Vol. 1, No. 9 - September 2010

A North Korean Air Force Mi-2 helicopter conducting relief operations for flood victims during July 2010. (KCNA)

Articles in this issue include,

"Mi-2 HOPLITE in KPAF Service," by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr.

This article provides an overview of the acquisition and employment of the Mi-2 HOPLITE (known locally as the known as the Hyokshin-2) light utility helicopter in NorthKoreanAir Force Service. During the late 1970s-early 1980s the North Korean Air Force purchased an initial shipment of 60 Mi-2 helicopters from the Polish manufacturer PZL. It subsequently purchased additional batches of Mi-2s and now operates an estimated total of 140 of these helicopters. Within North Korea these helicopters serve in a number of different roles: attack, liaison, training, transportation and VIP transport; and may also be operated in the electronic warfare/jamming. The article includes two photographs.

"KPA Lessons Learned from Foreign Conflicts 1960-Present, Part I," by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr.

Contrary to the popularly held view that Kim Il-sung (when he was alive), Kim Chong-il and the North Korean leadership are unwilling or unable to learn from foreign military developments, there is a considerable body of evidence that they have conducted systematic historical and operational analysis to aid in the development of the KPA’s force structure, weapons, tactics and doctrine. Apart from an underlying emphasis upon lessons learned during the Korean War this analytical process focuses upon both the conflicts in which the U.S. has been involved since the 1960s and those in the Middle East and South Asia. This is the first installment of a two-part series and covers the "lessons learned" from the: Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962; Yemen Wars, 1962-1970 and 1994; Vietnam War, 1959-1975; and Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1967-Present.

"Vice Marshal Jo Myong Rok," by Michael Madden

A biography of Vice Marshal Jo Myong Rok (a.k.a., Cho Myong-rok) by Michael Madden of Suffolk University, Boston, and editor of North Korean Leadership Watch. Vice Marshal Jo Myong Rok is the 1st Vice Chairman of the National Defense Commission and director of the Ministry of People’s Armed Forces General Political Department. This article includes one photograph.

"Vice Marshal Yi Tu-ik," by Michael Madden

A biography of Vice Marshal Ri Tu Ik (a.k.a., Yi Tu-ik) by Michael Madden of Suffolk University, Boston, and editor of North Korean Leadership Watch. Vice Marshal Ri Tu Ik was a late member of the Party Central Military Commission and a 1st generation DPRK elite and military leader who helped establish Kim Jong Il’s succession system in the 1970s and 1980s. This article includes one photograph.

Additional Material

Editor’s Notes and detailed Endnotes are also provided.


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