North Korea's Mini Submarines Are Simply Terrifying North Korea’s submarine fleet – one of the world’s largest – personifies some of the defining features of the North Korean military as a whole. North Korea’s submarine fleet – one of the world’s largest – personifies some of the defining features of the North Korean military as a whole. As a subset of the larger submarine fleet, North Korea’s many coastal and mini-submarines, in particular, stand out as intriguing encapsulations of some of the North Korean military’s important characteristics. The Quantity Problem North Korea’s Korean Peoples’ Army (KPA) is characterized largely by a quantity over quality dynamic. The KPA is large, with nearly 1.3 million active-duty soldiers currently underarms, and boasts an advantage in numbers in some important areas over its Southern counterpart, including in artillery pieces, multiple rocket launchers (MRLs), and tanks. This advantage in overall capacity is marred by a qualitative deficiency when compared to both the South Korean and American militaries, however, with the KPA fielding largely outdated equipment whose capability is lacking in comparison to the equipment fielded by the more modern militaries of its adversaries.