Behind the lines - North Korea's ballistic missile units

North Korea possesses the largest ballistic missile force in the developing world and appears intent on advancing its missile and satellite launch capabilities. The April 2009 launch of the Unha 2 satellite launch vehicle (SLV) and the display of various ballistic missiles during a 10 October 2010 military parade honouring the 65th anniversary of the founding of the Korean Workers' Party (KWP), has reinforced the threat posed by North Korea's ballistic missile force.

While a considerable body of information is available concerning the development of North Korea's individual missile systems, there remains much confusion surrounding the deployment and organisation of the Korean People's Army (KPA) ballistic missile forces. Some information on the subject is available from open sources but this tends to be internally inconsistent, incomplete and confusing.

According to interviews with defence and intelligence officials carried out by Jane's , a significant body of more reliable information has recently become available to allow for a provisional description of the KPA's ballistic missile forces. Furthermore, Jane's analysis of commercially available satellite imagery and other sources has enabled the identification of nine operational KPA missile bases as well as a major missile factory, providing further insight into the country's ballistic missile development, infrastructure and deployment.