The Korean People's Army (KPA), also known as the Inmin Gun, are the military forces of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Until 2011, Kim Jong-il was the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army and Chairman of the National Defence Commission. The KPA has five branches: the (i) Army Ground Force, (ii) the Navy, (iii) the Air Force, (iv) the Artillery Guidance Bureau, and (v) the Special Operation Force.

The KPA's annual budget is US$6 billion. The US research organization ISIS reports that the DPRK may possess fissile material for some 2 to 9 nuclear weapons. North Korea’s Songun “Military First” policy elevates the KPA to the primary position in the Government and society.

In 1978, Kim Il-sung directed that "Military Foundation Day" be changed from 8 February to 25 April, the nominal day of establishment of his anti-Japanese guerrilla army in 1932, to recognize the supposedly indigenous Korean origins of the KPA and obscure its Soviet origin. An active arms industry had been developed to produce long-range missiles such as the Nodong-1.