North Has Far More Conventional Weapons Than South... 5,500 North Rocket Launchers vs. 270 South

On the 26th, Korean Central TV reported that Kim Jong Un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, directly organized and commanded a "demonstration firing" of a new tactical guided weapon (short-range ballistic missile) on the 25th in response to the South Korea-U.S. military exercises and the South's introduction of new military equipment.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] It has been pointed out that North Korea shows numerical superiority not only in its asymmetric power of 'nuclear armament' but also in conventional weapons.

According to an analysis by Lim Byung-heon, a member of the People Power Party, of the military power data between South and North Korea from 2012 to 2020 submitted by the Ministry of National Defense on the 20th, it was found that the number of personnel in the army and air force, as well as the number of weapons possessed by the North Korean navy and air force, are overwhelmingly greater than those of the South Korean military.

In 2020, North Korea possessed about 70 naval submarines, while our military had only about 10, and in terms of air force fighter jets, we had about 410, whereas North Korea had about 810.

Regarding army tanks, the number of tanks North Korea possesses (about 4,300) is more than double the quantity held by our military (about 2,130). North Korea's artillery (about 8,800 pieces) also exceeds ours by about 2,800 pieces, as we have about 6,000. In particular, Lim pointed out that North Korea has about 5,500 multiple rocket launchers, while our military has only about 270.

Lim stated, "Even excluding weapons of mass destruction such as nuclear, chemical, biological, and radiological weapons, there is a stark gap in conventional weapons," and argued, "More bold investment is needed for self-reliant national defense."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.