North Korea vs United States of America 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
United States of America
1M active troops
$800B budget
5,895
Tanks
6,612
4,060
Armored Vehicles
45,193
7,750
Artillery
2,837
5,000
Rocket Systems
1,366
458
Fighter Jets
1,957
21
Helicopters
5,400
967
Warships
472
73
Submarines
68
Nuclear Arsenal
United States of America
LARGEST
5,044
WARHEADS
North Korea
NON-NUCLEAR
0
WARHEADS
Warheads Over Time
Estimated total warhead inventories — Federation of American Scientists / SIPRI
Defense Budget vs GDP
Historical defense spending and how it compares to each country's GDP. The % of GDP view normalises for economic size so smaller economies aren't drowned out by absolute dollar figures.
Defense Budget Over Time ($B)
Defense Budget as % of GDP
Source: World Bank Open Data API (MS.MIL.XPND.CD)
Military Active Personnel
United States of America
LARGEST
1.35M
TROOPS
North Korea
95.0% OF LARGEST
1.28M
TROOPS
United States of America has 1.05× the active personnel of North Korea
Air Force Total Aircraft
United States of America
LARGEST
13.3K
AIRCRAFT
North Korea
7.1% OF LARGEST
946
AIRCRAFT
United States of America has 14.06× the aircraft of North Korea
Total Naval Assets
Land Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
North Korea
|
United States of America
|
|---|---|---|
| Active Personnel | 1,280,000 | 1,347,300 |
| Reserve Personnel | 600,000 | 799,500 |
| Total Military Personnel | 1,880,000 | 2,146,800 |
| Defense Budget (USD) | $3,600,000,000 | $816,000,000,000.0 |
| Tanks | 5,895 | 6,612 |
| Armored Vehicles | 4,060 | 45,193 |
| Self-Propelled Artillery | 2,250 | 1,498 |
| Towed Artillery | 5,500 | 1,339 |
| Rocket Projectors | 5,000 | 1,366 |
Air Force — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
North Korea
|
United States of America
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Aircraft | 946 | 13,300 |
| Fighters | 458 | 1,957 |
| Attack Aircraft | 80 | 2,800 |
| Transport Aircraft | 217 | 945 |
| Trainer Aircraft | 170 | 2,600 |
| Helicopters | 21 | 5,400 |
| Attack Helicopters | 20 | 983 |
Naval Forces — Detailed Metrics
| Metric |
North Korea
|
United States of America
|
|---|---|---|
| Total Naval Assets | 967 | 472 |
| Aircraft Carriers | 0 | 11 |
| Destroyers | 0 | 73 |
| Frigates | 3 | 0 |
| Corvettes | 0 | 23 |
| Submarines | 73 | 68 |
| Patrol Vessels | 438 | 13 |
| Mine Warfare Vessels | 25 | 8 |
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