Korean People's Army
Combined military forces of North Korea
Follow Korean People's Army on Notably News to receive short updates to your email — rarely!
| June 12 2025 | The second ship of the destroyer class was successfully launched. |
| May 21 2025 | An unsuccessful attempt to launch a second ship of the destroyer class occurred. |
| April 25 2025 | Choe Hyon-class destroyer launched from Nampo shipyard. Center for Strategic and International Studies assessed the Nampo frigate may be ready by summer 2025. |
| March 8 2025 | Announcement and unveiling of construction of a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, estimated to weigh between 5000 to 8000 tons and capable of carrying about 10 missiles. |
| March 8 2025 | North Korea announced and revealed the construction of a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, estimated to weigh between 5000 to 8000 tons and capable of carrying about 10 missiles. |
| March 8 2025 | Construction of a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine was announced and publicly shown. |
| February 2025 | Frigate construction completed at Chongjin Shipyard. |
| 2024 | The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) estimated that North Korea possessed more than 11,000 anti-aircraft guns in service. |
| 2024 | The International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated North Korea's military equipment inventory, including over 3,500 main battle tanks, 560 light tanks, 2,500 armoured personnel carriers, 8,600 artillery pieces, 5,500 multiple rocket launcher systems, and 7,500 mortars. |
| 2024 | Admiral Samuel Paparo of the US Indo-Pacific Command reported potential acquisition of MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters from Russia in exchange for troops supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine. |
| December 2024 | Guided missile frigate unveiled at Nampo Shipyard, with estimated displacement of 4000 tons and potential for over 50 missile cells. |
| December 2024 | North Korea begins constructing guided missile frigates with dozens of VLS cells at Chongjin and Nampo Shipyards, with an estimated displacement of 4000 tons. |
| October 2024 | Successfully tested Hwasong-19 intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of 18,000 km. |
| April 2024 | Successfully tested Hwasong-16B, a solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missile. |
| March 2024 | Kim Jong Un was pictured driving a newly developed tank and conducting military drills, stating the exercises were preparation for war. |
| January 2024 | Successfully tested Hwasong-16B, a solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missile. |
| January 2024 | Successfully tested Pulhwasal-3-31 cruise missile twice. |
| 2023 | North Korean-made missiles were used to attack Ukraine, providing an opportunity for North Korea to test missiles and expand its nuclear and ballistic missile programs while violating international sanctions. |
| September 6 2023 | Launching ceremony conducted at Sinpo south shipyard for induction of Hero Kim Kun Ok SSB. |
| August 21 2023 | Korean People's Navy launched Hwasal-2 land attack cruise missile from Amnok-class guided missile corvette. |
| April 2023 | Successfully tested Hwasong-18, the first solid-fuel ICBM in North Korean missile arsenal, with a range of 15,000 km. |
| March 13 2023 | The Sinpo-class submarine 8.24 Yongung launched two SLCMs. |
| March 13 2023 | The 8.24 Yongung submarine launched two SLCMs. |
| March 13 2023 | The Sinpo-class submarine 8.24 Yongung launched two submarine-launched cruise missiles (SLCMs). |
| 2022 | Jong Kyong-thaek assumes the role of Director of the General Political Bureau, succeeding Kwon Yong-jin. |
| 2022 | North Korea tested the Pongae-6 SAM system, which is based on the advanced Russian S-400 air defense technology, demonstrating continued development of indigenous air defense capabilities. |
| April 2022 | The Korean People's Army Air Force (KPAF) underwent a name change, transitioning from being known as the KPA Air and Anti-Air Force to its current designation. |
| March 2022 | Successfully tested Hwasong-17 mod 1 intercontinental ballistic missile with a range over 13,000 km. |
| 2021 | US Defense Intelligence Agency report assessed the KPAF's most modern assets as MiG-29 and MiG-23, with Su-25 ground attack and Ilyushin Il-28 bomber aircraft having some operational capability. |
| 2021 | During the 8th Workers' Party Congress, the military's power was further decreased, with military delegates dropping from 719 to 408, and the 'military-first policy' was removed from the party charter. |
| September 2021 | First launched Hwasong-11A (KN-23) missile from a railcar. |
| January 2021 | Kwon Yong-jin becomes Director of the General Political Bureau, replacing Kim Su-gil. |
| 2020 | North Korea expanded its missile brigades from 8 to 13 between these years. |
| 2020 | A RAND Corporation study was conducted examining potential artillery bombardment scenarios involving North Korea. |
| October 10 2020 | In the 10 October parade, the Korean People's Army unveiled at least five new pixelated camouflage patterns, including green, arid, blue, and mountain/winter warfare designs. The parade also first documented the use of MultiCam pattern uniforms by North Korean military personnel. |
| March 2020 | Tested Hwasong-11B (KN-24) missile. |
| February 2020 | Analysis of 820th Armoured Corps revealed to include two armoured and five mechanised brigades, with partial equipment of Pokpung-ho tanks. |
| 2019 | KPA's official date of establishment reverted back to the original 8 February 1948. |
| October 2 2019 | The Sinpo-class submarine 8.24 Yongung conducted a test launch of the Pukguksong-3 missile. |
| August 2019 | Conducted further tests of Hwasong-11A (KN-23) missile. |
| July 2019 | Conducted additional tests of Hwasong-11A (KN-23) missile. |
| May 2019 | Conducted tests of Hwasong-11A (KN-23) missile. |
| 2018 | North Korea publicly displayed the Juche 107th Year Type 155 mm Self-propelled Howitzer in a military parade, demonstrating a new artillery system with an estimated range of over 40 kilometers. |
| 2018 | The ROK's Ministry of National Defense released a bi-annual report estimating the Korean People's Navy (KPN) inventory at 430 combat ships, 250 landing crafts, 20 mine layers, 40 support ships, and 70 submarines. |
| 2018 | Testing of four new road-mobile, solid propellant short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) marked a qualitative improvement in North Korean missile technology. |
| 2018 | ROK's Ministry of National Defense bi-annual report identified North Korean Army's strength at 7,620,000 reserve troops, 4,300 tanks, 2,500 armored vehicles, 8,600 artillery guns, and 5,500 multiple rocket launchers. |
| November 15 2018 | North Korea successfully tested a 'newly developed ultramodern tactical weapon', which was observed by leader Kim Jong Un at the Academy of Defense Science. Kim called the test a 'decisive turn' in enhancing the army's combat capabilities. |
| May 2018 | Kim Su-gil takes over as Director of the General Political Bureau, succeeding Kim Jong-gak. |
| February 9 2018 | Kim Jong-gak becomes Director of the General Political Bureau, replacing Hwang Pyong-so. |
| 2017 | The WPK Central Committee conducted its first inspection of the GPB in 20 years, led by Choe Ryong-hae. As a result of this inspection, GPB director Hwang Pyong-so was punished and removed from his position as Standing Commissioner. |
|
We are only showing the most recent entries for this topic. |
|
This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles List of equipment of the Korean People's Army Ground Force, Korean People's Army, Korean People's Army Ground Force, Korean People's Navy, Korean People's Army Air Force, Korean People's Army Strategic Force & General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.