because they are aging, and their pilots get an average of 20 hours flying time a year, just numbers that would have to be shot down)

North Korea may have some military numbers, but they couldnt logistically support a war. Fuel and food are expensive. Alot of their vehicles are old too, arent they?

From the Library of Congress Document I linked earlier (p.252 actual 291 acrobat reader)


Can I call you Alice now?
(I understand they aren't a threat per se because they are aging, and their pilots get an average of 20 hours flying time a year, just numbers that would have to be shot down)

Good researching.

How many of them are operational?
Cause if they cant fly then they are just lawn ornaments.
If you look at them on Google earth, thats what they appear to be.

And I find it amusing that you would bother to list the AN-2s.

Phear the mighty AN-2.
160 MPH top speed.

http://www.allaviationsites.com/news/gallery/antonov-2-an2/antonov_an_2_1.jpg

North Korea may have some military numbers, but they couldnt logistically support a war. Fuel and food are expensive. Alot of their vehicles are old too, arent they?

This is why I fear a land war. IF they were to fire off a ton of missiles, then make a dash to SK's front line stocks, the initiative would allow them, most likely to get the needed supplies like fuel and food to keep their military going. I know they don't have a lot of supplies, but EVERY thing in that country is earmarked first and foremost for the military, and they would burn through their supplies in an all out push to get to SK's back stocks. Wouldn't shock me if they have several tunnels that the South hasn't found, (they found 4 across the length of the DMZ), which would allow troops to start behind the frontlines.