Country profile · SD Strength Index
North Korea Military Strength 2026
Score by area
| Air power | 20 | |
| Missiles & strike | 42 | |
| Air & missile defence | 16 | |
| Sea power | 28 | |
| Land forces | 55 | |
| Manpower | 85 | |
| Budget & industry | 12 |
Armed forces in 2026
Key figures
As of 2026-10| Defence budget | 4–10 $bn | C |
| Share of GDP | 15–25 % | C |
| Active personnel | 1.2m–1.3m | C |
| Reserves | 600k–7.6m | C |
| Combat aircraft | 400–550 | C |
| Fifth-generation fighters | 0 | A |
| Attack helicopters | 16–24 | C |
| All military aircraft | 850–1,000 | C |
| Main battle tanks | 3,500–4,300 | C |
| Rocket artillery | 5,000–5,500 | C |
| Aircraft carriers | 0 | A |
| Destroyers | 2–3 | B |
| Frigates | 2–3 | C |
| Submarines | 64–72 | C |
| Ballistic missiles | 200–300 | C |
| Longest missile range | 13k–15k km | C |
| Long-range air-defence batteries | 2–10 | C |
| Nuclear warheads | 50–120 | C |
A confirmed B strong estimate C estimated range
Main equipment
| Equipment | Number | |
|---|---|---|
| Hwasong-20 | — | C |
| Hwasong-19 | — | C |
| Hwasong-18 | — | C |
| Hwasong-11 family (KN-23/24/30, 11Ma) | — | C |
| Choe Hyon class (5,000 t) | 2–3 | B |
| 8,700 t 'strategic guided missile submarine' | 0–1 | C |
| Chonma-20 | — | C |
| MiG-29 | — | C |
| Pantsir-like tracked SPAAG (local) | — | C |
| Saetbyol-9 | — | C |
How strong is North Korea's military in 2026?
Count soldiers and North Korea looks enormous. Silent Dossier estimates about 1.28 million active troops from a population of 26.5 million, with roughly 600,000 trained reservists and a militia of perhaps 5.7 million behind them. Pyongyang says defence takes about 15.7 per cent of the state budget. It has never published the total.
Count usable equipment and the picture shrinks. Our scoring now discounts obsolete hardware, and North Korea pays for it: it sits behind South Korea, India, Japan, Israel, France, Britain, Taiwan and Saudi Arabia. Its conventional forces would struggle against the South alone. Its nuclear and missile arm is another matter, and Washington plans around it.
Does North Korea have nuclear weapons?
Yes. Silent Dossier estimates about 60 assembled warheads, within a plausible range of 50 to 120, and enough fissile material for more. The ninth Party Congress in February 2026 approved a five year plan that calls for more warheads, a 'nuclear trigger' command system and an ICBM launched from under water.
Delivery is improving faster than the stockpile. The solid fuel Hwasong-18 and Hwasong-19 have flown on lofted trajectories; the Hwasong-19 test in October 2024 lasted 86 minutes. The bigger Hwasong-20 appeared at the October 2025 parade with an estimated range of about 15,000 km. Silent Dossier has seen no flight test of it as of October 2026. By 12 October the North had staged 11 ballistic missile launch events in 2026, firing at least 18 missiles.
How strong is the North Korean Air Force and Navy?
The air force is a museum. It has an estimated 480 combat aircraft, mostly MiG-17, MiG-19, MiG-21 and MiG-23 types from the 1950s to the 1970s, short of fuel and seldom flown. Only its MiG-29s are close to modern, and there are perhaps 18 to 35 of them. A transfer of Russian MiG-29s and Su-27s was first claimed in December 2024; delivery remains unconfirmed. It has no fifth generation fighter.
The navy is moving faster. The 5,000 tonne destroyer Choe Hyon was commissioned on 23 June 2026, and a sister ship, Kang Kon, was reportedly commissioned on 6 September with a declared nuclear retaliation role. A third hull was due on 10 October, but its completion is unconfirmed. Pyongyang has also shown an 8,700 tonne submarine it says is nuclear powered. It has not been launched and the reactor is unproven. Most of the fleet is still an estimated 70 small diesel submarines and some 380 patrol craft.
How many tanks and artillery pieces does North Korea have?
Silent Dossier estimates 3,500 to 4,300 tanks. Most are T-55 and T-62 derivatives or local Chonma and Pokpung-ho designs. The new Chonma-20, paraded in October 2025, ran its first combined arms drill in March 2026, and Kim has ordered it into mass service.
Artillery is the real land threat. The army has an estimated 5,500 rocket launchers, from 240mm tubes to the 600mm KN-25, which is big enough to count as a short range ballistic missile. Thousands more self propelled and towed guns sit behind them, though many Koksan guns were reportedly shipped to Russia.
How has the Russia alliance changed North Korea's military?
More than anything since the 1950s. Under the 2024 treaty with Moscow, North Korea sent an estimated 11,000 troops to Russia's Kursk region, where they took roughly 6,000 casualties. It also shipped an estimated 4 to 12 million artillery shells and 150 to 250 KN-23 type missiles.
What came back is harder to pin down. Russian air defence, including at least one Pantsir, is reported to have arrived, and help with submarine reactors is rumoured. The tanks and jets are still old. But thousands of North Korean soldiers have now fought a modern war, and the missile and shipbuilding programmes are running at a pace Pyongyang has never managed before.
Compare North Korea
Combat record and readiness
Sent an estimated 11,000 troops to Russia's Kursk region, including about 1,000 engineers clearing mines, with roughly 6,000 killed or wounded. Its KN-23 missiles have been fired at Ukraine. It has fought no war of its own since 1953.
Makes most of its own missiles, artillery, armour and submarines. Builds solid-fuel Hwasong-18, 19 and 20 ICBMs, Choe Hyon-class destroyers, the Chonma-20 tank and drones, and ships artillery shells to Russia at scale. Two destroyers were commissioned in 2026.
The air force flies old Soviet aircraft and the conventional navy is old and short of fuel, all under UN sanctions. Shell exports have drained stocks. Combat in Russia and Russian air defence and possibly missile technology are improving parts of the force.
Latest Silent Dossier analysis
Questions readers ask
How many nuclear weapons does North Korea have?
Silent Dossier estimates about 60 assembled warheads, within a plausible range of 50 to 120. Its 2026 five year plan calls for more.
How big is the North Korean army?
An estimated 1.28 million active troops, one of the largest standing forces in the world. Behind them are roughly 600,000 reservists and a militia put at about 5.7 million.
Can North Korean missiles reach the US?
Probably. Lofted tests of the solid fuel Hwasong-18 and Hwasong-19 point to ranges of an estimated 13,000 to 15,000 km, enough for the continental United States. The larger Hwasong-20 has not yet been seen in flight.
Does North Korea have a strong air force?
No. Most of its estimated 480 combat aircraft are Soviet and Chinese designs from the 1950s to the 1970s. Fuel shortages keep pilots on the ground.
Did North Korea send troops to Russia?
Yes. An estimated 11,000 North Korean troops were in Russia's Kursk region at the start of 2026, and they are thought to have taken around 6,000 casualties.