Despite using many outdated weapons, the North Korean military is still considered a formidable force in the world.
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| The North Korean military (KPA) has 700,000 regular soldiers and 4.5 million reservists. In addition, the country has approximately 13 million people eligible for combat. Global Fire Power ranks North Korea 25th in the world in terms of military strength. |
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| The army is the largest and most important branch of the North Korean military. While it has a large number of soldiers, it still primarily uses outdated weapons and equipment. |
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| Pokpung-ho (left) is the most modern main battle tank developed and manufactured by North Korea in the 1990s, based on the technology of the T-62, T-72, and Type-88 tanks. |
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| The North Korean army's strength lies in its artillery force, which is considered to possess one of the world's largest numbers of artillery pieces and highly trained artillery crews. |
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| North Korea possesses approximately 4,300 towed artillery pieces, 2,250 self-propelled artillery pieces, and 2,400 multiple rocket launcher systems. |
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| In addition, Pyongyang has deployed numerous fixed artillery systems with large calibers and long ranges. Most of North Korea's main artillery pieces have a range that can reach the South Korean capital, Seoul. |
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| With 940 aircraft of various types, the North Korean Air Force ranks 10th in the world in terms of the number of fighter jets in its inventory. The country possesses approximately 16 to 35 MiG-29 fighters and an unspecified number of MiG-23MLs. These are North Korea's most modern combat aircraft. |
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| The North Korean Air Force is considered outdated, still operating many aging fighter jets such as the MiG-17, MiG-19, and MiG-21. These are used for ground attack missions, rather than directly engaging more modern adversaries like the F-15 and F-16 of the US and South Korea. |
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| The North Korean navy is one of the forces with the largest number of submarines in the world. |
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| Pyongyang's surface vessels are primarily small patrol gunboats. However, the country is building at least two stealth missile frigates, based on a Myanmar design. |
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| Pyongyang possesses various types of short- and medium-range ballistic missiles such as the Hwasong and Rodong, along with intercontinental ballistic missiles under testing such as the Taepodong-2 and KN-08 with a range of over 10,000 km. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un recently announced that the country is in the final stages of a test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States. |
According to VNE
