North Korean Special Operation Force
| North Korean Special Operation Force | |
|---|---|
| Founded | October 30, 1968 |
| Country |
 North Korea |
| Allegiance |
 Kim Jong-un
|
| Type | Special forces |
| Role | Special operations |
| Size | 180,000 |
| Part of |
 Korean People's Army
|
| Nickname(s) | "NKSOF" |
The North Korean Special Operation Force (NKSOF), officially the Korean People's Army Special Operation Force, consists of specially equipped and trained "elite" military units trained to perform military, political, or psychological operations for North Korea. The units are active in testing the defenses of South Korea and have been detected operating in or around South Korea many times in the decades since the end of the Korean War. There are about 180,000 special operational forces soldiers.
The missions of Special Operation Forces are to breach the fixed defense of South Korea, to create a "second front" in the enemy's rear area, and to conduct battlefield and strategic reconnaissance.
The official date of formation for the SOF is hard to come by, but reports of activity by these forces have been commonplace since October 30, 1968. On this date, Maritime commandos landed on beaches from Samcheok to Uljin, South Korea and after a series of battles retreated back to North Korea.Kim Il Sung himself was quoted as saying the Special Operation Force "is the strongest elite force of the entire Korean People's Army and is the unique vanguard force of the Armed Forces of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."
SOF use the antiquated Antonov An-2 to infiltrate by air. The An-2 can deliver paratroopers by airdrop or airland. With the An-2's small airframe, it is possible to land on a highway and insert paratroopers.
Sometimes known as "sniper" brigades, they are part of the ground intelligence effort of the KPA. These units also have the ability to perform Direct Action. They train and equip to seize or destroy strategic targets within the ROK. Additionally, it is suspected that these units carry out assassination attempts.
KPA light infantry battalions are found in forward deployed and rear-area corps-level units of North Korea. The light battalions are similar to their amphibious light infantry counterparts except for the absence of the additional marine training. The major focus of the light infantry is the "rapid infiltration and disruption of enemy rear areas through concealed movement". The missions of the light infantry include seizure of forward area lines of communication, and destruction of high-payoff targets such as nuclear or chemical sites. In keeping with their name, they are lightly armed and equipped with small arms and antitank weapons. For years, the light infantry SOF were known to be one of the few special forces of the world without body armour: no body armour was clearly seen in videos during training or military exercises. Finally in summer 2012 surfaced few pictures with special forces showing body armour during training.
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Wikipedia