DEMOCRATIC PEOPLES' REPUBLIC OF KOREA
CURRENT MILITARY & NAVAL FLAGS
Notes
The national flag of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) was adopted in 1948. The colors symbolize the people's desire for peace (blue), the revolutionary socialist spirit (red) and the purity and sovereignty the state (white). The red star symbolizes the leadership role of the Korean Workers Party (KWP) in the struggle to build socialism. The flag of the KWP is red for socialism with the Party badge in yellow. The badge consists of a hammer, symbolizing workers; a brush, symbolizing intellectuals; and a hoe, symbolizing the peasantry. The three implements are crossed to symbolize the unity and cooperation of the three groups. The naval and military flags of North Korea are based on these two flags.
The national flag serves as the naval jack. The naval ensign displays the badge of the Navy, a radiant red star over the ocean. For ships and units awarded the title Guards, the golden Guards badge is added in the fly. So far as is known there are no naval rank flags or pennants.
The ceremonial color of the Korean Peoples Army (KPA) is a fringed variant of the national flag with the state coat or arms replacing the red star. These arms are a typical specimen of socialist heraldry, depicting a hydroelectric dam under a radiant red star. The inscriptions on the blue stripes read: “For the independence of the Motherland and the people!”
Units of each branch of the armed forces are granted ceremonial colors. On the obverse is the branch badge; on the reverse appears the KWP badge. The inscriptions on the obverse read: “The Unification and Independence of the Motherland” (top) and “For the Freedom and Liberation of the People” (bottom). Those on the reverse read: “Korean Worker's Party's Revolutionary Armed Forces” (top) and “Korean People's Army 425 Unit” (bottom). The numbers 425 are not a unit designation; they refer to April 25, 1932, the date of the KPA’s foundation.
The Worker-Peasant Red Guard is a regionally based paramilitary organization or militia of the KWP under the operational control of the National Defense Committee. Shown below is the previous pattern of ceremonial color for the Red Guard. The inscriptions on the obverse read: “Revolutionary leaders headed by great comrade Kim Jong Il” (top) and “Let us defend them to the death!” (bottom). The Inscription on the reverse reads: “Worker-Peasant Red Guards.” The current version of this flag has the same inscriptions on the obverse as the KPA colors.
