28. Submarine ⚓️

I found this info through an article on Aljazeera which had a beautiful infographic themselves. The data is sourced from a book called, The Military Balance 2021. This is written by The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), an organization that’s been around since 1958 and produces this book each year to help with research and policy making.

None of North Korea’s submarines use nuclear power, which makes quite a difference for subs. Diesel subs have to resurface often to refuel, while nuclear powered subs are only limited by their perishable food resources. This means they could potentially stay underwater for years, making them more difficult to detect.

Also something to note… In the preview of this book an Amazon, China is listed with 58 subs. Aljazeera had them listed as 59, but I decided to go with the book.