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The Korean People's Army Ground Force (KPAGF; Chosŏn'gŭl: ; Hanja: 朝鮮人民軍 陸軍) is the main branch of the Korean People's Army responsible for land-based military operations. It is the ''de facto'' army of North Korea. ==History== The force was formed in the late 1940s and it outnumbered and outgunned the South Korean Army on the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950. 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 KPA GF may have totaled fewer than 400,000 persons and probably did not rise much above that figure before 1972. The force expanded over the next two decades. In 1992, there were approximately 1 million personnel.〔Federation of American Scientists, (Korean Peoples' Army ), accessed February 2008〕 Before this expansion of the North Korean ground forces, the South Korean Army outnumbered the North Korean Army. From the 1970s on, South Korea started exceeding North Korea in terms of economics. Thus, South Korea could modernize its forces, which alerted North Korea and resulted in the expansion of the North Korean armed forces. Ironically, 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. Yossef Bodansky's Crisis in Korea, SP Books, 1994, gives an account of the North Korean order of battle in 1984-88 (p.87-88). 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.〔Joseph F. Bermudez, Shield of the Great Leader, 2001, 59.〕 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.〔http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?num=7321&cataId=nk02100〕 In any event, the corps was disbanded, and its units reallocated elsewhere, some to IX Corps in North Hamgyong Province. IX Corps now includes 24th Division and 42nd Division. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Korean People's Army Ground Force」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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