Defence spending
US$1.6bn
10.6% of GDPGDP 2022
2018 annual observation. Annual military expenditure, current US dollars at the year's exchange rate; not procurement orders.
FORCETALLY
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East Asia · Military profile
Explore North Korea’s military personnel, defence spending and equipment through sourced data. Country coverage is incomplete.
01 / National data
Military, personnel and economic indicators
2018 annual observation. Annual military expenditure, current US dollars at the year's exchange rate; not procurement orders.
EQUIPMENT & WEAPONS
Equipment listed in inventory and operator sources, grouped by force and category. Sourced quantities retain their date, variant coverage and inventory status. Equipment without a documented count is listed by type.
229 matching equipment types
| Equipment | North Korea |
|---|---|
| Combat aircraft | |
| Chengdu J-7 | 30Korean People's Army Air Force · 2025Wikipedia |
| Ilyushin Il-28 | 80Korean People's Army Air Force · 2025Wikipedia |
| Mikoyan MiG-29 | 35Korean People's Army Air Force · 2025Wikipedia |
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 | 34Korean People's Army Air Force · 2025Wikipedia |
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 | 26Korean People's Army Air Force · 2025Wikipedia |
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 | 46Air Force · 2025 56Korean People's Army Air Force · 2025Wikipedia |
| Shenyang J-5 | 241Korean People's Army Air Force · 2025Wikipedia |
| Shenyang J-6 | 97Korean People's Army Air Force · 2025Wikipedia |
| Sukhoi Su-25 | 68Korean People's Army Air Force · 2025Wikipedia |
| Sukhoi Su-7 | 18Korean People's Army Air Force · 2025Wikipedia |
| Support aircraft | |
| Antonov An-2 | ≥270Korean People's Army Air Force · 2026Wikipedia |
| Antonov An-24 | 1Korean People's Army Air Force · 2025Wikipedia |
| Equipment | North Korea |
|---|---|
| Tanks | |
| Cheonma-2 | In service |
| Chonma-ho | 1,000Korean People's Army Ground Force · 2026Wikipedia |
| K2 Black Panther | In service |
| Model 1981 "Shin'heung" | In service |
| Pokpung-ho | 100Korean People's Army Ground Force · 2026Wikipedia |
| PT-76 | 560Army · 2025 |
| T-34 | In service |
| T-54/T-55 | In service |
| T-62 | 800Korean People's Army Ground Force · 2026Wikipedia |
| Type 59 tank | 175Korean People's Army Ground Force · 2026Wikipedia |
| Armoured vehicles | |
| BRDM-2 | In service |
| BTR-152 | In service |
| Equipment | North Korea |
|---|---|
| Air defence | |
| 9K35 Strela-10 | In service |
| AK-630 | In service |
| HN-5 | In service |
| Pongae-5 | In service |
| S-125 Neva/Pechora | 300Korean People's Army Air Force · 2026Wikipedia |
| S-200 missile system | In service |
| S-75 Dvina | ≥179Air Force · 2025 ≥179Korean People's Army Air Force · 2025 |
| Anti-aircraft guns | |
| 37 mm automatic air defense gun M1939 (61-K) | In service |
| AZP S-60 | 600Korean People's Army Ground Force · 2026Wikipedia |
| ZPU | In service |
| ZU-23-2 | 1,500Korean People's Army Ground Force · 2026Wikipedia |
| Portable air defence | |
| 9K32 Strela-2 | In service |
| Equipment | North Korea |
|---|---|
| Small arms | |
| ADS amphibious rifle | In service |
| AGS-17 | In service |
| AK-105 | In service |
| AK-12 | In service |
| AK-47 | In service |
| AK-74 | In service |
| AKM | In service |
| Browning Hi-Power | In service |
| CZ 75 | In service |
| CZ 82 | In service |
| Daewoo Precision Industries K2 | In service |
| Degtyaryov machine gun | In service |
| Equipment | North Korea |
|---|---|
| Radar & sensors | |
| P-18 radar | In service |
| P-40 radar | In service |
Coverage is incomplete. “Not documented” means no linked inventory evidence, not zero equipment. Methodology ↗
04 / Data record
Points represent sourced observations, including revisions. Revisions on the same effective date are not separate inventory events. Ranges appear in the table and are not plotted as exact points.
| Observation / report period | Value | Source | Claim state |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 2025 IISS population assessment | 26,402,841 people | International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) | superseded |
National full-time active military personnel; the separately reported reserve, gendarmerie and paramilitary totals are excluded.
2025 annual observation. Midyear resident population estimate.
Estimated nominal GDP in current US dollars for 2022, published by the UN Statistics Division using the 1968 System of National Accounts. Not purchasing-power-parity GDP or gross national income.
Approximate North Korean Air Force fixed-wing combat-aircraft force-posture total as of December 2022. The source lists trainers, ISR/C2 aircraft, transport aircraft and rotary-wing aircraft separately. This is a rounded South Korean defence ministry estimate, not a readiness measure or a current exact count.
2020 annual observation. Active-duty military personnel, including qualifying paramilitary forces; not an active-regular-only count.
National military reserve pool; excludes the separately reported active and paramilitary personnel. Training/mobilisation definitions remain source-specific. The printed ε identifies an IISS estimate.
Commissioned cruisers, destroyers and frigates in the national fleet; excludes aircraft carriers, corvettes, patrol, amphibious and support vessels. Fleet count, not immediately deployable strength.
Commissioned military submarines in the national fleet; excludes orders, construction and uncommissioned trial boats. Fleet count, not immediately deployable strength.
Warheads in the military stockpile: in the custody of the military and earmarked for use by military forces, deployed or in reserve. Excludes retired warheads awaiting dismantlement.
At least 3,500 tanks in the source’s explicit MBT category; excludes separately listed PT-76/M-1985 light tanks.
Approximate North Korean Air Force fixed-wing transport-aircraft force-posture total as of December 2022, including AN-2 aircraft where operated. Uses the North Korea column; the source lists trainers and rotary-wing aircraft separately. This is a rounded South Korean defence ministry estimate, not a readiness measure or a current exact count.