Military power of South Korea & Russia
South Korea vs Russia
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.
More about South Korea militaryRussia is a country located in North Asia bordering the Arctic Ocean with an area of 17,098,242 km2 (land boundries: 22,407 km and costline 37,653 km). The capital of Russia is Moscow. The number of inhabitants is 146,171,015.
On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine with an estimated 150 k troops. Russia is the leading member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The Russian Federation's military is equipped with domestically-produced weapons systems. Russia is the world's second largest exporter of military hardware and has the world's largest stockpile of nuclear weapons.
More about Russia militaryIf you want to check the comparison in terms of economic ratios check out CompareEconomy.com
Military expenditures
KR | RU | |
---|---|---|
Military budget: | 44 billion $ | 86.4 billion $ |
Percent of GDP: | 2.5% | 4.1% |
Manpower
KR | RU | |
---|---|---|
Active personnel: | 555,000 | 1,000,000 |
Reserve personnel: | 2,750,000 | 2,000,000 |
Available for military: | 13,185,794 | 34,765,736 |
Land Forces
KR | RU | ||
---|---|---|---|
Tanks: | 2,606 | 12,267 | |
Armoured fighting vehicles: | 4,380 | 24,172 | |
Total artillery: | 7,468 | 18,266 | |
Self-propelled artillery: | 3,040 | 6,443 | |
Rocket artillery: | 574 | 4,331 |
Air Forces
KR | RU | ||
---|---|---|---|
Total aircraft: | 1,585 | 4,418 | |
Fighter aircraft: | 156 | 340 | |
Multirole aircraft: | 371 | 382 | |
Attack aircraft: | 0 | 689 | |
Helicopters: | 757 | 1,665 | |
UCAV (combat drone): | 0 | 100 |
Navy
KR | RU | ||
---|---|---|---|
Total naval: | 195 | 653 | |
Aircraftcarriers: | 2 | 1 | |
Destroyers: | 12 | 14 | |
Frigates: | 18 | 11 | |
Corvettes: | 11 | 80 | |
Submarines: | 22 | 66 |
☢ Nuclear weapons
South Korea
Does not have nuclear weapons.
Russia
The second most important state when it comes to researching, developing, and then storing nuclear weapon. Although the Russians managed to catch up with Americans later on, it was only in 1949 that the first nuclear test conducted by then the Soviet Union occurred. It was still quite a surprise for the Western Powers, who believed that Russia won’t be capable of producing nuclear warheads until 1953-1954. After the first test, the nation in question started to rapidly increase the amount of warheads they possessed. In the end of 1980s, they were the leading power when it comes to total number of warheads stored. It was approximately 40,000 warheads.
Nowadays, similarly to United States, the Russians store a total number of 6490 warheads, what is scarcely more than USA. When it comes to the number of deployed warheads, the amount is the same as in case of Americans, namely 1600 deployed warheads. We should also remember about the fact that Russia conducted over 700 tests, what makes them the second most important nation when it comes to developing nuclear weapons. However, it was the Soviet Union that managed to create the biggest bomb in the world. Known as Tsar Bomba, it had blast yield of 50 megatons of TNT.
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.
Russia
18-27 years of age for compulsory or voluntary military service; males are registered for the draft at 17 years of age; 1-year service obligation (conscripts can only be sent to combat zones after 6 months of training); reserve obligation for non-officers to age 50; enrollment in military schools from the age of 16, cadets classified as members of the armed forces.