Military power of China & North Korea
China vs North Korea
Show map
China is a country located in Eastern Asia with an area of 9,596,961 km2 (land boundries: 22,457 km and costline 14,500 km). The capital of China is Beijing. The number of inhabitants is 1,444,390,177.
The People's Liberation Army is the military arm of the ruling Chinese Communist Party, which oversees the PLA through its Central Military Commission. The PLA is outfitted primarily with a wide mix of older and modern domestically-produced systems heavily influenced by technology derived from other countries. Russia is the main supplier military equipment outside the domestic industry.
More about China militaryNorth Korea is a country located in Eastern Asia with an area of 120,540 km2 (land boundries: 1,607 km and costline 2,495 km). The capital of North Korea is Pyongyang. The number of inhabitants is 25,549,604.
The KPA is equipped with older weapon systems originally acquired from the former Soviet Union, Russia, and China, as well as some domestically-produced equipment. The North Korea produces a diverse array of military hardware like light armored vehicles, tanks, naval vessels and submarines, and advanced weapons systems, such as ballistic missiles. North Korea developing also nuclear weapons.
More about North Korea militaryIf you want to check the comparison in terms of economic ratios check out CompareEconomy.com
Military expenditures
 CN |  KP | |
|---|---|---|
| Military budget: | 293 billion $ | 1.6 billion $ |
| Percent of GDP: | 1.7% | 4.9% |
Manpower
| CN | KP | |
|---|---|---|
| Active personnel: | 2,035,000 | 1,280,000 |
| Reserve personnel: | 2,000,000 | 600,000 |
| Available for military: | 385,821,101 | 6,515,279 |
Land Forces
| CN | KP | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tanks: | 5,750 | 6,000 | |
| Armoured fighting vehicles: | 14,130 | 4,000 | |
| Total artillery: | 7,094 | 13,000 | |
| Self-propelled artillery: | 2,720 | 4,500 | |
| Rocket artillery: | 3,140 | 4,000 |
Air Forces
| CN | KP | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Total aircraft: | 4,630 | 960 | |
| Fighter aircraft: | 1,049 | 349 | |
| Multirole aircraft: | 1,130 | 35 | |
| Attack aircraft: | 120 | 188 | |
| Helicopters: | 1,355 | 202 | |
| UCAV (combat drone): | 151 | 0 |
Navy
| CN | KP | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Total naval: | 742 | 967 | |
| Aircraftcarriers: | 4 | 0 | |
| Destroyers: | 38 | 0 | |
| Frigates: | 54 | 2 | |
| Corvettes: | 73 | 8 | |
| Submarines: | 74 | 72 |
☢ Nuclear weapons
China
The last of five nuclear-weapon states under the NPT, which at this moment possesses approximately 280 nuclear warheads in total. Nevertheless, the number of deployed bombs is unknown. The first test that occurred to be successful occurred in 1964. The main goal of Chinese was to build a deterrent against two major nuclear powers, namely The United States as well as The Soviet Union. The nation decided to choose dried lake for the nuclear site, Lop Nur. Although China developed and tested its first atomic device only in 1964, they managed to test their first hydrogen bomb only 32 months later. As a result, they can boast with the shortest period between developing fission and fusion technology.
China managed to conduct 45 tests of nuclear weapons. Still, the data regarding the stockpile of accumulated warheads is uncertain. The same thing concerns the number of deployed warheads. It is all due to the limited information that the country provides. We should also bear in mind that they are the only country out of five nuclear-weapon states under the NPT that does not give a positive security assurance.
North Korea
Although at the beginning North Korea joined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, they withdrew from it on January 2003. It was a consequence of the United States accusation. The USA government claimed that North Korea was unofficially funding a program of uranium enrichment. Because of that, they cancelled the 1994 Agreed Framework treaty and cut off the energy assistance. Two years after withdrawing, the officials from North Korea claimed that they own operational nuclear arsenal. In spite of North Koreans assurances, the United States did not believe that North Korea really posses such weapons. As a result, the government of North Korea decided to conduct tests.
There were three tests that North Korea initially conducted. The first one, with the yield of less than a kiloton, took place in 2006. However, to show that this was in fact a nuclear detonation, North Koreans conducted second and third tests, respectable in 2009 and 2013. The maximum power of the blast of the aforementioned tests can be estimated to be up to 40 kilotons. However, a lot of sources claim that yield did not surpass 10-15 kilotons. Noteworthy is also the fact that in 2016, North Korea announced that they have conducted their first hydrogen-bomb test.
Military service
China
18-24 years of age for selective compulsory military service, with a 2-year service obligation; no minimum age for voluntary service (all officers are volunteers); 18-19 years of age for women high school graduates who meet requirements for specific military jobs; a recent military decision allows women in combat roles.
North Korea
18 is presumed to be the legal minimum age for compulsory military service; 16-17 is the presumed legal minimum age for voluntary service.