A recently updated version of the US Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook now says that North Korean men must serve up to 10 years in the military.
The 2023 version of the World Factbook states that compulsory military service can last up to ten years for men and eight years for women. Both men and women in North Korea begin military service at age 17.
As recently as February 2022, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service reported that North Korea’s military service period had been reduced from 10 years to just 8 years. In comparison, the 2022 CIA World Factbook indicated that North Korea’s compulsory military service lasted 10 years, but noted that “some information indicates service for men was reduced in 2021 to 7-8 years.”
Daily NK reported in October 2022 that there were rumors that the North Korean government would be increasing the length of mandatory military service.
The updated 2023 CIA World Factbook also noted that the “bulk of the Korean People’s Army is made up of conscripts” and that up to “20% of North Korean males between the ages of 16 and 54” and “possibly up to 30 percent of males between the ages of 18 and 27 are in the military at any given time, not counting the reserves or paramilitary units.”
Edited by Rose Adams.
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