North Korea
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| National motto: One is sure to win if he believes in and depends upon the people | ||||
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| Official language | Korean | |||
| Capital | P'yŏngyang | |||
| Chairman, National Defense Commission | Kim Jong-il1 | |||
| President, Supreme People's Assembly Presidium | Kim Yong-nam2 | |||
| Premier | Pak Pong-ju | |||
| Area - Total - % water | Ranked 97th 120,540 km² 0.1% | |||
| Population
- Total (2002) - Density | Ranked 49th
22,224,195 182.25/km² | |||
| Independence
- Date | From Japan
August 15, 1945 | |||
| Currency | North Korean won | |||
| Time zone | UTC +9 | |||
| National anthem | Achimŭn pinnara | |||
| Internet TLD | None (.kp is reserved) | |||
| Calling Code | 850 | |||
| (1) Kim Jong Il is the most powerful figure in the DPRK; the Chairman of the National Defence Commission is accorded the nation's "highest administrative authority" | ||||
| (2) Kim Yong-nam is the de facto head of state; Kim Il-sung is "eternal president" | ||||
| Table of contents |
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2 Politics 3 Provinces and Cities 4 Geography 5 Economy 6 Demographics 7 Culture & Tourism 8 Miscellaneous topics 9 External links 10 Further reading |
Japanese occupation of Korea ended after World War II in 1945. Then, Korea was occupied by the Soviet Union north of the 38th parallel and by the United States south of the 38th parallel. The United States suppressed an existing network of local Peoples Committees; meanwhile Cold War tensions rose. This led in 1948 to the establishment of two governments claiming to be the sole government of all of Korea: a communist North, and a United States-controlled South led by anti-communist Syngman Rhee. In June 1950, the North Korean Peoples Army attacked, launching the Korean War. The United States-backed South and the Chinese-backed North eventually reached a stalemate. In 1953 they signed a ceasefire, splitting the peninsula along a demilitarised zone along the 38th parallel.
North Korea was ruled from 1948 by Kim Il-sung until his death in 1994. After the death of Kim Il Sung, his son Kim Jong-il was named General Secretary of the Korean Workers' Party in October 1997. In 1998, the legislature reconfirmed him as Chairman of the National Defense Commission and declared that position as the "highest office of state." International relations generally improved, and there was a historic North-South summit in June 2000. However, tensions recently increased since the United States failed to comply with the 1994 Agreed Framework and North Korea resumed its nuclear weapons programme.
North Korea's government is dominated by the communist Korean Workers' Party (KWP), to which all government officials belong. Minor political parties exist, but not in opposition to KWP-rule. In practice the real exact power structure is somewhat unclear. Nominally the Prime Minister is the head of government, but real power lies with Kim Jong Il (the son of late Kim Il Sung), the head of the Workers' Party and the military. Kim holds a string of official titles, the most relevant being General Secretary of the KWP and Chairman of the National Defense Commission.
North Korea's 1972 constitution was amended in late 1992 and again in 1998. The government is led by the prime minister and, in theory, a super cabinet called the Central People's Committee (CPC), the government's top policymaking body. The CPC is headed by the president, who also nominates the other committee members. The CPC makes policy decisions and supervises the cabinet, or State Administration Council (SAC). SAC is headed by a premier and is the dominant administrative and executive agency.
Officially, the parliament, the Supreme People's Assembly (최고인민회의 ; Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui), is the highest organ of state power. Its 687 members are elected every four years by popular vote, although these elections are non-competitive and in practice ceremonial. Usually it holds only two annual meetings, each lasting a few days, but it mostly ratifies decisions made by the ruling KWP. A standing committee elected by the Assembly performs legislative functions when the Assembly is not in session.
Korea forms a peninsula that extends 1,100 km from the Asian mainland. To the west it borders the Yellow Sea and the Korea Bay; to the east it borders the East Sea of Korea (Sea of Japan). The peninsula ends at the Korea Strait and the East China Sea to the south. The peninsula's northern part (including North Korea) has mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys in the north and east, and has coastal plains prominently in the west. The highest point in Korea is the Paektu-san at 2,744 m. Major rivers include the Tumen and the Yalu that form the northern border with Chinese Manchuria.
The local climate is relatively temperate, with precipitation heavier in summer during a short rainy season called jangma, and winters that can be bitterly cold on occasion. North Korea's capital and largest city is P'yongyang; other major cities include Kaesong in the south, Sinuiju in the northwest, Wonsan and Hamhung in the east and Chongjin in the north.
Following the official ideology of Juche (self-reliance), North Korea has developed independently of global capitalist economies. The resulting economic development and the government's refusal to publicise economic data limit the amount of reliable information available. Publicly-owned industry produces nearly all manufactured goods. The regime continues to focus on heavy military industry at the expense of agriculture.
The North Korean military's effect on the economy cannot be underestimated. The government spends 33.9% of the nation's GDP on military (Compared to 3.2% for the U.S. and 1.4% spent by neighboring South Korea), and has recruited 1.2 million of the healthiest young men into the army. This focus on military spending is unheard of anywhere else in the world, and has severely depressed the North's economy for decades.
In addition, a five-decade United States embargo, erratic policymaking, a series of natural disasters, and the collapse of the Soviet bloc have all caused the economy to stagnate. The agricultural outlook is terrible and food products are deliberately funneled away from citizens and into the military. The combined effects of a reclusive regime, serious fertilizer shortages, successive natural disasters, and structural constraints - such as little arable land and a short growing season - have reduced staple grain output to more than 1 million tons less than what the country needs to meet even minimum international requirements.
North Korea previously received a flow of international food and fuel aid from China and the United States in exchange for promises not to develop nuclear weapons. This aid has ceased since the North Korean regime revealed that it had been developing nuclear weapons in secret.
The steady flow of international food aid was critical in meeting the population's basic food needs, however, it has been widely believed that very little of this food aid was actually received by citizens, but was instead taken and given to the military in order to improve loyalty. Malnutrition rates are perhaps among the world's highest and estimates of mortality range in the hundreds of thousands or even millions as a direct result of malnutrition and famine-related diseases. Information regarding the DPRK is chronically unreliable, though.
North Korea's population is one of the most ethnically and linguistically homogenous in the world, with only very small Chinese and Japanese communities. Korean language is not a member of a wider linguistic family, though links to Japanese and Altaic languages are being considered. The Korean writing system, Hangul, was invented in the 15th century by King Sejong the Great to replace the system of Chinese characters, known in Korea as Hanja, which are no longer officially in use in the North. North Korea continues to use the McCune-Reischauer romanisation of Korean, in contrast to the South's revised version.
Korea has a Buddhist and Confucianist heritage, with Christian and traditional Chondogyo ("Heavenly Way") communities. Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, was the center of Christian activity before the Korean War.
North Korea's government is extremely reclusive, and oppressive, and as such, very few foreigners enter the country. No foreigners are allowed to travel with any degree of freedom, and government minders are assigned to watch all visitors outside of closed tour areas at all times.
Citizens of the US and South Korea are allowed to visit with a valid visa. In recent years, independent tours have been established to such scenic locations as Mt. Kumgang.
History
For pre-1945 history, see Korea
Main article: History of North KoreaPolitics
Main article: Politics of North KoreaProvinces and Cities
Main article: Administrative divisions of Korea. For historical information, see Provinces of Korea and Special cities of Korea.
Ch'ŏngjin City (청진시; 淸津市) used to be a self-governing city, but is now part of North Hamgyŏng Province. The source for this section is located at Chosun Ilbo's http://nk.chosun.com/map/map.html?ACT=geo_01 page (but is only in Korean).Geography
Main article: Geography of North KoreaEconomy
Main article: Economy of North KoreaDemographics
Main article: Demographics of North KoreaCulture & Tourism
Main article: Culture of North KoreaMiscellaneous topics
External links
Further reading
East Asia
China | Japan | North Korea | South Korea | Taiwan