Armed Forces of the Republic of Korea: Republic of Korea Army (ROKA), Navy (ROKN, includes Marine Corps, ROKMC), Air Force (ROKAF); Military reserves include Mobilization Reserve Forces (First Combat Forces) and Homeland Defense Forces (Regional Combat Forces); Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries: Korea Coast Guard (2021)
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
18-28 years of age for compulsory military service; minimum conscript service obligation varies by service- 21 months (Army, Marines), 23 months (Navy), 24 months (Air Force); 18-26 years of age for voluntary military service; women, in service since 1950, are able to serve in all branches, including as officers (2020)
note: South Korea intends to reduce the length of military service to 18 - 22 months by 2022
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
2.7% of GDP (2020 est.)
2.7% of GDP (2019)
2.6% of GDP (2018)
2.6% of GDP (2017)
2.6% of GDP (2016)
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
the Republic of Korea Armed Forces have approximately 555,000 active duty personnel (420,000 Army; 70,000 Navy/Marines; 65,000 Air Force) (2020)
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 Republic of Korea Armed Forces are equipped with a mix of domestically-produced and imported weapons systems; domestic production includes armored fighting vehicles, artillery, aircraft, and naval ships; the top foreign weapons supplier is the US and some domestically-produced systems are built under US license; Germany is the second largest supplier of armaments since 2010 (2020)
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)
