Korean People's Navy

This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. (October 2012)

Korean People's Army Navy
조선인민군 해군 Chosuninmingun Haegun
Patch of the Korean People's Navy
Founded	5 June 1946; 77 years ago (1946-06-05)
Country	North Korea
Allegiance	Workers' Party of Korea
Type	Navy
Size	60,000 active personnel
Part of	Korean People's Army
Fleet	71 submarines 500+ landing craft 3 frigates 8 corvettes 30 mine countermeasure vessels 30 missile boats 114+ torpedo boats 187+ patrol boats
Engagements	Korean War
Commanders
Commander	Fleet Admiral Kim Myong-sik[1]
Insignia
Flag	Front: Back:
Ensign
Guards Ensign
Jack

Korean People's Navy
History List of active ships Naval bases

The Korean People's Army Navy (KPANF; Korean: 조선인민군 해군; Hanja: 朝鮮人民軍 海軍; MR: Chosŏn-inmingun Haegun; lit. Korean People's Military Navy; or the Korean People's Navy (KPN), is the naval component of the Korean People's Army, the North Korean armed forces.

There are some 780 vessels including 70 midget submarines (including the Yono-class submarine and Sang-O-class submarine), 20 Romeo-class submarines, and about 140 air cushioned landing craft.^[2]

The North Korean navy is considered a brown-water (or riverine) navy and operates mainly within the 50 kilometer exclusion zone. The fleet consists of east and west coast squadrons, which cannot support each other in the event of war with an adversary such as South Korea. The limited range of its vessels means that, even in peacetime, it is virtually impossible for a ship on one coast to visit the other coast.