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North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK; Korean: Josŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Gonghwaguk; Hangul:
조선민주주의인민공화국; Hanja: 朝鮮民主主義人民共和國), is a country in
eastern Asia, covering the northern half of the peninsula of Korea. To the south it borders South Korea with which it formed a single nation until 1948. Its
northern border is predominantly with China, and a small section with Russia. It is more commonly known locally as Bukjosŏn ("North Chosŏn";
북조선; 北朝鮮). Bukhan ("North Han"; 북한;
北韓) is commonly used in South Korea.
History
For pre-1945 history, see Korea Main article: History of North Korea
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 regime in the North, and an anti-communist regime in the South. In June 1950, the (North) Korean People's Army attacked the South, launching the Korean War. The United States-backed South and the Chinese-backed North signed an armistice in 1953. This
armistice was not considered permanent, and split the peninsula along a Demilitarized Zone along the 38th Parallel; the reality
is that it has been a long-term stalemate.
North Korea was ruled from 1948 by Kim Il-sung until his death on June 8, 1994. After the death of Kim Il Sung, his son
Kim Jong-il was named General Secretary of the Korean Workers' Party on October
8, 1997. In 1998, the legislature reconfirmed him
as Chairman of the National Defence 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 when North Korea resumed its
nuclear weapons
programme.
Politics
Main article: Politics of North Korea
North Korea's government is dominated by the communist Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), to which all government
officials belong. Minor political parties exist, but not in opposition to WPK-rule.
In practice the exact power structure of the country is somewhat unclear. The country is an effective dictatorship in which strict rules of government are vague, or rarely enforced.
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 important being General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea
(조선로동당 총비서), Chairman of the National Defence Commission
(국방위원회 위원장), and Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army
(조선인민군 최고사령관).
North Korea's 1972 constitution
was amended in late 1992 and again in 1998. Under the
constitution, the government of the republic 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 ; Choego
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.
Provinces and Cities
Main article: Administrative
divisions of Korea. For historical information, see Provinces
of Korea and Special cities of Korea.
As of 2003, North Korea consists of 9 Provinces (Do, singular and plural; 도; 道) 3 Directly Governed [Self-Governing] Cities
(Chik'alshi, singular and plural; 직할시; 直轄市), 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; 자강도;
慈江道)
- North Hamgyŏng Province (Hamgyŏng-bukto;
함경 북도; 咸鏡北道)
- South Hamgyŏng Province (Hamgyŏng-namdo;
함경 남도; 咸鏡南道)
- North Hwanghae Province (Hwanghae-bukto; 황해
북도; 黃海北道)
- South Hwanghae Province (Hwanghae-namdo; 황해
남도; 黃海南道)
- Kaesŏng Industrial Region (Kaesŏng Kong-ŏp Chigu;
개성 공업 지구; 開城工業地區)
- Kangwŏn Province (Kangwŏndo; 강원도;
江原道)
- Kŭmgang-san Tourist Region
(Kŭmgang-san Kwangwang Chigu; 금강산 관광 지구;
金剛山觀光地區)
- Namp'o Chik'alshi (남포 직할시;
南浦直轄市)
- North P'yŏngan Province (P'yŏngan-bukto;
평안 북도; 平安北道)
- South P'yŏngan Province (P'yŏngan-namdo;
평안 남도; 平安南道)
- P'yŏngyang Chik'alsi (평양
직할시; 平壤直轄市)
- Rasŏn
(Rajin-Sŏnbong) Chik'alshi (라선 (라진-선봉) 직할시;
羅先 (羅津-先鋒) 直轄市)
- Shinŭiju Special Administrative Region (Shinŭiju
T'ŭkbyŏl Haengjeonggu; 신의주 특별 행정구;
新義州特別行政區)
- Ryanggang Province (Ryanggang-do; 량강도;
兩江道--sometimes also spelled as 'Yanggang' in English)
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
Korea
Korea forms a peninsula that extends
1,100 km from the Asian mainland. To the west it borders the West Sea (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 (Tsushima Strait) and the South Sea (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.
Economy
Main article: Economy of North Korea
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.
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of North
Korea
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.
Culture & Tourism
Main article: Culture of North Korea
North Korea's government is extremely reclusive, 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.
Miscellaneous topics
External links
Further reading
- Bruce Cumings, Korea's Place in the Sun: A Modern History, W.W. Norton &
Company, 1998, paperback, 527 pages, ISBN 0393316815.
- Bruce Cumings, Origins of the Korean War: Liberation and the Emergence of Separate Regimes, Princeton
University Press, 1981, paperback, ASIN 0691101132.
- John Feffer, North Korea South Korea: U.S. Policy at a Time of Crisis, Seven Stories Press, 2003,
paperback, 197 pages, ISBN
1583226036.
- Mitchell B. Lerner, The Pueblo Incident: A Spy Ship and the Failure of American Foreign Policy, University Press
of Kansas, 2002, hardcover, 408 pages, ISBN 0700611711.
- Norbert Vollertsen, Inside North Korea: Diary of a Mad Place, Encounter Books, 2003, hardcover,
280 pages, ISBN 1893554872.
- Quinones, Dr. C. Kenneth, and Joseph Tragert, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding North Korea, Alpha Books, 2004, paperback, 448 pages,
ISBN 1592571697.
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