Flag of the DPRK's Red Guards Militia
The Worker-Peasant Red Guards (노동자 농민 홍위병) is a paramilitary force in North Korea. It is the largest civilian defense force in the DPRK with an estimated 2007 strength of approximately 3.5 million.[1] It was established in January 14, 1959 by Kim Il-sung[2] and is not only under National Defense Commission and Ministry of People's Armed Forces control, but is also attached to the Worker's Party of Korea under its Department of Civil Defense.
The militia is organized on a provincial/town/city/ village level, and structured on a brigade, battalion, company, and platoon basis. The militia maintains infantry small arms, with some mortars and anti-aircraft guns and even modernized older equipment such as multiple rocket launchers like the BM-14 and older Ural D-62 motorcycles, although some units are unarmed indicating status as logistics and medical units.[3]
Flag[]
Red Guards militia on Parade in Pyongyang, DPRK
Their flag has been seen together with the flags of the KPA Ground Force, Navy, and Air Force at military briefings, indicating that the Red Guards has equal status with each of the other service branches, and is paraded along with similar-sized plain red banners.
References[]
This article incorporates public domain material from the Library of Congress Country Studies website http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/.
See also[]
- Red Guards (China)
- Combat Groups of the Working Class (East Germany)
- Workers' Militia (Hungary)
- People's Militias (Czechoslovakia)
- Patriotic Guards (Romania)
- Territorial Defence (SFR Yugoslavia)
The original article can be found at Worker-Peasant Red Guards and the edit history here.