Korean People's Army Strategic Force
| Strategic Rocket Forces / Strategic Missile Forces | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1999 |
| Country |
 North Korea |
| Allegiance |
 Kim Jong-un
|
| Branch | Independent |
| Type | Strategic missile force |
| Role | Strategic deterrence |
| Size | Unknown |
| Garrison/HQ | Sŏngch'ŏn-kun South Pyongan, North Korea |
| Commanders | |
| Commander | Lt. Gen. Kim Rak-gyom |
The Strategic Rocket Forces (Chosŏn'gŭl: 조선인민군 전략로케트군, Hanja: 朝鮮人民軍 戰略로케트軍), also known as Missile Guidance Bureau (Chosŏn'gŭl: 미사일지도국; Hanja: 미사일指導局) is the strategic missile defence branch of North Korea. The SMF is an important division of the Korean People's Army that oversees North Korea's nuclear and conventional strategic defence missiles. It is mainly armed with surface-to-surface missiles of Soviet and Chinese design, as well as domestically developed long-range missiles.
Shortly after Kim Il-Sung's 5 October 1966 instructions to jointly develop the military and the economy, the Second Machine Industry Ministry, under the Korean Workers Party secretary in charge of military defence industries was formed to regulate the procurement and production of weapons.
Some sources assert that North Korea had begun the production of multiple rocket launchers in the early 1960s. It might be logically assumed by 1965 Kim Il-sŏng had probably made the political decision to establish an indigenous missile production capability after the Soviets could not produce a suitable ballistic missiles arrangement to favor his request.
Nevertheless, during the 1960s the Soviet Union began to provide free rockets over ground (FROGs), surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), and coastal defense antiship missiles, which provided North Korean engineers groundwork technologies for rocket propulsion, guidance, and related missile systems. In 1965, North Korea founded the Hamhŭng Military Academy to train North Korean defence personnel in rocket and missile research and development. By 1970, North Korea had procured surface-to-ship missiles and surface-to-air missiles from China. Pyongyang also sought assistance to establish its own independent sovereign missile defence development program.
...
Wikipedia