North Korea

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in eastern
Asia, covering the northern half of the peninsula of Korea. To the south its
borders South Korea with which it formed a single nation until 1948, while
its northern border is predominantly with China, with a small section
bordering Russia. It is more commonly known locally as Buk Chos?n. 
Buk Han is commonly used in South Korea, as is the revised romanisation 
of Chosun Minjujui Inmin Gonghwa-guk for the official name.

History                                 National motto: One is sure to win
                                        if he believes in and depends upon
                                        the people
                                        Official
                                        language        Korean
Japanese occupation of Korea ended
after World War II in 1945, after       Capital         P'y?ngyang
which Korea was occupied by the Soviet  President,
Union in north of the 38th parallel     Supreme
and by the United States south of the   People's        Kim Yong-nam1
38th parallel. Rising tensions between  Assembly
the Soviet Union and the United States  Presidium
led to, in 1948 the establishment of    Chairman,
two governments claiming to be the      National        Kim Jong Il2
sole government of all of Korea: a      Defense
communist North and a United            Commission
States-influenced South. In June 1950
the North invaded the South igniting    Premier         Hong Song-nam
the Korean War. The United              Area            Ranked 97th
Nations-backed South and the            Ê- Total        120,540 km²
Chinese-backed North eventually         Ê- % water      0.1%
reached a stalemate and an armastice
was signed in 1953, splitting the       Population
peninsula along a demilitarised zone    Ê- Total (2002) Ranked 49th
                                                        22,224,195
at about the 38th parallel, which had
been the original demarcation line.     Ê- Density      182.25/km²
                                        Independence    From Japan
North Korea was ruled from 1948 by Kim  Ê- Date         August 15, 1945
Il Sung until his death in 1994. He     Currency        North Korean won
was named posthumously "eternal
president." North Korea is officially   Time zone       UTC +9
lead by a Prime Minister, but real
power lies with his son Kim Jong Il     National anthem A ch'im un pinnara,
                                                        i kangsan ungum e
and the military. Despite a detente in
international relations, including a    Internet TLD    None (.KP is
                                                        reserved)
historic North-South summit in June
2000, tensions have recently increased  Calling Code    850
in the wake of the resumption of the    (1) Kim Yong-nam is the de facto
North's nuclear weapons programme.      head of state; Kim Il-sung is
                                        "eternal president"
Politics
                                        (2) Kim Jong Il is the most powerful
Main article: Politics of North Korea   figure in the DPRK; the Chairman of
                                        the National Defence Commission is
North Korea has a centralised           accorded the nation's "highest
government under the control of the     administrative authority"
communist Korean Workers' Party (KWP), to which all government officials
belong, though a few minor political parties exist in name only. The exact
structure of power is somewhat unclear. Following the death of Kim Il Sung,
his son, Kim Jong Il, was named General Secretary of the Korean Workers'
Party in October 1997, and in 1998, the legislature reconfirmed him as
Chairman of the National Defence Commission and declared that position as
the "highest office of state."

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 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). The SAC is headed by a
premier and is the dominant administrative and executive agency.

Officially, the parliament, the Supreme People's Assembly (Ch'oego
Inmin Hoeui), is the highest organ of state power. Its 687 members are
elected every 4 years by popular vote. Usually only two meetings are held
annually, each lasting a few days, though 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.

Provinces and Cities

As of 2003, North Korea consists of 9 Provinces (Do, singular and plural;)
3 Directly Governed [Self-Governing] Cities (Chik'alshi, singular and
plural), and several other regions, as listed below. (Names are
romanized according to the McCune-Reischauer system as officially used in
North Korea; the editor was also guided by the spellings used on the 2003
National Geographic map of Korea).

   * Chagang Province (Chagang-do)
   * North Hamgy?ng Province (Hamgy?ng-bukto)
   * South Hamgy?ng Province (Hamgy?ng-namdo)
   * North Hwanghae Province (Hwanghae-bukto)
   * South Hwanghae Province (Hwanghae-namdo)
   * Kaes?ng Industrial Region (Kaes?ng Kong-p Chigu)
   * Kangw?n Province (Kangw?ndo)
   * K?mgang-san Tourist Region (K?mgang-san Kwangwang Chigu)
   * Namp'o Chik'alshi
   * North P'y?ngan Province (P'y?ngan-bukto)
   * South P'y?ngan Province (P'y?ngan-namdo)
   * P'y?ngyang Chik'alsi
   * Ras?n (Rajin-S&335;nbong) Chik'alsi
   * Shin?iju Special Administrative Region (Shin?iju T'?kby?l Haengjeonggu)
   * Yanggang Province (Yanggang-do)

Ch'?ngjin City used to be a self-governing city, but is now part
of North Hamgy?ng Province.

Geography

Korea forms a peninsula that extends some 1,100 km from the Asian mainland,
flanked by the Yellow Sea and the Korea Bay to the west and the East Sea of
Korea (East Sea/Sea of Japan; see Notice on Talk page) to the east, and
terminated by the Korea Strait and the East China Sea to the south. The
northern landscape consists mostly of hills and mountains separated by deep,
narrow valleys in the north and east, coastal plains are found most
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.

Economy

North Korea ranks among the world's most centrally planned and isolated
economies. The resulting economic distortions and the government's
reluctance to publicise economic data limit the amount of reliable
information available. Publicly-owned industry produces nearly all
manufactured goods, and the regime continues to devote its focus on heavy
and military industries at the expense of light and consumer industries.

Economic conditions remain stagnant at best and the country's deepening
economic slide has been fueled by acute energy shortages worsened by the
breakdown of the Agreed Framework under KEDO, poorly maintained and aging
industrial facilities, and a lack of new investment. The agricultural
outlook, though slightly improved over previous years, remains weak. The
combined effects of serious fertilizer shortages, successive natural
disasters, and structural constraints - such as marginal 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.

The steady flow of international food aid has been critical in meeting the
population's basic food needs. The impact of other forms of humanitarian
assistance such as medical supplies and agricultural assistance largely has
been limited to local areas. Even with aid, malnutrition rates are among the
world's highest and estimates of mortality range in the hundreds of
thousands or even millions as a direct result of starvation or
famine-related diseases.

Demographics

North Korea's population is one of the most ethnically and linguistically
homogenous in the world, with only very small Chinese and Japanese
communities. The 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, Hangeul, was invented in the 15th century by King
Sejong the Great to replace the system of borrowed Chinese characters, known
as Hanja in Korea, 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 had a traditionally Buddhist and Confucianist past, with some
Christian and the traditional Chondogyo ("Heavenly Way") minorities present,
though autonomous religious activities are now almost nonexistent in the
North due to aggressive persecution of believers.

Culture

An official escort/guide is compulsory when visiting the country. Citizens
of the US and South Korea may or may not be allowed to visit the country,
depending on the diplomatic relations.

                         Holidays
    Date      English Name
 January 1  New Year's Day
 February 16Kim Jong Il's Birthday
 April 15   Kim Il-Sung's Birthday
 May 1      Day of Work
 August 15  Independence Day
 September 9Founding of the DPRK
 October 10 Founding of the KWP
 December 27Proclamation of the socialistic constitution

How to - Physics - History - Companies - Internet - Video Games - List of Phobias - September 11, 2001
Radio - Timelines - Chemistry - Genealogy - Family - Film - SARS - Cancer - Medicine - DVD - Calendar
Countries - Disease - Health Science - Dentistry - Economics - AIDS - Law - Autism - Statistics - Bible
Recipes - Architecture - Computers - History of the Internet - Personal computer - Apple Macintosh
War - Presidents of the United States - United States Constitution - Universe - Philosophy - Animals
Biology - United States Constitution - Marketing Topics - Sports - Television - History of Computing

Life Insurance - Free Credit Report - Gardening - Loans - Loan