Can North Korean Special Purpose Forces Successfully Conduct Military Operations Against the United States and South Korea?

Lacking the technological resources to compete with Combined Forces Command (CFC) conventional forces, the NKPA has compensated for their technological weaknesses by greatly increasing the number of forward-deployed conventional units, cannon and rocket artillery; and secondly by producing the world's largest SPF. North Korea (NK) has built the world's largest SPF in the world with more than 100,000 men to support surprise attacks to disrupt CFC combat buildup and operations. These elite SPF forces would be employed to create a "two-front war" attacking along US CFC forward line of troops and simultaneously attacking into the CFC rear areas creating a "second front." To facilitate this strategy, NK has dedicated more than 400 fixed and rotary wing aircraft and the world's largest submarine fleet. It is important to note that NK airborne SPF will not act alone; however, when coupled with other NK SPF elements, they constitute a significant component of the NK operational and strategic "second front" effort and will directly impact upon the overall success of the NKPA conventional forces. This thesis will explain why and how North Korea plans to integrate NK Airborne SPF against CFC Forces. Additionally the research assesses NKPA Airborne SPF training, capabilities, strengths, vulnerabilities, and the implications to CFC Forces.