The Pyongyang Defence Command ( ko, 평양방위사령부), also known as the Pyongyang Defense Corps is a military area and

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

of the

Korean People's Army The Korean People's Army (KPA; ) is the military force of North Korea and the armed wing of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). Under the ''Songun'' policy, it is the central institution of North Korean society. Currently, WPK General Sec ...

based out of the

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

n capital of

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

. The PDC is composed of 70,000 KPA personnel who, alongside the Supreme Guard Command and the

III Corps 3rd Corps, Third Corps, III Corps, or 3rd Army Corps may refer to: France * 3rd Army Corps (France) * III Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * III Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of th ...

, are responsible for the defense of the capital. According to North Korea analyst Joseph F. Bermudez, the command operates, unlike its two counterparts, inside the Pyongyang area. It reports directly to the General Staff Department and is considered to be one of the many levers of power in the KPA.

History

The command was established under the Ministry of National Defence (now the Ministry of People's Armed Forces) in 1955 with the aim of defending the national capital from the

South Korean Army The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ko, 대한민국 육군; Hanja: 大韓民國陸軍; RR: ''Daehanminguk Yuk-gun''), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the l ...

and the

Eighth United States Army The Eighth Army is a U.S. field army which is the commanding formation of all United States Army United States Forces Korea, forces in South Korea. It commands U.S. and South Korean units and is headquartered at the Camp Humphreys,

following the

UN offensive into North Korea The UN offensive into North Korea was a large-scale offensive in late 1950 by United Nations (UN) forces against North Korean forces. On 27 September near Osan UN forces coming from Inchon linked up with UN forces that had broken out of the Pusa ...

. It was incorporated into the KPA order of precedence command in the 1960s and became independent 30 years later in the 1990s. In the 1980s, it reported to Unit 963, but was later removed from its order of battle. The 2014 Defense White Paper, published by the ministry on 21 December 2012, said the Pyongyang Defense Command subordinated artillery units were transferred to the General Staff Department of the KPA to unify the artillery command system. A notable commander of the command was

Vice Marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes u ...

Ri Yong-ho, who commanded it from 2003 to 2009 and later became the KPA Chief of the General Staff. He was the last person known to have commanded the PDC. Another notable commander was Pak Ki So who was the predecessor to Ri who served from 1995 to 2003.

Duties

It is primarily responsible for the protection of the capital and its state and party assets. The command utilizes the

Youth Hero Motorway The Youth Hero Motorway (), also known as the Pyongyang–Nampo Motorway, is a expressway in North Korea that connects the cities of Pyongyang, the capital of the country, and Nampo, a city on the coast of Korea Bay in South Pyongan Province. ...

as a military route for the southern DPRK alongside the III Army Corps. During a potential

Coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

or a foreign invasion, tank divisions are deployed to the highway to cut off access to the capital. The airspace of the capital is defended by the Pyongyang Air Defense Command of the

Korean People's Army Air and Anti-Air Force The Korean People's Army Air and Anti-Air Force (KPAAF; ; Hanja: 朝鮮人民軍航空 및 反航空軍 ) is the unified military aviation force of North Korea. It is the second largest branch of the Korean People's Army comprising an estimated ...

. The commanding officer of the command is usually a billet of

Colonel general Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a ra ...

and is traditionally in charge of all ceremonial

military parades A military parade is a formation of soldiers whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as drilling or marching. The military parade is now almost entirely ceremonial, though soldiers from time immemorial up until the lat ...

Kim Il Sung Square __NOTOC__ Kim Il-sung Square is a large city square in the Central District of Pyongyang, North Korea, and is named after the country's founding leader, Kim Il-sung. The square was constructed in 1954 according to a master plan for reconstructing ...

References

{{Reflist Military units and formations of North Korea Military units and formations established in 1955 1955 establishments in North Korea Army commands (military formations) Corps of North Korea

History

Duties

See also

References