FDD’s Military Edge Project Expands Its Online Database to Track North Korea’s Conventional Arms

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) today expanded its free web-based tool designed to track foreign military capabilities, to now include North Korea’s conventional and ballistic missile arsenals.

The expansion comes as the United States and South Korea agree to deploy a missile defense system – the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD) – in South Korea to counter the North’s increasing capabilities. North Korea also attempted over the weekend to launch a ballistic missile from a submarine – both the missile and the submarine are featured on MilitaryEdge.org.

Users already familiar with MilitaryEdge.org recognize the website for its detailed and dynamic coverage of the military balance in the Middle East and North Africa. Now legislators, policymakers and the broader foreign policy and defense analyst community can easily access the known weaponry of the North Korean military.

John Cappello, FDD senior fellow for military affairs, said users who require details on the growing threat to South Korea, Japan and other East Asia nations will particularly find the website informative.

“Nuclear capabilities aside, North Korea’s massive arsenal of artillery systems, including long-range rockets, puts millions living south of the de-militarized zone at risk,” said Cappello, a former B-1 pilot and senior analyst at the U.S. Missile Defense Agency office in Israel. “This new tool will help paint a clear picture for policymakers on Capitol Hill, around Washington and in capitals abroad of what the United States and its regional allies are facing.

The website will be updated daily with the latest open-source material, reflecting the updates and changes to the capabilities of North Korea’s fighting forces.

The Korean peninsula has become one of the most carefully watched regions of the world by defense analysts. While South Korean and American forces hold a strong qualitative edge, the North’s quantitative advantage is so large that it could offset the technological gap in the early stages of a conflict.

North Korea is one of the world’s worst proliferators of illicit arms, often fueling conflicts and arming rogue actors under international arms embargos. North Korea has tapped the demand for cheap, easy to use weapons that other rogue proliferator’s, like Iran, have replicated.

About the Foundation for Defense of Democracies:

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) is a non-profit, non-partisan 501(c)3 policy institute focusing on foreign policy and national security. Visit our website at www.defenddemocracy.org and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

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