Conscription in South Korea
The basis for military conscription in South Korea is the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, which was promulgated on July 17, 1948. The constitution states in Article 39, "All citizens shall have the duty of national defense under the conditions as prescribed by Act." The Military Service Act of 1949, which was implemented in 1957, specified that compulsory military service is required for men ages 19 or older. Conscription is managed by the Military Manpower Administration, which was created in 1948.
North Korea
The Korean People's Army (KPA) is North Korea's military organization. The KPA has 1,106,000 active and 8,389,000 reserve and paramilitary troops, making it the largest military institution in the world. About 20 percent of men aged 17–54 serve in the regular armed forces, and approximately one in every 25 citizens is an enlisted soldier. The KPA has five branches: Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, Special Operations Force, and Rocket Force. Command of the Korean People's Army lies in both the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea and the independent State Affairs Commission. The Ministry of People's Armed Forces is subordinated to the latter.