The U.S. magazine Newsweek on Aug. 24 said in the article "The 20 Most Powerful Military Forces in the World" that Korea ranks sixth globally in military power. (Screen capture from Newsweek's website)

By Yoon Hee Young 

The U.S. magazine Newsweek on Aug. 24 ranked the Korean military as the sixth most powerful in the article "The 20 Most Powerful Military Forces in the World."

Based on a report on the comprehensive index of military strength of Global Firepower, a U.S.-based agency that rates military power, the article said the figure reflects 50 indicators such as weapon numbers and diversity, natural resources, personnel and financial stability. The closer to zero the index is, the more powerful a country's military.

Korea ranked sixth among the 138 countries surveyed with a score of 0.1612.

Newsweek said Korea has an "incredible" 6.7 million people in the military, or 12.9% of the population, estimating the number of those in active service at 600,000.

"Korea has 2,600 tanks at its disposal and a budget of USD 48 billion," it added.

The U.S. topped the rankings with 0.0718, followed by Russia (0.0791), China (0.0854), India (0.1207) and Japan (0.1599).

hyyoon@korea.kr