North Korea drammatically increases commandoes.

North Korea maintains 200,000 or more special forces, trained for irregular warfare against South Korea, a ruling party lawmaker said Sunday.

Citing data submitted by the Ministry of National Defense, Rep. Kim Ok-ee of the Grand National Party reported that North Korea has more than 200,000 special forces, about 1,000 ballistic missiles, 2,500 to 5,000 tons of chemical weapons, and some 700 pieces of long-range artillery.

The North also operates about 70 submarines and up to 700 cyber hackers, the lawmaker said.

The North Korean military has increased the number of special forces since 2006, when the regime was believed to have about 120,000 such troops, she said.

North Korea possesses hundreds of Scud missiles with a range of 300 to 500 kilometers, and about 200 Rodong missiles with a range of 1,300 kilometers.

The North is also believed to have developed a 3,000-kilometer-range intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). It is developing a 6,700-kilometer-range Taepodong-2 missile that can reach the U.S. continent.


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