North Korea also has 21,100 artillery guns, mostly old Soviet-designed weapons, according to the IISS Military Balance, twice as many as South Korea and almost 8,000 more than China. North Korea has 73 submarines, more than China and far more than the South's 23. The focus on the asymmetric capabilities has been accompanied by a downscaling of the importance of the military within North Korea's power structure. By comparison, South Korea has 628,000 active soldiers, most of whom are also conscripts, and 4.5 million reservists. North Korean military participate in the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang on October 12, 2015.

Source: Thanhnien News July 15, 2016 02:03 UTC