The Military Balance On The Korean Peninsula

The U.S. drew the ire of North Korea's leadership once more this week as it announced it was lifting all restrictions on South Korean missiles. As a result, South Korea is now able to develop or acquire missiles of any range, weight or style. The U.S. and South Korean presidents have said that they favored a "practical approach" and diplomacy with Pyongyang, but the military threat on the peninsular remains ever-present.

If Pyongyang were ever to launch a substantial military attack on the south, how well equipped is the South Korean military to repel an offensive from the North? While the North Korean, military has its weaknesses, artillery pieces are not one of them, as data from the International Institute for Strategic Studies' Military Balance shows.

The North Korean military has substantially more active (and reserve) troops than the South, though large numbers of its soldiers are underpaid and malnourished. The North also has outdated equipment and its airforce is known to recently have used 1950 Korean War-era MIG-15 fighters for training purposes. The South Korean military on the other hand boasts state of the art technology including cutting-edge tanks, warplanes and attack helicopters. However, Seoul is only 35 miles from the DMZ and due to North's superority in artillery, it's highly likely that the South Korean capital would suffer massive damage in a war. Even if the South repelled an invasion, success would come with substantial military and civilian casualties.