rvice;
conscript service obligation - 2 years; minimum age for volunteers
NA (2004)

Kenya
18 years of age (est.) for voluntary service, with a 9-year
obligation (2007)

Korea, North
17 years of age (2004)

Korea, South
20-30 years of age for compulsory military service,
with middle school education required; conscript service obligation
- 24-28 months, depending on the military branch involved (to be
reduced to 18 months beginning 2016); 18-26 years of age for
voluntary military service; women, in service since 1950, admitted
to 7 service branches, including infantry, but excluded from
artillery, armor, anti-air, and chaplaincy corps; some 4,000 women
serve as commissioned and noncommissioned officers, approx. 2.3% of
all officers (2008)

Kuwait
18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military
service; reserve obligation to age 40 with 1 month annual training;
women have served in police forces since 1999 (2006)

Kyrgyzstan
18 years of age for compulsory military service (2001)

Laos
15 years of age for compulsory military service; minimum
18-month conscript service obligation (2006)

Latvia
18 years of age for voluntary military service; conscription
abolished January 2007; under current law, every citizen is entitled
to serve in the armed forces for life (2006)

Lebanon
18-30 years of age for voluntary military service; no
conscription (2007)

Lesotho
18 years of age for voluntary military service; no
conscription (2008)

Liberia
16 years of age for voluntary military service; no
conscription (2008)

Libya
17 years of age (2004)

Lithuania
19-45 years of age for compulsory military service; 18
years of age for volunteers; 12-month conscript service obligation
(2006)

Luxembourg
17-25 years of age for male and female voluntary military
service; soldiers under 18 are not deployed into combat or with
peacekeeping missions; no conscription; Luxembourg citizen or EU
citizen with 3-year residence in Luxembourg (2008)

Macedonia
18 years of age for voluntary military service (2007)

Madagascar
18-25 years of age for male-only compulsory military
service; 18-month conscript service obligation (either military or
equivalent civil service); 20-30 years of age for National
Gendarmerie recruits (35 years of age for those with military
experience) (2008)

Malawi
18 years of age for voluntary military