North Korean Special Forces (Special Warfare) [Hardcover]

Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. (Author)

Book Description

Series: Special Warfare | Publication Date: November 1997

North Korea fields one of the world's largest armies, tasked with annihilating U.S. and South Korean forces and reuniting the two Koreas. At the tip of the North Koreans' spear is the largest special operations force in the world. Here, a leading expert on the subject fully exposes and analyzes this dangerous threat. Updating and expanding his original 1988 study, Joseph Bermudez includes in this second edition all the new information gleaned from debriefings of North Korean special forces defectors, interviews with South Korean and U.S. intelligence personnel, recently declassified intelligence documents, and P'yongyang itself. An indispensable guide, the volume offers a gold mine of material about the special units and provides the first unclassified history of North Korea's intelligence services. It details the organization and equipment of North Korea's commandos, their missions and capabilities, and the threats they pose around the globe. The author fully describes the commandos' evolution from a small force in the 1950s to the present highly motivated, well-trained, and indoctrinated force of more than one hundred thousand troops, and he includes recently discovered material about their hidden role in the Korean War.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Naval Institute Press; 2 Sub edition (November 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557500665
• ISBN-13: 978-1557500663
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,118,990 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Important Contribution, July 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: North Korean Special Forces (Special Warfare) (Hardcover)

One is hard-pressed to find a well-researched material on North Korea's military forces, though there are some excellent research books written by military officers in "lessons learned" formats. The North Korean special operations force, according to South Korea's Defense White Paper, poses one of the most significant military threat in the region along with P'yongyang's chemical weapons and ballistic missiles. This book traces this formidable force from its inception through the present, revealing a significant facet of North Korea's overall military strategy. Despite the timeliness of this work and the depth of its research from one of the most well-known North Korea specialist, it suffers from somewhat poor readability.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding both in readability and research., September 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: North Korean Special Forces (Special Warfare) (Hardcover)

This is an outstanding book for anyone interested in Special Operations. Talk about tough...the NKSF personnel are by far the TOUGHEST Special operations force in the world. This book details their organization, missions, training, doctrine, and mindset. It talks about the "second front" they will persue if war on the Korean peninsula ever happens. From snipers to infiltrators, tunnels to high speed submersibles, this book has it all...A MUST READ!

5.0 out of 5 stars Accurate and Informative, December 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: North Korean Special Forces (Special Warfare) (Hardcover)

I had the privilege of interviewing Mr. Bermudez as well as reading this book while researching North Korean Special Forces. The book is highly informative and the author exceptionally knowledgeable. It would be interesting to see the latest information he has gathered considering the present economic/food situations.

At time of printing, NKSF were the best special forces in the world for their set of missions. Other special forces are better suited for different missions and have different resources available to them.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for reliable background information on the specific topic, as well as anyone interested in the highly ideological and self sacrificial mentality instilled in these people.