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Korea North
Background :
An independent kingdom for much of its long history, Korea was occupied by Japan beginning 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 control. After failing in the Korean War (1950-53) to conquer the US-backed Republic of Korea (ROK) in the southern portion by force, North Korea (DPRK), under its founder President KIM Il Sung, adopted a policy of ostensible diplomatic and economic "self-reliance" as a check against outside influence. The DPRK demonized the US as the ultimate threat to its social system through state-funded propaganda, 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 his father's successor in 1980, assuming a growing political and managerial role until the elder KIM's death in 1994. After decades of economic mismanagement and resource misallocation, the DPRK since the mid-1990s has relied heavily on international aid to feed its population. North Korea's history of regional military provocations, proliferation of military-related items, long-range missile development, WMD programs including tests of nuclear devices in 2006 and 2009, and massive conventional armed forces are of major concern to the international community.
Location :
Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea
Geographic Coordinates Center :
40 00 N, 127 00 E (Latitude, Longtitude)
Geographic Coordinates Rectangle :
| West | 124.32 |
| North | 43.01 |
| East | 130.67 |
| South | 37.67 |
Map references :
Asia
Area :
| total | 120 538 | square km |
| land | 120 408 | square km |
| water | 130 | square km |
Land boundaries :
| total | 1 673 | km |
| China (cn) | 1 416 | km |
| South Korea | 238 | km |
| Russia (ru) | 19 | km |
Coastline :
2495.00 km
Climate :
temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer
Terrain :
mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east
Elevation extremes :
| lowest point | 0 | metres |
| highest point | 2 744 | metres |
Natural resources :
| coal | copper |
| fluorspar | gold |
| graphite | hydropower |
| iron ore | lead |
| magnesite | pyrites |
| salt | tungsten |
| zinc |
Land use :
| arable land | 22.40 | % |
| permanent crops | 1.66 | % |
| other | 75.94 | % |
Irrigated land :
14 600 square km
Total renewable water resources :
77 cubic km
Natural hazards :
| droughts | flooding |
| typhoons |
current issues :
water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; waterborne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation
international agreements :
| Antarctic Treaty | Biodiversity |
| Climate Change | Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
| Desertification | Environmental Modification |
| Hazardous Wastes | Law of the Sea |
| Ozone Layer Protection | Ship Pollution |
Population :
22 665 345
Indicators :
| Growth rate | 0.42 | % |
| Birth rate | 14.82 | births/1,000 population |
| Total fertility rate | 1.96 | children born/woman |
| Death rate | 10.52 | deaths/1,000 population |
| Net migration rate | -0.09 | migrant(s)/1,000 population |
Age structure :
| 0-14 years | 21.30 | % |
| 15-64 years | 69.40 | % |
| 65 years and over | 9.40 | % |
Median age :
| total | 33.50 | years |
| male | 32.10 | years |
| female | 34.90 | years |
Sex ratio :
| at birth | 1.06 | male(s)/female |
| under 15 years | 1.03 | male(s)/female |
| 15-64 years | 0.98 | male(s)/female |
| 65 years and over | 0.63 | male(s)/female |
| total population | 0.95 | male(s)/female |
Health :
| Infant mortality rate | 51.34 | deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life expectancy at birth - total population | 63.81 | years |
| Life expectancy at birth - male | 61.23 | years |
| Life expectancy at birth - female | 66.53 | years |
Languages :
| Korean |
Literacy :
| total population | 99.00 | % |
| male | 99.00 | % |
| female | 99.00 | % |
Country name :
| conventional long form | Democratic People's Republic of Korea |
| conventional short form | North Korea |
| local long form | Choson-minjujuui-inmin-konghwaguk |
| local short form | Choson |
Country Codes :
| ISO 3166 | KP |
| ISO Numeric | 408 |
| ISO3 | PRK |
| FIPS | KN |
| ccTLD | kp |
| English | Korea North |
Administrative divisions :
9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 2 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)||municipalities:|Nason-si, P'yongyang-si
Capital :
| name | Pyongyang |
| geographic coordinates | 39 01 N, 125 45 E |
| time difference | 9.00 |
International organization participation :
| ARF | FAO |
| G-77 | ICAO |
| ICRM | IFAD |
| IFRCS | IHO |
| IMO | IOC |
| IPU | ISO |
| ITSO | ITU |
| NAM | UN |
| UNCTAD | UNESCO |
| UNIDO | UNWTO |
| UPU | WFTU |
| WHO | WIPO |
| WMO |
Independence :
1945-08-15
National holiday :
Foundation Day
1948-09-09
Executive branch :
| Prime Minister KIM Yong Il |
GDP - Gross Domestic product :
| PPP - Purchasing Power Parity | 41 730 000 000 | $ |
| Official Exchange Rate | 27 820 000 000 | |
| RGR - Real Growth rate | 3.70 | % |
| PPP - per capita | 1 800 | $ |
GDP Composition by sector :
| agriculture | 23.30 | % |
| industry | 43.10 | % |
| services | 33.60 | % |
Labor force - by occupation :
| agriculture | 37.00 | % |
| services | 63.00 | % |
Other Indicators :
| Labor force | 20 000 000 | people |
| Debt external | 12 500 000 000 | $ |
Budget :
| revenues | 2 880 000 000 | $ |
| expenditures | 2 980 000 000 | $ |
Agriculture - products :
| cattle | corn |
| eggs | pigs |
| pork | potatoes |
| pulses | rice |
| soya |
Industries :
| chemicals | copper |
| electric power | food processing |
| graphite | iron ore |
| lead | limestone |
| machine building | magnesite |
| metallurgy | military products |
| mining | precious metals |
| textiles | tourism |
| zinc |
Energy :
| Electricity Production | 20 900 000 000 | kWh |
| Electricity Consumption | 17 490 000 000 | kWh |
| Oil Production | 121 | bbl/day |
| Oil Consumption | 16 000 | bbl/day |
| Oil Imports | 13 890 | bbl/day |
Value :
2 061 999 999 $
Partners :
| China (cn) | 42.00 | % |
| South Korea | 38.00 | % |
| India (in) | 5.00 | % |
Commodities :
| agricultural and fishery products | manufactures |
| metallurgical products | minerals |
| textiles |
Value :
3 574 000 000 $
Partners :
| China (cn) | 57.00 | % |
| South Korea | 25.00 | % |
| Russia (ru) | 3.00 | % |
| Singapore (sg) | 3.00 | % |
Commodities :
| coking coal | grain |
| machinery and equipment | petroleum |
| textiles |
Currency-code :
KPW
Currency-name :
North Korean won
Communications :
| Telephons Main lines in use | 1 180 000 | |
| FM Radio broadcast stations | 14 | |
| Television broadcast stations | 4 | |
| Internet Country code (ccTLD) | kp | |
| Internet Hosts | 3 |
Transportation :
| Airports with paved runways | 37 | |
| Heliports | 22 | |
| Pipelines - oil | 154 | km |
| Roadways - total | 25 554 | km |
| Roadways - paved | 724 | km |
| Roadways - unpaved | 24 830 | km |
| Railways | 5 235 | km |
| Waterways | 2 250 | km |
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