The Korean People's Army Ground Force (KPAGF; ) is the main branch of the Korean People's Army, responsible for land-based military operations.
History
The Korean People's Army Ground Force was formed on August 20, 1947. It outnumbered and outgunned the South Korean army on the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950 before being pushed back by a combined United Nations-Republic of Korea counteroffensive. North Korean ground forces formations which fought in the Korean War included the I Corps, the II and III Corps. The IV Corps and V Corps, VI and VII Corps were formed after the outbreak of war. Divisions included the 105th Armored Division, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 12th, 19th, and 43rd Infantry Divisions. During the Korean War, it also contained a number of independent units such as the 766th Infantry Regiment.
In 1960, the KPAGF may have totaled fewer than 400,000 personnel and probably did not rise much above that figure before 1972. The force then massively expanded over the next two decades. In 1992, there were 950,000 personnel. Before this expansion of the North Korean ground forces, the South Korean army outnumbered the KPAGF. From the 1970s on, South Korea started exceeding North Korea in terms of economics. Thus, South Korea could modernize its forces, which in turn alerted North Korea and resulted in the expansion of the North Korean armed forces. The weaker of the two Koreas has maintained the larger armed force. The size, organization, disposition, and combat capabilities of the Ground Force give Pyongyang military, albeit technologically inferior, possible options both for limited offensive operations to assault the lower half of the peninsula or for limited defensive operations against any perceived threat from South Korea.
Scalapino and Lee's Communism in Korea: The Society gave an organisation chart in 1972 that showed the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 7th Army Groups (p. 940). The 1st, 2nd (five divs), and 5th had four divisions plus a brigade or regiment; the 3rd had four divisions, and the 7th three divisions and three brigades. Scalapino and Lee drew upon the South Korean-published The North Korean Yearbook. A declassified 1971 CIA document referring to a 1970 DIA assessment appear to indicate that the 1st Army Group included the 13th and 47th Infantry Divisions.
Yossef Bodansky's Crisis in Korea gives an account of the North Korean order of battle in 1984–88. The 1st, 2nd (five divs, one brigade), and 5th Army Groups, each with four divisions and one independent brigade, covered the eastern, Western, and central sectors of the DMZ. The III, VI, and VII Corps were deployed around Wonsan and the coastal regions, with the IV Corps, recently converted from the 4th Army Group, around Pyongyang. All the corps had the virtually-standard four divisions and an independent brigade under command, apart from the VII Corps with three divisions and three brigades. The army groups were described as striking forces while the corps also had ground-holding responsibilities. The III, VI, and VII Corps began forming armoured and mechanised units in 1985.
Over time, this organization has adjusted to the unique circumstances of the military problem the KPA faces and to the evolution of North Korean military doctrine and thought.
In 1996, a significant portion of the staff, along with local government officials of the VI Corps was arrested and convicted of bribery and corruption. The VI Corps HQ, which was in Chongjin, was in charge of military activities in the whole of North Hamgyong Province. It consisted of three infantry divisions, four rocket brigades and one artillery division. Joseph F. Bermudez reports in Shield of the Great Leader that the incident was not a coup, but it is often reported as such. In any event, the corps was disbanded, and its units reallocated elsewhere, some to the IX Corps in North Hamgyong Province. The IX Corps now includes the 24th Division and the 42nd Division.