The composition of the North Korean military.
Currently, the North Korean military is divided into multiple branches, including the Army, Air Force, Navy, Strategic Forces, Special Operations Forces, and Social Security Forces.
As for the exact number of personnel in the North Korean military, there is currently no authoritative information because North Korea has not disclosed this data, and foreign institutions can only speculate.
It is estimated that the total number of personnel in the North Korean military is approximately between 1.2 million and 1.3 million.
Of these, the Army accounts for about 900,000 personnel, making it the absolute main force.
However, these are only estimated figures from external sources.
In terms of military strength, North Korea is one of the few countries in the world with a million-strong army.
Currently, countries like China, the United States, Russia, and India have standing armies of over a million.
These countries are large nations with vast territories, heavy responsibilities, relatively strong economies, and large populations, thus requiring sizable standing armies.
For example, the United States, as the world's foremost superpower, has a population exceeding 1.4 billion in both China and India.
Russia has vast territory and complex tasks.
North Korea's situation is different. As of 2021, its total population is only about 26 million.
Maintaining a standing army of over a million presents enormous pressure for a country with less than 26 million people.
With a population of less than 26 million, North Korea must maintain a million-strong army over the long term.
According to the conscription periods of other countries, young adults in North Korea simply cannot rotate out.
Generally, the conscription periods in most countries range from 1 to 3 years.
Taking the Chinese People's Liberation Army as an example, since the late 1990s, the conscription period for conscripts has been 2 years.
Of course, some southeastern provinces of China once implemented a conscription system lasting up to 4 months, known as the "4-month conscripts".
However, North Korea's situation is different, with noticeably longer conscription periods.
It is reported that young men and women above 17 years old must serve, with relatively long service periods.
The service period in the Army ranges from 6 to 9 years (varying according to branch and region), 5 to 10 years in the Navy, and 4 to 5 years in the Air Force, among other branches.
Due to the long service period, the average age of marriage for young people in North Korea is generally later, around 27 to 28 years old.
With a large number of female youth also required to serve, statistics show that there are over 170,000 female personnel in the North Korean military, a very high proportion.
Only by maintaining service periods of 5 to 10 years can a standing army of over a million be ensured.
At the same time, it ensures that the new generation of youth gradually matures and takes over the tasks of the previous generation.
However, the large number of young adults needing long-term service leads to a shortage of labor in society, posing problems for both industrial and agricultural production due to insufficient numbers of young adults.
According to media reports, North Korea needs to import hundreds of thousands of tons of food every year, mainly rice, importing about 70,000 tons per month, close to 1 million tons annually.
Due to the relatively low price of Vietnamese rice, North Korea often imports from Vietnam.
For example, in 2012, Vietnam even provided 5,000 tons of rice in aid to North Korea.
However, as North Korea must maintain a million-strong army over the long term, its weapons and equipment and technological capabilities are significantly inferior to those of the United States and South Korea.
In this situation, North Korea can only rely on its numerical advantage to compensate for its lack of quality.
Taking the North Korean Army as an example, its total personnel, tanks, armored vehicles, and various types of artillery are basically more than double that of South Korea.
To maintain this large number, the North Korean military still uses T-34 series tanks.
The North Korean Air Force has a large number of aircraft, including a large number of MiG-17s, MiG-19s, J-5s, and J-6s.
The MiG-21s provided by the Soviet Union and the J-7s exported by China have become the main types.
The official minimum food requirement set by North Korea is 5.18 million tons, while its grain production in 2022 was approximately 4.5 million tons.
Therefore, North Korea needs to import about 1 million tons of food annually, mainly from China, Vietnam, Cambodia, and other countries.
Contrary to traditional impressions, North Korea has its own industrial production system, capable of independently producing electronic products, clothing, cosmetics, beverages, furniture, and more.
At the same time, North Korea is also a significant producer of wigs in East Asia. In 2023, China-North Korea trade grew by as much as 148.4% year-on-year, reaching a total of $16.2 billion.
The most imported commodity from North Korea to China is wigs, which once accounted for 57% of the total import trade, reaching 1,821 tons.
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