The size, organization, disposition, and combat capabilities of the Ground Force give Pyongyang military, albeit technologically inferior, possible options both for limited offensive operations to assault the lower half of the peninsula or for limited defensive operations against any perceived threat from South Korea.

Scalapino and Lee's Communism in Korea: The Society gave an organisation chart in 1972 that showed the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 7th Army Groups (p. 940).

A declassified 1971 CIA document referring to a 1970 DIA assessment[4] appear to indicate that the 1st Army Group included the 13th and 47th Infantry Divisions.

In 1996, a significant portion of the staff, along with local government officials of the VI Corps was arrested and convicted of bribery and corruption.

These forces were garrisoned along major north–south lines of communication that provide rapid, easy access to avenues of approach into South Korea.

The KPAGF has positioned massive numbers of artillery pieces, especially its longer-range systems, close to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separates the two Koreas.

Headquartered in Sariwon, Hwanghae Province, the 820th Corps' mission is to break through to the Korean rear at high speed during wartime."

"..the ROK and US military authorities presume that [the 820th Corps has] a number of armored and mechanized infantry brigades in addition to the 105th Division.

[14] The bi-annual report of North Korea's military capabilities by the ROK's Ministry of National Defense, released in 2018, identified the North Korean Army's strength at 7,620,000 reserves troops, 4,300 tanks, 2,500 armored vehicles, 8,600 artillery guns, 5,500 multiple rocket launchers.

[1] Crucially, the North Korean Army has large numbers of heavy artillery in positions close to the DMZ and near Seoul, the capital of South Korea, a city having a population of approximately 25 million people, around 50% of the total population of South Korea.

These artillery pieces can reach the northern parts of Seoul, and are often considered to be a more significant threat than North Korea's nuclear weapons.

Some male troops may also wear knee-high boots, reserved for the guard of honour in ceremonies such as welcoming the supreme leader Kim Jong-Un and foreign dignatries, as well as formal parades, often making the pants "baggier".

During the parade on 10 October 2020, a range of at least 5 new pixelated camouflage patterns and new soldiers’ combat gear of all branches, including the North Korea People's Ground Forces were shown for the first time.