The Korean Military Balance—Comparative Korean Forces and the Forces of Key Neighboring States

This report from the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) compares North and South Korean military forces together with the forces of key neighboring states. Primarily authored by Cordesman, a veteran author of these sorts of reports from CSIS, the report retains the standard approach that will be familiar to those who have read past examples for other countries. It compares Korean and Northeast Asia military expenditures and comparative resources, analyzes the conventional military balance in the Koreas and Northeast Asia, and discusses the presence of US forces in South Korea and the Pacific. Beyond conventional forces, it also addresses special, asymmetric, and paramilitary forces; counterterrorism, terrorism, and low-level asymmetric warfare; missiles and WMD (weapons of mass destruction) forces in both Koreas; and the broader regional balance of WMD, missile, and strategic forces. Annotation c2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Anthony H. Cordesman holds the Arleigh Burke Chair in Strategy at CSIS.