South Korea faces a military personnel shortage with not enough young men to recruit in the country as Kim Jong-un ramps up North Korean military preparations.
A recent report estimated that the South’s military has decreased by 20 per cent in the past six years, now totalling just 450,000 troops.
This drop is understood to be underlined by a decline in eligible-aged men across the country to enlist as the nation battles the world’s lowest birthrate, averaging 0.75 babies per South Korean woman, rising from 0.72 in 2024, according to Statistics Korea.
South Korea’s defence ministry has admitted the reduction in available officers and recruits could pose operational difficulties if the trend is to continue.
In the early 2000s, the country, which constantly maintains a fractured relationship with its northern neighbour, had roughly 690,000 troops. This subsequently dropped to 563,000 active-duty soldiers and officers in 2019 and has now dipped below half a million.
In comparison, Kim Jong-un has intensified recruitment processes in North Korea, with South Korea’s defence ministry’s most recent estimate, in 2022, believing 1.2 million active military personnel were at hand to the isolated nation.
This army has since become war-tested, with Kim offering tens of thousands of troops to assist Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on the country’s frontline against Ukraine as the two countries strengthen ties.
In July, it was suggested that North Korea could triple the number of its troops fighting for Russia by sending an additional 25,000 to 30,000 soldiers to combat in Ukraine.
This would be in addition to the estimated 11,000 troops Kim sent to the Eastern European battleground in November 2024, to assist with Russia’s Kursk offensive. More than 4,000 of these soldiers are believed to have been killed or injured during deployment, according to Western intelligence.
Between 2019 and 2025, the number of 20-year-old males in South Korea has diminished to 230,000, according to Seoul, a 30 per cent drop. This is the age when most men are eligible for the 18-month military service.
The mandatory service has been reduced in length to a year and a half due to improved technology and capabilities, made possible largely due to integration with the United States and improved defence industry.
Its defence budget, £32.6billion in 2025, is reportedly larger than the entire North Korean economy, yet its military lacks 50,000 troops to make sufficient numbers, ready in case of a conflict, according to its defence ministry.
While having the world’s lowest fertility rate, Seoul must also contend with one of the world’s fastest ageing populations, which is predicted to shrink by more than 30%, from 51.8 million to 36.2 million, by 2072, according to government estimates.