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The North Korean Air Force is 20 years behind the world, why not buy fighters from China? The real reason is helpless

author:Read history again
The North Korean Air Force is 20 years behind the world, why not buy fighters from China? The real reason is helpless
The North Korean Air Force is 20 years behind the world, why not buy fighters from China? The real reason is helpless

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On the Korean Peninsula, North Korea has to withstand the dual pressure of the United States and South Korea, and can only give military priority to everything. North Korea, with its million-strong army, is 20 years behind the world's air force, which is inferior to the South Korean air force.

The North Korean Air Force, which has a small number of fighters and is obviously backward in performance, why not ask the mainland to buy fighters to arm itself? There are multiple reasons behind this, not that North Korea does not want to, but that it cannot.

The North Korean Air Force is 20 years behind the world, why not buy fighters from China? The real reason is helpless

North Korea, which attaches great importance to military development, why does it not spend a lot of money to update its weapons and equipment, and what are the reasons behind this?

The North Korean Air Force is 20 years behind the world, why not buy fighters from China? The real reason is helpless

1. The North Korean crisis

You may not believe it, but in the sixties and seventies of the last century, North Korea's economic development was rapid, far surpassing South Korea, and it was one of the top industrial countries in East Asia. It's just that now North Korea has become what it is now, and there is a little-known past. North Korea's economy and politics now have to serve the military, which is also forced by the helplessness of reality.

After the end of the Korean War, the situation on the peninsula has been effectively eased, and since no one can defeat anyone, let's first bury our heads in developing ourselves. In 1954, North Korea began to focus on economic recovery. South Korea had the support of the United States, North Korea also had Soviet aid, and throughout the sixties and seventies, North Korea's economic growth advanced by leaps and bounds, relying on Soviet industrial aid and cheap oil.

The North Korean Air Force is 20 years behind the world, why not buy fighters from China? The real reason is helpless

What about South Korea on the other side? In the sixties and seventies, there was also rapid economic development, but unlike North Korea, South Korea's economic development mainly relied on the cruel oppression of its own people. Not only did South Korean laborers work more than a dozen hours a day in sweatshops in their country, but some were also sent to West Germany to work to earn foreign exchange for the country.

These South Korean miners sent 80 percent of their income back home and lived precariously in a far, foreign land. A South Korean miner recalled: "We worked in wet and narrow mines, and many people died when they used explosives to blow up the mines. ”

In this comparison, who was more "superior" between South Korea and North Korea at that time? Later, everyone always used North Korean defectors to ridicule North Korea by fleeing North Korea, but in the sixties and seventies of the last century, there were also many defectors. In 1967, South Korean miners in West Germany defected en masse to North Korea through East Berlin.

The North Korean Air Force is 20 years behind the world, why not buy fighters from China? The real reason is helpless

The so-called "superiority" still looks at real economic interests. In the late '60s, North Korea had electricity in all rural areas, and by the early '80s, North Korea's agriculture was largely mechanized. However, North Korea's economic development has a great shortcoming, that is, it is heavily dependent on Soviet aid.

When the Soviet Union became strong, North Korea also drank soup and ate meat, and when the Soviet Union became economical, then North Korea's good days came to an end. From the 80s onwards, the Soviet Union gradually reduced its aid to North Korea, but with cheap oil, it could also provide for the normal functioning of North Korean society. By the time the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, North Korea's mood was simply "like a mourning of Kaoya", not only was there no aid, but the nascent Russia was not willing to provide cheap oil to North Korea.

Without oil, all the industrial equipment that North Korea once prided itself on turned into scrap iron, and industrial and agricultural production almost stagnated or even regressed. In time for the natural disasters of the 90s, North Korea went from a small, rich country with self-sufficient food and surplus food exports to a small, poor country with rampant famine and untold hardship for its people.

The North Korean Air Force is 20 years behind the world, why not buy fighters from China? The real reason is helpless

Poor to poor, but military strength cannot be lost, without the protection of the Soviet Union, North Korea is facing the pressure of the United States and South Korea, and can only bet all its wealth on the military. North Korea's "Songun politics" was the foundation of North Korea after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The DPRK, which puts military work first in everything and attaches importance to military work, has placed army building in the primary position of national development.

As far as North Korea is concerned, no matter how poor it is, it cannot be poor in its army, and no matter how hard it is, it cannot suffer for national defense. Today, North Korea has an army of about 1.2 million people, including 1 million troops, ranking fourth in the world in terms of numbers and the largest ratio of soldiers to population.

However, it is no longer the environment of World War II, the proportion of the army in modern warfare has been greatly reduced, and the importance of the navy and air force has increased significantly.

The North Korean Air Force is 20 years behind the world, why not buy fighters from China? The real reason is helpless

North Korea's military is scary to say, a million-strong army, but in the eyes of Americans, the North Korean army is full of holes, because this million-strong army is plagued by a series of problems, the first of which is energy shortage. The backwardness of the North Korean Air Force is also due to this reason.

The North Korean Air Force is 20 years behind the world, why not buy fighters from China? The real reason is helpless

Second, the equipment is backward

The Korean Peninsula is one of the U.S. key targets in the global situation, and an American military officer who knows North Korea once said: "If the North Korean military provokes or becomes involved in a decisive conventional war, they will inevitably lose." Because North Korea's vital supplies, such as fuel and bullets, can last up to 30 days. ”

This is one of the reasons why North Korea has not been able to update its own equipment, and resources are difficult to obtain. According to the probe, North Korea has oil underground, but the cost of exploitation is extremely high, North Korea can not exploit its own oil, can only rely on imported cheap crude oil to supply the country's industrial production.

The North Korean Air Force is 20 years behind the world, why not buy fighters from China? The real reason is helpless

Those fighters, tanks, armored vehicles which do not need fuel to supply, North Korea can only first follow the army to equip. North Korea's air force has a total strength of about 110,000, and due to its own lack of technology to build fighters, most of the North Korean Air Force's fighters are imported.

According to estimates, the DPRK has about 100 J-5 and MiG-17 fighters, more than 100 J-6 and MiG-19 fighters, more than 160 MiG-21 fighters and J-7 fighters, 56 MiG-23, more than 30 Su-25, and more than 30 MiG-29s, totaling more than 600 fighters, mainly Soviet-style fighters.

It's just that these fighters generally lag behind the world level, and some of them can already be called "old machines", and due to the arms embargo imposed on North Korea by Western countries led by the United States, this leads to any wear and tear in North Korean fighters, and even replaceable parts cannot be found. So not all of these 600-plus fighters can be put into service.

The North Korean Air Force is 20 years behind the world, why not buy fighters from China? The real reason is helpless

J-5, J-6, MiG-17, MiG-19 these fighters are the first generation of fighters after World War II, the performance is seriously backward, and can only be used as training aircraft, the most advanced fighter of the North Korean Air Force is still MiG-29, but the number is less than 40, it is difficult to conduct air combat with the advanced American fighters purchased by South Korea.

Compared with the North Korean Army all over the country, the North Korean Air Force is like a big colander, if a war really breaks out, air supremacy is not something North Korea can compete for at all, and can only be pressed to the ground and rubbed. Fuel shortages are also a big problem. North Korea can only rely on the mainland and Russia to import oil, especially the help of the mainland is the greatest for North Korea.

Every year, the mainland sends 500,000 tons of oil to North Korea, accounting for 80% of North Korea's total oil imports. Without the Soviet Union, only China would have extended a helping hand to ensure the development of North Korea. It is precisely because of this that North Korea has not devoted a lot of energy to the construction of its navy and air force, but has shifted its resources to missiles and nuclear weapons.

The North Korean Air Force is 20 years behind the world, why not buy fighters from China? The real reason is helpless

This is an important reason why the North Korean Air Force, even if it lags behind, does not spend money to buy fighters from the mainland. The money that buys fighters should be spent on developing nuclear weapons, so that North Korea will have a nuclear deterrent and North Korea will be safer. Perhaps the North Korean leadership has clearly realized that it is unlikely that a conventional conflict will be won in the case of North Korea, and the only way is to use a deterrence strategy to ensure its own survival.

Maintaining a large conventional force while developing nuclear weapons is enough to scare South Korea. It is impossible for North Korea to win the war by increasing the upgrading of weapons and equipment.

The equipment of the North Korean Air Force urgently needs to be upgraded, but a penny can not be spent in half, and how to choose has become a problem that the North Korean side needs to consider. According to a 2015 U.S. Department of Defense report, it gives us a glimpse of the huge hidden dangers behind the seemingly powerful North Korean military.

"The North Korean military has not acquired new fighter jets for decades, relies on antiquated air defense systems, and lacks ballistic missile defense capabilities," the report said. Its navy has not been trained in deep-sea operations. Among the recently unveiled rocket artillery systems also contains tractor-towed launchers. ”

The North Korean Air Force is 20 years behind the world, why not buy fighters from China? The real reason is helpless

In a 2015 U.S. report, it was estimated that 4 to 5 percent of North Korea's population is active-duty, 25 to 30 percent is reserves, and 70 percent of ground troops and 50 percent of naval and air forces are deployed within 100 kilometers of the military demarcation line between the two Koreas, which is a threat to the North Korean military.

However, the problem of outdated equipment has greatly reduced the strength of the North Korean army, and if it really fights, the huge army can only be used as a target for the United States and South Korea. Fuel shortages aside, what other factors have made North Korea abandon the purchase of mainland fighter jets?

The North Korean Air Force is 20 years behind the world, why not buy fighters from China? The real reason is helpless

Third, the DPRK dilemma

On the evening of April 25, 2022, North Korea held a military parade, and in addition to the ground equipment that rumbled by, the North Korean Air Force also appeared for an air show. The protagonists are still the MiG-29 and Su-25, after all, this is one of the few main fighters that North Korea can handle.

The North Korean Air Force is 20 years behind the world, why not buy fighters from China? The real reason is helpless

What is surprising is that the MiG-23, the "veteran of the Cold War", also showed a picture, and these "classic aircraft" in North Korea still have to undertake flight tasks at an age, which shows the embarrassment and helplessness of the North Korean Air Force. The mainland also has advanced fighters now, why doesn't North Korea ask the mainland to buy them?

China's fighters are also developed from imitation Soviet-style fighters, earlier the mainland's fighter development technology lagged behind the United States and the Soviet Union, in the 90s the mainland ordered a batch of Su-27 fighters from the Soviet Union, the goods have not yet arrived, the Soviet Union is gone, fortunately, Russia delivered the Su-27 to the mainland as promised.

After getting the Su-27, mainland technicians studied it carefully, and then gave birth to the domestic J-11 series fighters, from imitation to independent research and development, the mainland has made countless efforts, and now the mainland's fighters are not inferior to the United States and Russia. With the large-scale replacement of mainland fighters, what should be done with those retired fourth-generation aircraft? Some people have suggested that it is better to sell it to North Korea, which can also improve the air force of a wave of North Korea, which is also a double win.

The North Korean Air Force is 20 years behind the world, why not buy fighters from China? The real reason is helpless

If you think so, it's too simple. The relationship between China and North Korea is complicated because China, not the Soviet Union, can give North Korea a lot of aid in exchange for North Korea's obedience. Although in the eyes of the United States and Western countries, China has always supported North Korea, but that is out of the truth that any disturbance on the Korean Peninsula will affect the mainland.

If the DPRK is attacked by the United States and South Korea, the mainland will inevitably carry out military protection for the DPRK, and it will not be able to watch the Americans run to the Chinese border. We have always wanted to maintain peace on the peninsula, but North Korea also has its own calculations in its heart.

In 1950, the mainland was supposed to liberate Taiwan in one go, but the DPRK took the lead in launching the Korean War without notifying the mainland at all, disrupting the mainland's original plan and dragging China into the vortex of war. The reason why North Korea dared to take the initiative to go to war was because it was instructed by the Soviet Union.

The North Korean Air Force is 20 years behind the world, why not buy fighters from China? The real reason is helpless

The current situation on the peninsula is already unstable, and isn't it clear that the mainland will add fuel to the fire by providing military assistance to the DPRK? Once the DPRK strengthens its own strength and is eager to try, the terrified South Korea is bound to shout again that the United States will quickly increase its troops, and won't the mainland have another "War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea" in the 21st century?

Therefore, the mainland's attitude has always been to maintain the status quo on the Korean Peninsula for the time being, and to maintain stability rather than war. For this reason, the mainland will not provide military assistance to North Korea. Considering that North Korea no longer has any industrial capacity, it gradually degenerated into an agricultural country in the 90s, and the mainland's advanced fighters were handed over to North Korea, and it was also unable to maintain operations, let alone form combat effectiveness.

If you want the DPRK Air Force to improve its combat effectiveness, non-mainland air forces and ground staff must send air forces and ground staff to North Korea to teach it hand-in-hand, and after teaching North Korea how to use it, the mainland must also provide logistics support services, and any parts damaged and replaced must be provided by the mainland. China's aid to Pakistan is to establish a complete production line in Pakistan.

The North Korean Air Force is 20 years behind the world, why not buy fighters from China? The real reason is helpless

Compared with North Korea, Pakistan has relatively complete aviation production plants, after all, Pakistan will not worry about oil. For these reasons, the DPRK also does not want to buy fighters from the mainland, and if the mainland sells them or not, the DPRK cannot afford to raise advanced fighters.

North Korea has made a desperate effort to focus on the development of missiles and nuclear weapons. In 2013, North Korea officially announced that it would possess nuclear weapons as part of its national development strategy, and for North Korea, nuclear weapons are North Korea's ultimate defense against the United States and South Korea.

If North Korea wants to build nuclear weapons, the impact on the situation on the peninsula will be huge, so the mainland has also issued a statement firmly opposing that once North Korea possesses nuclear weapons, it will further aggravate the deterioration of the situation, and the United States can naturally deploy theater missile defense systems in South Korea, such as the THAAD system.

The North Korean Air Force is 20 years behind the world, why not buy fighters from China? The real reason is helpless

South Korea also clamored for nuclear weapons in response to North Korea's threat, and some Japanese politicians have publicly claimed that Japan will also build nuclear weapons. At that time, China will become the only country in the world surrounded by nuclear weapons, and the situation in East Asia is simply unimaginable.

How to deal with the Korean Peninsula issue is a major problem facing the mainland, and the DPRK, which is backward in weapons and equipment, wants to use nuclear weapons to achieve strategic deterrence, and the mainland will never agree. However, once the mainland provides military aid to North Korea, it will also worsen the conflict between the two Koreas.

The North Korean Air Force is 20 years behind the world, why not buy fighters from China? The real reason is helpless

But can North Korea be blamed for this? Under the dual threat of the United States and South Korea, does North Korea have a second way?

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