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Military power of South Korea & Japan

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South Korea vs Japan

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South Korea Japan

South Korea is a country located in Eastern Asia with an area of 100,210 km2 (land boundries: 237 km and costline 2,413 km). The capital of South Korea is Seoul. The number of inhabitants is 51,709,098.

US-South Korea Mutual Defense Treaty is a cornerstone of South Korea’s security. The Treaty gave the US permission to station land, air, and sea forces in the territory of South Korea. The USA maintained approximately 28,000 military personnel in the country. South Korea has been engaged with NATO through dialogue and security cooperation since 2005 and is considered by NATO to be a global partner. The South Korean military is equipped with a mix of domestically-produced and imported weapons systems. The top foreign weapons supplier is the United States and some domestically-produced systems are built under US license.

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Japan is a country located in Eastern Asia with an area of 377,944 km2 (land boundries: 0 km and costline 29,751 km). The capital of Japan is Tokyo. The number of inhabitants is 125,360,000.

The current Self Defense Force was founded in 1954. Japan has Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA) status with the USA. Approximately 55,000 US troops and other military assets, including aircraft and naval ships, were stationed in Japan and had exclusive use of more than 80 bases and facilities. In exchange for their use, the US guarantees Japan’s security. The JSDF is equipped with a mix of imported and domestically-produced equipment. The majority of its weapons imports are from the US and some domestically-produced weapons are US-origin and manufactured under license.

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If you want to check the comparison in terms of economic ratios check out CompareEconomy.com

Military expenditures

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Military budget: 50.2 billion $ 53.1 billion $
Percent of GDP: 2.8% 1.2%

Military budget

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Highest value in the world: 816 billion $ (USA)
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Manpower

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Active personnel: 555,000 247,150
Reserve personnel: 2,750,000 56,100
Available for military: 13,185,794 27,301,443

Active

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Highest value in the world: 2,035,000 (China)
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Land Forces

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Tanks: 2,606 1,004
Armoured fighting vehicles: 4,380 3,072
Total artillery: 7,468 623
Self-propelled artillery: 3,040 214
Rocket artillery: 574 99

Tanks

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Highest value in the world: 12,267 (Russia)
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Air Forces

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Total aircraft: 1,585 1,444
Fighter aircraft: 156 155
Multirole aircraft: 371 79
Attack aircraft: 0 0
Helicopters: 757 698
UCAV (combat drone): 0 0

Total aircraft

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Highest value in the world: 12,930 (USA)
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Navy

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Total naval: 195 140
Aircraftcarriers: 2 4
Destroyers: 12 36
Frigates: 18 2
Corvettes: 11 6
Submarines: 22 22

Total naval

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Highest value in the world: 967 (North Korea)
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Nuclear weapons

South Korea

Does not have nuclear weapons.

Japan

Does not have nuclear weapons.

Military service

South Korea

20-30 years of age for compulsory military service, with middle school education required; minimum conscript service obligation - 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, admitted to 7 service branches, including infantry, but excluded from artillery, armor, anti-air, and chaplaincy corps; HIV-positive individuals are exempt from military service.

Japan

18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription; mandatory retirement at age 53 for senior enlisted personnel and at 62 years for senior service officers.