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N. Korea`s Conventional Arsenal Burgeoned For a Decade

Posted March. 06, 2003 22:24,   

한국어

Despite its ailing economy, it transpires that North Korea had filled up its arsenal with conventional weapons. North Korea had reportedly purchased, in large volume, missiles and submarines from countries like Russia and China.

The fact was disclosed by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute yesterday in a report posted on its homepage . The report details how North Korea had built up its conventional arsenal from 1993-2000.

According to the institute, for five years from 1992, North Korea purchased 35 SS-N-2b missiles from Russia. It was one of them that North Korea reportedly fired into the sea between Japan and the Korean Peninsula. In total, North Korea bought the 308 units of the conventional weapons. Country-wise, 176 came from Kazakhstan, 103 from Russia and 29 from China.

Chronologically, it bought 21 units first in 1993, and 41 in 1995. Then, the volume was on decline until 1998, when only three were purchased. But, in 1999, it bought 173 weapons. In the following two years, or 2000 and 2001, 12 and 22 were bought, respectively. Finally, last year, it procured only 3 weapons.

Among them were 34 MIG 21s, which was detected by Azerbaijan government in 1999, and 24 KS-19 anti-aircraft guns and 4 radar units of the Kazakhstan army.

In the meanwhile, for 11 years starting 1987, the Kim Jung Il regime had procured 550 shoulder-launch missiles of SAM HN-5A. In addition, it had bought 16 Romeo-class submarines from China over a 20-year period from 1975.