Military capabilities of both North and South Korea

The Korean War is looming again and no one stop the war from happening. It is only a matter of time for the war to start. Not that I wish for a war to happen. Both North and South Korea can not be separated forever. Here's a list of military equipment, money, strength, and soldiers on both sides of Korea.
www.globalfirepower.com...




North Korea Military Strength:
PERSONNEL
Total Population: 23,479,088 [2008]
Population Available: 12,414,017 [2008]
Fit for Military Service: 10,280,687 [2008]
Reaching Military Age Annually: 392,016 [2008]
Active Military Personnel: 1,170,000 [2008]
Active Military Reserve: 4,700,000 [2008]
Active Paramilitary Units: 189,000 [2008]

ARMY
Total Land-Based Weapons: 16,400
Tanks: 3,500 [2006]
Armored Personnel Carriers: 2,500 [2006]
Towed Artillery: 3,500 [2006]
Self-Propelled Guns: 4,400 [2006]
Multiple Rocket Launch Systems: 2,500 [2006]
Mortars: 7,500 [2006]
Anti-Aircraft Weapons: 11,000 [2006]

NAVY
Total Navy Ships: 708
Merchant Marine Strength: 167 [2008]
Major Ports and Harbors: 12
Aircraft Carriers: 0 [2008]
Destroyers: 0 [2008]
Submarines: 97 [2008]
Frigates: 3 [2006]
Patrol & Coastal Craft: 492 [2006]
Mine Warfare Craft: 23 [2006]
Amphibious Craft: 140 [2006]

AIR FORCE
Total Aircraft: 1,778 [2006]
Helicopters: 612 [2006]
Serviceable Airports: 77 [2007]

FINANCES (USD)
Defense Budget: $5,500,000,000 [2005]
Purchasing Power: $40,000,000,000 [2007]

OIL
Oil Production: 141 bbl/day [2005]
Oil Consumption: 10,520 bbl/day [2006]

LOGISTICAL
Labor Force: 20,000,000 [2004]
Roadways: 25,554 km
Railways: 5,235 km

GEOGRAPHIC
Waterways: 2,250 km
Coastline: 2,495 km
Square Land Area: 120,540 km

www.globalfirepower.com...




South Korea Military Strength:
PERSONNEL
Total Population: 48,379,392 [2008]
Population Available: 26,721,668 [2008]
Fit for Military Service: 21,966,367 [2008]
Reaching Military Age Annually: 696,516 [2008]
Active Military Personnel: 687,000 [2008]
Active Military Reserve: 4,500,000 [2008]
Active Paramilitary Units: 22,000 [2008]

ARMY
Total Land-Based Weapons: 8,325
Tanks: 1,060 [2004]
Armored Personnel Carriers: 2,480 [2004]
Towed Artillery: 4,000 [2004]
Self-Propelled Guns: 500 [2004]
Multiple Rocket Launch Systems: 185 [2004]
Mortars: 6,000 [2004]
Anti-Tank Guided Weapons: 58 [2004]
Anti-Aircraft Weapons: 1,692 [2004]

NAVY
Total Navy Ships: 85
Merchant Marine Strength: 812 [2008]
Major Ports and Harbors: 4
Aircraft Carriers: 0 [2008]
Destroyers: 6 [2004]
Submarines: 20 [2004]
Frigates: 9 [2004]
Patrol & Coastal Craft: 75 [2004]
Mine Warfare Craft: 15 [2004]
Amphibious Craft: 28 [2004]

AIR FORCE
Total Aircraft: 538 [2004]
Helicopters: 502 [2004]
Serviceable Airports: 150 [2007]

FINANCES (USD)
Defense Budget: $25,500,000,000 [2007]
Foreign Exch. & Gold: $262,200,000,000 [2007]
Purchasing Power: $1,206,000,000,000 [2007]

OIL
Oil Production: 17,050 bbl/day [2005]
Oil Consumption: 2,130,000 bbl/day [2006]
Proven Oil Reserves: 0 bbl [2006]

LOGISTICAL
Labor Force: 24,220,000 [2007]
Roadways: 102,062 km
Railways: 3,472 km

GEOGRAPHIC
Waterways: 1,608 km
Coastline: 2,413 km
Square Land Area: 98,480 km

www.globalfirepower.com...

I wanted to present this thread as a why to present a insight on how both countries prepare their militaries. Whether how much money they put in, soldiers, or equipment. One thing is this is going to be a lengthy war for both Korea's.

Originally posted by Romantic_Rebel
One thing is this is going to be a lengthy war for both Korea's.

I don’t think it has a chance of lasting very long.

The big thing I have to point out is.... Those statistics are almost totally useless in the modern world.

The jump in lethality that you take from one generation of tank to another can be extreme.

To quote a movie I vaguely remember. "There is fifteen of them, and two of us….. I feel sorry for them."

Put 10 units of last years (fill in the blank) against 1 unit of this years (fill in the blank) and the only thing you will comments about is how one sided the engagement was against the 10 units.

Like the M1A1 tanks against the Iraq tanks. The only problem the US tanks had was… They didn’t know if they would have enough ammo to shoot all the Iraqi tanks..

Put 1778 N K aircraft against 534 S K aircraft. The only thing lucky will be if a single N K aircraft can get off the ground before being blown up.

It’s like saying if the US and N K have a submarine battle, that NK would win because they have more subs than the US……… Um…….. No………. That’s not going to happen.

A more correct representation would be….. What types of tanks, ships, and aircraft make up those numbers. And how many hours flight/operating/training time has those units had.


[edit on 23-5-2010 by Mr Tranny]

You forgot that North Korea also has nuclear weapons and has sucessfully detonated them.

www.youtube.com...

reply to post by sdcigarpig


And you forgot that the ONLY WAY North Korea is gonna be able to detonate one in the South is if they smuggle it down there.

Of course they might be crazy enough to have dug a tunnel under the DMZ and they plan to blow up one under there so they can pass their armored columns...

Also the most important thing is... OIL.

How much OIL does North Korea have in reserves? How far can those tanks go? It was crucial for the Germans or the Russians during WW2, it's crucial now.

My bet is North Korea doesn't have enough oil to even reach Seoul.

Unless...and that is possible, Iran/China gave them millions of barrels to execute the invasion.

And OP, you forgot about SPECIAL FORCES of both countries... North Korea special forces are hardcore... they are like the modern SS... and they are around 180.000...that will NOT SURRENDER and will fight to the death.

If they are able to enter soul by the tens of thousands, it's gonna be ONE HELL OF A FIGHT.

reply to post by Vitchilo


I posted what was on the site of interest. Of course they won't give up easily. This was would be strange and long. Maybe China and Russia will help us out. There's not much North Korea can do to get allies against South Korea. Since the South is more economic then the North.

And OP, you forgot about SPECIAL FORCES of both countries... North Korea special forces are hardcore... they are like the modern SS... and they are around 180.000...that will NOT SURRENDER and will fight to the death.

If they are able to enter soul by the tens of thousands, it's gonna be ONE HELL OF A FIGHT.

There is a double edge sword to that though.

To quote one famous person. “You don’t win a war by dieing for your country. You win the war by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.”

A force that is to eager to die for their country may make fatal errors in their battle plan. You may die a glorious death, or you could pull back, and survive long enough to fight back and win the second time.

A glorious death is only good for the movie screens. A dead soldier does his country no good. One that can keep themselves alive is the one that can fight the enemy.

The kamikaze of WW2 were that idea brought to the extreme. It works good, at first, but then it tails out because all the good pilots are already dead.

Their lack of fear may horrify people at first, but after you have shot all of them, then what?

reply to post by sdcigarpig


They did not successfully detonate a nuclear weapon.

You are reading to much mainstream media and their fear mongering rhetoric.

It was a failure as a weapon.

North Korea would last about a day.

Hell they would be afraid to let their soldiers cross the border or even to actually get close to their southern counterparts.

Maybe these "soldiers' would be sent to the front lines to stop the ROK army!

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/c59fc56ebcb4.jpg[/atsimg]

The ONLY thing that is keeping this North Korean wacko in power is his generals who live a good life kissing his butt repressing the people.

All Koreans are related and their families live both in the north and south.

I doubt the south Koreans would go to war over this.

The north talk so much smack it is not even believable anymore.



[edit on 23-5-2010 by Oneolddude]

[edit on 23-5-2010 by Oneolddude]

thank you for the full statistics!

We have to notice, however, that North Korea has equipped and readied 1.1 mln army second only to the Chinese in the region. South has not a small army either - I forgot 5 or 6 hundred thousand. Well you notice the difference, not only the numbers but also between the harsh NK training and the S.K. democracy. The NK artillery is underground on firing positions with Seoul in range. Any conventional war is already lost for the South to the extend of humiliating position. Kim does not need to invade the entire peninsula, he needs only to enter in the ruined Seoul and "liberate" the countrymen from the "traitor Lee" as the SK president is officially called by KCNA website. Unless USA intervenes with something more than its 28000 servicemen on the peninsula. That is the question - will the war go nuclear, and if yes - who will shoot first, with what - Hiroshima bombs or thermonuclear as some reports say, who will be involved next - USA or China? At least officially SK doesn't possess nuclear weapons on its territory, that makes USA directly involved if a nuclear war breaks out. Unless USA is ready to abandon the South like Vietnam (if for ex. USA is attacked at the same time by someone else). That will make out of Japan a sitting duck. Whether they already managed to convert some of their plutonium on their space rockets, is yet to be seen. The scenarios could go further. I do not think Kim is an idiot, evil yes, but not brainless, contrary to the wide spread ideas in Western media. If he will start something, he will do it coordinated with others. You guess who they are. Not the least Iran and Venezuela's Chavez.

Originally posted by Gliese581
The NK artillery is underground on firing positions with Seoul in range. Any conventional war is already lost for the South to the extend of humiliating position. Kim does not need to invade the entire peninsula, he needs only to enter in the ruined Seoul and "liberate" the countrymen from the "traitor Lee" as the SK president is officially called by KCNA website.

Uh….. That sounds awfully familiar. For some reason…. The phrases … Scuds falling on Israel, Republican guard invades Kuwait. Come to mind. If memory serves me right….. It didn’t turn out too good for the guy in the foxhole.

I don’t think that is the fate that lill Kim wants.

Originally posted by Vitchilo
reply to post by sdcigarpig

 

And you forgot that the ONLY WAY North Korea is gonna be able to detonate one in the South is if they smuggle it down there.

Of course they might be crazy enough to have dug a tunnel under the DMZ and they plan to blow up one under there so they can pass their armored columns...

Since November 15, 1974, the South has discovered four tunnels crossing the DMZ dug by North Korea. This is indicated by the orientation of the blasting lines within each tunnel. Upon their discovery, North Korea claimed that the tunnels were for coal mining; however, no coal has been found in the tunnels, which are dug through granite, but some of the tunnel walls have been painted black to give the appearance of anthracite.[14] The tunnels are believed to have been planned as a military invasion route by North Korea. Each shaft is large enough to permit the passage of an entire infantry division in one hour, though the tunnels are not wide enough for tanks or vehicles. All the tunnels run in a north-south direction and do not have branches. Engineering within the tunnels, following each discovery, has become progressively more advanced. For example, the third tunnel sloped slightly upwards as it progressed southward, to prevent water stagnation. Today, overseas visitors (South Korean passport holders are not permitted to enter the DMZ) may visit the third tunnel during guided tours of the area.

Wiki


They have dug them in the past, and do we know that we have found them all? There is also enough artillery reputed to be dug into position to flatten the SK capital city within hours, if that happened it could cause the SK military to collapse and surrender very quickly.

reply to post by Romantic_Rebel


Consider for a moment. North Korea wins in terms of numbers, but how much of their equipment is 40 years too old? How many old Soviet surplus tansk are they rolling around in as opposed to the south which most likely has better weaponry thanks to their close ties with the US and by extension the majority of the Western powers?

Raw numbers are almost useless when counting the merits of an armed force because almost everything hinges on technology: sufficiently antiquainted technology basically amounts to throwing rocks at a man who has a machine gun, sure you'll hurt him but in the end you're done. That being said more hinges on the training and comfort of the soliders with their weapon systems. So the above analogy is only apt with both forces are equally well trained respectively and in an equal state of readiness.

Surprise would be the North's greatest ally at this point. Those tunnels are probably looking mighty good about now. Ah heck, who am I kidding? There's not going to be a war, I mean a real one. Sure some shots may get fired, sure some soliders will be killed; yes the border may even shift a little, but it's all going to be staged. S. Korea and the US get to be the cowboys, and N. Korea gets to keep its "threatening" image while still looking like it took its medicine.

Edited for Typos.... Whoops

[edit on 24-5-2010 by dontblink]

Originally posted by Mr Tranny
The big thing I have to point out is.... Those statistics are almost totally useless in the modern world.

How do you know for sure? It's not like there has been a real fight in years.

The technological advantage didn't do either the Georgians or the Iraqi's any good versus Russia or Iran respectively.

The amount of troops that each side has stuffed along the DMZ would prevent any war from happening there.
Losses would go into the tens of thousands (if not 100s) on either side at the end of the first day itself.

A naval conflict is plausible if one assumes the the DMZ just becomes a firing range for each side (no concerted push with any invasive objectives).

An aerial conflict may ensue but that is very closely tied into the ground forces and so I doubt that will happen.

There you go.. no war on the Korean Peninsula. Everyone is safe.. except for those sailors, R.I.P. ..

reply to post by Oneolddude


But the family's in North Korea are in hell. How else can we get them out once and for all?