| Geographical Information |
| Map Location |
Asia |
| Geographical Location |
40° 00' North Latitude
127° 00' East Longitude |
| Surface Area |
120,540 sq km |
| Climate |
Temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer |
| Natural Resources |
Coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower |
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| Political Information |
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| Country Name |
Democratic People's Republic of Korea |
| Capital City |
Pyongyang |
| Government Type |
Communist state one-man dictatorship |
| Administrative Divisions |
9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 4 municipalities (si, singular and plural)
Provinces: Chagang-do (Chagang), Hamgyong-bukto (North Hamgyong), Hamgyong-namdo (South Hamgyong), Hwanghae-bukto (North Hwanghae), Hwanghae-namdo (South Hwanghae),
Kangwon-do (Kangwon), P'yongan-bukto (North P'yongan), P'yongan-namdo (South P'yongan), Yanggang-do (Yanggang)
Municipalites: Kaesong-si (Kaesong), Najin Sonbong-si (Najin), Namp'o-si (Namp'o), P'yongyang-si (Pyongyang) |
| Independence Day |
15 August 1945 (from Japan) |
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| Demographical Information |
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| Population |
22,912,177 (July 2005 est.) |
| Nationality |
Korean |
| Ethnic Groups |
Racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese |
| Religion |
Traditionally Buddhist and Confucianist, some Christian and syncretic Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way) |
| Languages |
Korean |
| Population Growth Rate |
0.9% (2005 est.) |
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| Economical Information |
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| Currency |
North Korean won (KPW) |
| Industries |
Military products; machine building, electric power, chemicals; mining (coal, iron ore, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals), metallurgy; textiles, food processing; tourism |
| Labor Force |
9.6 million |
| Labor Force by Sectors |
Agricultural 36%, nonagricultural 64% |
| Agriculture Products |
Rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs |
| Export Commodities |
Minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments); textiles and fishery products |
| Export Partners |
China 29.9%, South Korea 24.1%, Japan 13.2% (2004) |
| Import Commodities |
Petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment; textiles, grain |
| Import Partners |
China 32.9%, Thailand 10.7%, Japan 4.8% (2004) |
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| Transportation |
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| Railways |
5,214 km |
| Highways |
31,200 km |
| Pipelines |
Oil 154 km (2004) |
| Airports |
78 (2004 est.) |
| Ports and Harbors |
Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam (Hamhung), Kimch'aek, Kosong, Najin, Namp'o, Sinuiju, Songnim, Sonbong (formerly Unggi), Ungsang, Wonsan |
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| Communication |
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| Phone Code |
+850 |
| Internet Abbreviation |
.kp |
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| Other |
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| Short History |
An independent kingdom under Chinese suzerainty for most of the past millennium, Korea was occupied by Japan in 1905 following the Russo-Japanese War;
five years later, Japan formally annexed the entire peninsula. Following World War II, Korea was split, with the northern half coming under Soviet-sponsored Communist domination.
After failing in the Korean War (1950-53) to conquer the US-backed republic in the southern portion by force, North Korea under its founder President KIM Il Sung adopted a policy
of ostensible diplomatic and economic "self-reliance" as a check against excessive Soviet or Communist Chinese influence and molded political, economic, and military policies around
the core ideological objective of eventual unification of Korea under Pyongyang's control. KIM's son, the current ruler KIM Jong Il, was officially designated as KIM's future successor
in 1980 and assumed a growing political and managerial role until his father's death in 1994, when he assumed full power without opposition. After decades of economic mismanagement and resource misallocation,
the North since the mid-1990s has relied heavily on international food aid to feed its population while continuing to expend resources to maintain an army of about 1 million. North Korea's
long-range missile development and research into nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and massive conventional armed forces are of major concern to the international community.
In December 2002, following revelations it was pursuing a nuclear weapons program based on enriched uranium in violation of a 1994 agreement with the United States to freeze and ultimately dismantle
its existing plutonium-based program, North Korea expelled monitors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and in January 2003 declared its withdrawal from the international Non-Proliferation Treaty.
In mid-2003 Pyongyang announced it had completed the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel rods (to extract weapons-grade plutonium) and was developing a "nuclear deterrent." From August 2003 to June 2004 North
Korea participated in six-party talks with the China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the United States to resolve the stalemate over its nuclear programs. |
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