Military power of South Korea & Taiwan
South Korea vs Taiwan
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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 militaryTaiwan is a country located in Eastern Asia with an area of 36,193 km2 (land boundries: 0 km and costline 1,566.3 km). The capital of Taiwan is Taipei. The number of inhabitants is 23,568,378.
The Taiwan military is armed mostly with second-hand weapons and equipment provided by the USA. Taiwan also has a domestic defense industry capable of building a range of military equipment.
More about Taiwan militaryIf you want to check the comparison in terms of economic ratios check out CompareEconomy.com
Military expenditures
 KR |  TW | |
|---|---|---|
| Military budget: | 45.5 billion $ | 13 billion $ |
| Percent of GDP: | 2.7% | 2.3% |
Manpower
| KR | TW | |
|---|---|---|
| Active personnel: | 555,000 | 290,000 |
| Reserve personnel: | 2,750,000 | 2,800,000 |
| Available for military: | 13,185,794 | 5,883,828 |
Land Forces
| KR | TW | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tanks: | 2,606 | 1,160 | |
| Armoured fighting vehicles: | 4,380 | 1,714 | |
| Total artillery: | 7,468 | 1,944 | |
| Self-propelled artillery: | 3,040 | 440 | |
| Rocket artillery: | 574 | 126 |
Air Forces
| KR | TW | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Total aircraft: | 1,585 | 814 | |
| Fighter aircraft: | 156 | 129 | |
| Multirole aircraft: | 371 | 189 | |
| Attack aircraft: | 0 | 0 | |
| Helicopters: | 757 | 237 | |
| UCAV (combat drone): | 0 | 0 |
Navy
| KR | TW | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Total naval: | 195 | 96 | |
| Aircraftcarriers: | 2 | 0 | |
| Destroyers: | 12 | 4 | |
| Frigates: | 18 | 22 | |
| Corvettes: | 11 | 1 | |
| Submarines: | 22 | 4 |
☢ Nuclear weapons
South Korea
Does not have nuclear weapons.
Taiwan
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.
Taiwan
Males 18-36 years of age may volunteer for military service or must complete 4 months of compulsory military training (or substitute civil service in some cases); women may enlist; women in Air Force service are restricted to noncombat roles; for men born before December 1993, compulsory service (military or civil) is 1 year; for 8 years after discharge, men are subject to training recall four times for periods not to exceed 20 days.