North Korea Built One of the Largest Militaries in the World
North Korea never stops funneling money into its military, no matter how much their people suffer because of it. There are no public records that reveal how much money the North Korean government spends on the military, but the state claims it is 15.8%. Many believe that this is far below the actual number and put the real percentage of military spending in the government budget at 25% to 38%.
Military training is mandatory for all men in North Korea and there are anywhere from 1.5 million to 6 million men ready to fight at a moment’s notice. All men in the country are required to serve ten years in the armed forces once they turn 18. The age used to be 13, but it was recently raised. Women are also forced to take part in military service once they turn 18, but they are only forced to remain until they turn 23.
But it is not just manpower that the North Korean military has in large supply. They also have the same number of submarines as the United States military, which spends more money on its military force than any other nation in the world. Current estimates of the strength of their military credit the North Korean army with 4,100 tanks, 6,500 artillery guns, 1,000 planes, and over 2,000 rocket launchers. Most of the equipment is old, poorly maintained, and does not have the required fuel to function, but it is still unheard for a small country to have such a large military arsenal.
The North Korean army is shrouded in secrecy, but what is known is startling. There is a chemical weapons division, but no one knows what weapons the unit may or not may not have, or what it may be trying to develop. North Korea also continuously threatens that they have advanced nuclear weapons, even going as far as to display nuclear suicide bombers. Though the backpacks emblazoned with the nuclear symbol appear frightening, most believe that North Korea is not capable of such technology.