Vol. 2, No. 6 - June 2011
A DPRK produced M-1978 170 mm self-propelled gun in service with the Iranian Army. (www.sajed.ir)
Articles in this issue include,
"M-1979/M-1989 170 mm Self-propelled Guns, Part I," by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr.
During the mid-to-late 1970s, as part of a wide-ranging effort to modernize and mechanized the Korean People’s Army (KPA), the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) newly established Second Economic Committee initiated production of a number of self-propelled artillery systems. Among these was the heavy M-1978 170 mm “Koksan” self-propelled gun.
"12th Supreme People’s Assembly," by Michael Madden
The 12th Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) held its 4th session on Thursday, 7 April 2011. The DPRK’s 687-member unicameral legislature meets at least once a year to approve the government budget and the annual report of the DPRK Cabinet. Three of the 12th SPA’s four sessions have convened during the month of April, which on the national calendar has two major national holidays (the anniversary of the foundation of the Korean People’s Army and Kim Il So’ng’s birthday, also known as Sun’s Day) and several anniversaries. The 4th session of the 12th SPA also occurred one year before the country celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth Kim Il-song when the country will “fling open the gate to a powerful state by all means in 2012, marking the fatherly leader’s centennial birth anniversary.”
Addendum: Type-63 107mm MRL
Editor’s Note and Endnotes