Korean People's Army
| Korean People's Army |
|---|
| Military manpower |
| Military age (males) | 17 years of age (2004) |
| Availability (males) | 17-49: 5,851,801 (2005 est.) |
| Fit for military service (males) | 17-49: 4,810,831 (2005 est.) |
| Reaching military age annually (males) | 194,605 (2005 est.) |
| Active troops | 1,102,600 (Ranked 5th) |
| Total troops | 5,995,000 (Ranked 4th) |
| Military expenditures |
| Dollar figure | $5.2174 billion (FY02) |
| Percent of GDP | 22.9% (2003 est.) |
Korean People's Army refers to the armed personnel of the
military of
North Korea.
According to western estimates, North Korea has the fifth-largest military in the world, with the largest percentage of citizens enlisted (49.03 active troops per thousand citizens). The North has an estimated 1.08 million armed personnel, compared to about 686,000
South Korean troops (and 4.5 million paramilitary forces) plus 17,000 US troops in
South Korea. Military spending is estimated at 20%-25% of
GNP, which would mean that the DPRK spends the largest proportion of its GNP on its military in the world. Roughly 20% of North Korean men between the ages of 17 and 54 serve in the regular armed forces. As a result, DPRK forces are thought to have a substantial numerical advantage over the South (as high as 3 to 1) in several key categories of offensive weapons like
tanks, long-range
artillery, and
Armored personnel carriers. However, despite this numerical superiority, much of North Korea's land arsenal is considerably inferior when compared with the South's more modern and capable weapons systems. South Korea is also engaged in a military alliance with the United States for protection, with several units of the United States armed forces stationed in South Korea.
The North has perhaps the world's second-largest
special operations force (55,000), designed for insertion behind enemy lines in wartime. While the North has a relatively impressive fleet of
submarines (especially small submarines for infiltrating South Korean waters), its submarines are old Russian purchases such as Golf and Romeo class submarines, hardly comparable to modern submarines in the seas today. Its surface fleet has a very limited capability. Its air force has twice the number of aircraft as the South, but except for a few advanced fighters (about 20
MiG-29s), the North's air force is obsolete. The North, like the South, deploys the bulk of its forces well forward, within 100 miles of the
Korean DMZ, to include 700,000 troops, 8,000 artillery systems, and 2,000 tanks. Several North Korean military tunnels under the DMZ were discovered in the 1970s.
In 1953, the
Military Armistice Commission (MAC) was created to oversee and enforce the terms of the armistice. The
Neutral Nation Supervisory Committee (NNSC), originally made up of delegations from
Poland and
Czechoslovakia on the
North Korean-
Chinese People's Volunteers side, and
Sweden and
Switzerland on the
United Nations side, monitored the activities of the MAC.
North Korea is technically still at war with
South Korea. In recent years, North Korea has sought to dismantle the MAC in a push for a new peace mechanism on the peninsula. In April
1994, it declared the MAC void and withdrew its representatives. Prior to this, it had effectively ended the functions of the NNSC.
Also over the last several years, the North has allegedly moved even more of its rear-echelon troops to hardened
bunkers closer to the DMZ. Given the proximity of
Seoul to the DMZ (some 25 miles),
South Korean and
United States forces are likely to have little warning of any attack. The United States and South Korea continue to state that the U.S. troop presence remains an effective deterrent.
* Korean People's Army
**
North Korea Ground Force**
North Korea Naval Force - 45 ships
**
North Korea Air Force* Civil Security Forces
*
Comparative military ranks of Korea*
North Korea*
North Korea and weapons of mass destruction*
Korean Demilitarized Zone*
List of Korea-related topics*
Nodong-1*
Military of South Korea*[https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/kn.html CIA World Factbook]
*
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