NK estimated to have up to 1.16 mln troops: think tank

A SKorean state-run think tank projected Thursday there could be more than 1 million soldiers in North Korea, much higher than the figure offered by the reclusive communist country.

Accurate data about the North is hard to obtain as the country remains almost cut off from the international community. Figures such as its population and troop numbers are based mostly on sketchy information provided by the North.

According to a report by the Korea Development Institute, troop numbers in the North are estimated at up to 1.16 million, which is higher than the 700,000 Pyongyang suggested in a nationwide census conducted in 2008.

The North's military figure is calculated by subtracting from its total population of 24.05 million those who reside outside of military installation zones. In its first census in 1993, that number was 690,000 and it increased slightly to 700,000 in the latest survey.

The report, however, called into question the proportion of solders in each age group suggested by the census.

The portion of soldiers aged 20-24 stood at 40.9 percent but the ratio abruptly plunged to 9.7 percent for those aged 25-29, the census showed.

Given the military service system in the North, where men serve for at least 10 years, those figures do not add up, the report said.

Based on those suspicions, the report re-calculated and projected that the number of troops aged 25-34 might be somewhere between 430,000 and 560,000, which is much higher than the 90,000 the North claimed.

"As a result, we estimate that the number of troops in the North might be in line with about 1.11-1.19 million, a figure which is projected by our government," the report said.