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North Korea Emergence of the New Doctrine
Through the late 1960s and into the early 1970s, Kim Il Sung
continued to favor the political-ideological dimension of warfare
over technology or military science. A transformation began in
the 1970s, when renewed emphasis was placed on conventional
warfare and the modernization of the KPA.
In the August 1976 issue of K lloja, an article by Kim
Chol Man entitled "Scientific Features of Modern War and Factors
of Victory" reexamines and reinterprets military doctrine. Kim
dwells at length on the importance of economic development and
the impact of new weapons on military strategy. Victory in war
requires economic development and complete mobilization of a
nation's economic potential, including a strong self-supporting
munitions industry and material reserves. Military factors are
considered in absolute terms rather than on the basis of North
Korea's stage of development. Kim argues that the quality of arms
and the level of military technology define the characteristics
of war.
After some initial debate, Kim Chol Man's argument apparently
was accepted and became the new orthodoxy. The primacy of
conventional warfare again became doctrine. Kim's article
contains several concepts that continue to influence North Korean
operational art in the early 1990s; particularly influential are
the concepts that emphasize the importance of operational and
tactical mobility through the employment of mechanized forces,
the importance of firepower throughout the depth of the
battlefield, the importance of deep strikes, and the importance
of command and control. Kim also stresses that each operational
plan and campaign should aim at a lightning war for a quick
decision.
Data as of June 1993
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