North Korea vs Russia Military Comparison
Side-by-side military strength: active personnel, defense budgets, air force aircraft, and naval assets.
North Korea
1M active troops
$4B budget
VS
Russia
900K active troops
$200B budget
5,895
Tanks
12,420
4,060
Armored Vehicles
30,122
7,750
Artillery
14,145
5,000
Rocket Systems
3,391
458
Fighter Jets
789
21
Helicopters
1,543
967
Warships
605
73
Submarines
70
Nuclear Arsenal
Russia
LARGEST
5,580
WARHEADS
North Korea
NON-NUCLEAR
0
WARHEADS
Warheads Over Time
Estimated total warhead inventories — Federation of American Scientists / SIPRI
Defense Budget vs GDP
Historical defense spending and how it compares to each country's GDP. The % of GDP view normalises for economic size so smaller economies aren't drowned out by absolute dollar figures.
Defense Budget Over Time ($B)
Defense Budget as % of GDP
Source: World Bank Open Data API (MS.MIL.XPND.CD)
Military Active Personnel
North Korea
LARGEST
1.28M
TROOPS
Russia
70.3% OF LARGEST
900K
TROOPS
North Korea has 1.42× the active personnel of Russia
Air Force Total Aircraft
Russia
LARGEST
4.17K
AIRCRAFT
North Korea
22.7% OF LARGEST
946
AIRCRAFT
Russia has 4.41× the aircraft of North Korea
Total Naval Assets
Land Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
North Korea
|
Russia
|
|---|---|---|
| Active Personnel | 1,280,000 | 900,000 |
| Reserve Personnel | 600,000 | 2,000,000 |
| Total Military Personnel | 1,880,000 | 3,350,000 |
| Defense Budget (USD) | $3,600,000,000 | $154,000,000,000 |
| Tanks | 5,895 | 12,420 |
| Armored Vehicles | 4,060 | 30,122 |
| Self-Propelled Artillery | 2,250 | 6,574 |
| Towed Artillery | 5,500 | 7,571 |
| Rocket Projectors | 5,000 | 3,391 |
Air Force — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
North Korea
|
Russia
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Aircraft | 946 | 4,173 |
| Fighters | 458 | 789 |
| Attack Aircraft | 80 | 1,391 |
| Transport Aircraft | 217 | 445 |
| Trainer Aircraft | 170 | 496 |
| Helicopters | 21 | 1,543 |
| Attack Helicopters | 20 | 544 |
Naval Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
North Korea
|
Russia
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Naval Assets | 967 | 605 |
| Aircraft Carriers | 0 | 1 |
| Destroyers | 0 | 15 |
| Frigates | 3 | 11 |
| Corvettes | 0 | 86 |
| Submarines | 73 | 70 |
| Patrol Vessels | 438 | 65 |
| Mine Warfare Vessels | 25 | 47 |
See economy, trade, demographics, and more for this comparison.
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Data compiled from World Bank, IMF, Global Firepower, SIPRI, Numbeo, and Pew Research.
Last updated June 2026.
Sources & methodology