| Military branches | Korean People's Army (KPA): KPA Ground Forces, KPA Navy, KPA Air Force (includes air defense), KPA Strategic Forces (missile forces); Security Guard Command (protects the Kim family, other senior leadership figures, and government facilities); Ministry of Public Security: Border Guards, civil security forces (2021) |
| Military service age and obligation | 17 years of age for compulsory male and female military service; service obligation 10 years for men, to age 23 for women (reportedly reduced in 2021 to 8 years for men and 5 years for women) (2021) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | in 2019, it was assessed that North Korea spent between 22% and 24% of GDP (between US$3.7 billion and US$4.2bn in 2017 dollars) annually on the military between 2007 and 2017 |
| Military and security service personnel strengths | assessments of the size of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) vary widely; approximately 1.1-1.2 million active troops (950,000-1.0 million Army; 110-120,000 Air Force; 60,000 Navy; 10,000 Strategic Missile Forces); est. 200,000 Public Security forces (2020) |
| Military equipment inventories and acquisitions | the KPA is equipped mostly with older weapon systems originally acquired from the former Soviet Union, Russia, and China; North Korea manufactures copies and provides some upgrades to these weapon systems; it also has a robust domestic ballistic missile program based largely on missiles acquired from the former Soviet Union; since 2010, there were no publicly-reported transfers of weapons to North Korea; between 2000 and 2010, Russia was the only recorded provider of arms (2020) |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
