# Pyongyang Defense Command

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{{Short description|North Korean military command}}

{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name       = Pyongyang Defense Command
|native_name     = {{lang|ko|평양방위사령부}}
|logo            = 
|logo_caption    =
|seal            = 
|seal_caption    = 
|image           = 0940 - Nordkorea 2015 - Pjöngjang - Parade zum 75. JT der Arbeiterpartei (22976923725).jpg
|caption         = Troops of the PDC during a parade in 2015
|dates           = 1955-Present
|preceding1      = 
|preceding2      =
|dissolved       =
|country         = {{flag|North Korea}}
|garrison        = 
|type            = Homeland Defense
|command_structure = [General Staff Department of the Korean People's Army](/source/General_Staff_Department_of_the_Korean_People's_Army)
|current_commander = 
|notable_commanders = 
|motto           = 
|website         = 
|role= 
}}

The '''Pyongyang Defence Command''' ({{langx|ko|평양방위사령부}}), also known as the '''Pyongyang Defense Corps''' is a [military area](/source/military_district) and [corps](/source/corps) of the [Korean People's Army](/source/Korean_People's_Army) based out of the [North Korea](/source/North_Korea)n capital of [Pyongyang](/source/Pyongyang).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/why-invasion-north-korea-the-us-militarys-ultimate-nightmare-23077|title=Why An Invasion of North Korea Is the U.S. Military's Ultimate Nightmare|last=Mizokami|first=Kyle|date=2017-11-07|website=The National Interest|language=en|access-date=2020-01-12}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xpu6NUONT80C&q=Pyongyang+Defense+Command&pg=PA67|title=North Korea Under Kim Chong-il: Power, Politics, and Prospects for Change|last=Gause|first=Ken E.|date=2011-08-31|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-38175-1|language=en}}</ref>

The PDC is composed of 70,000 KPA personnel who, alongside the [Supreme Guard Command](/source/Supreme_Guard_Command) and the [III Corps](/source/III_Corps_(North_Korea)), are responsible for the defense of the capital.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nkleadershipwatch.wordpress.com/dprk-security-apparatus/pyongyang-defense-command/|title=Pyongyang Defense Corps|publisher=North Korea Leadership Watch|date=April 29, 2012|access-date=April 13, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HDmyDwAAQBAJ&q=Pyongyang+Defense+Command&pg=PA77|title=Korea North Army Weapon Systems Handbook Volume 1 Strategic Information and Major Weapon Systems|publisher=Lulu.com|isbn=978-1-4330-6210-0|language=en}}</ref> According to North Korea analyst Joseph F. Bermudez, the command operates, unlike its two counterparts, inside the Pyongyang area.<ref>Bermudez, Shield of the Great Leader, Allen and Unwin, 2001, 58, 64.</ref>

It reports directly to the [General Staff Department](/source/General_Staff_Department_of_the_Korean_People's_Army) and is considered to be one of the many levers of power in the KPA.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=byQlkWsPFm8C&q=Pyongyang+Defense+Command&pg=PA51|title=North Korea: The Politics of Regime Survival|first1=Young Whan|last1=Kihl|first2=Hong Nack|last2=Kim|date=January 12, 2006|publisher=M.E. Sharpe|isbn=9780765616388|via=Google Books}}</ref>

==History ==
The command was established under the [Ministry of National Defence (now the Ministry of People's Armed Forces)](/source/Ministry_of_People's_Armed_Forces) in 1955 with the aim of defending the national capital from the [South Korean Army](/source/South_Korean_Army) and the [Eighth United States Army](/source/Eighth_United_States_Army) following the [UN offensive into North Korea](/source/UN_offensive_into_North_Korea). It was incorporated into the KPA order of precedence command in the 1960s and became independent 30 years later in the 1990s. In the 1980s, it reported to [Unit 963](/source/Supreme_Guard_Command), but was later removed from its order of battle.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X8krAAAAYAAJ&q=Pyongyang+Defense+Command&pg=PA41|title=North Korean Civil-military Trends: Military-first Politics to a Point|first=Ken E.|last=Gause|date=January 12, 2006|publisher=Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College|isbn=9781584872573|via=Google Books}}</ref>

The 2014 Defense White Paper, published by the ministry on 21 December 2012, said the Pyongyang Defense Command subordinated artillery units were transferred to the [General Staff Department of the KPA](/source/General_Staff_Department_of_the_Korean_People's_Army) to unify the artillery command system.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.konas.net/article/article.asp?idx=29915|title=북한군 '전방에 침투능력 보유 기동여단 증강'|date=2012-12-21|access-date=2019-11-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150110101605/http://www.konas.net/article/article.asp?idx=29915|archive-date=2015-01-10|url-status=dead}}</ref>

A notable commander of the command was [Vice Marshal](/source/Chasu) [Ri Yong-ho](/source/Ri_Yong-ho_(general)), who commanded it from 2003 to 2009 and later became the [KPA Chief of the General Staff](/source/Chief_of_the_General_Staff_(North_Korea)).<ref name=wsj1712>{{cite news|last=Ramstad|first=Evan|title=Pyongyang Repositions Military|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303612804577532403475602384|access-date=3 November 2019|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|date=17 July 2012}}</ref> He was the last person known to have commanded the PDC. Another notable commander was Pak Ki So who was the predecessor to Ri who served from 1995 to 2003.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/dprk/pak-ki-so.htm|title=Pak Ki So|website=www.globalsecurity.org|access-date=2020-01-12}}</ref>

==Duties==
It is primarily responsible for the protection of the capital and its state and party assets.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nkleadershipwatch.wordpress.com/dprk-security-apparatus/pyongyang-defense-command/|title=Pyongyang Defense Command|date=2010-09-06|website=North Korea Leadership Watch|language=en|access-date=2020-01-12}}</ref> The command utilizes the [Youth Hero Motorway](/source/Youth_Hero_Motorway) as a military route for the southern DPRK alongside the III Army Corps. During a potential [Coup d'état](/source/Coup_d'%C3%A9tat) or a foreign invasion, tank divisions are deployed to the highway to cut off access to the capital.<ref name="north38">{{cite news|url=https://www.38north.org/2018/08/mmadden080318/|title=Much Ado About Kangson|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180803180812/https://www.38north.org/2018/08/mmadden080318/|date=August 3, 2018|archive-date=August 3, 2018|publisher=[Henry L. Stimson Center](/source/Henry_L._Stimson_Center)|first=Michael|last=Madden|quote=The Pyongyang-Nampo Highway is a key southern defense route for the Pyongyang Defense Command and III Army Corps. In the event of a domestic or foreign attack (from the South) on the DPRK, the 107th and 108th Tank Divisions deploy on the highway to cut off access routes into Pyongyang.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nautilus.org/publications/books/dprkbb/military/dprk-briefing-book-north-koreas-military-strategy/|title=DPRK Briefing Book: North Korea's Military Strategy|date=2011-12-19|website=Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability|language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-12}}</ref>

The airspace of the capital is defended by the Pyongyang Air Defense Command of the [Korean People's Army Air and Anti-Air Force](/source/Korean_People's_Army_Air_and_Anti-Air_Force).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/the-many-failed-attempts-to-kill-the-leaders-of-north-korea-2017-7|title=The many failed attempts to kill the leaders of North Korea|first=Adam |last=Rawnsley|date=July 9, 2017|website=Business Insider|language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-12}}</ref> The commanding officer of the command is usually a billet of [Colonel general](/source/Colonel_general) and is traditionally in charge of all ceremonial [military parade](/source/military_parade)s on [Kim Il Sung Square](/source/Kim_Il_Sung_Square).

==See also==
* [Defense Security Command](/source/Defense_Security_Command)
* [Central Theater Command](/source/Central_Theater_Command)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

Category:Military units and formations of North Korea
Category:Military units and formations established in 1955
Category:1955 establishments in North Korea
Category:Army commands (military formations)
Category:Corps of North Korea
Category:Military history of Pyongyang

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Pyongyang Defense Command](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyongyang_Defense_Command) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyongyang_Defense_Command?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.