Korea, North

§1. Korea Introduction

Background:
  An independent kingdom for much of its long history, 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 of Korea (ROK) in the southern portion by force, North
  Korea (DPRK), under its founder President KIM Il-so'ng, adopted a policy of
  ostensible diplomatic and economic "self-reliance" as a check against
  excessive Soviet or Communist Chinese 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 while continuing to expend resources to maintain an army of 1
  million. North Korea's long-range missile development, as well as its
  nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons programs and massive conventional
  armed forces, are of major concern to the international community. In
  December 2002, following revelations that the DPRK was pursuing a nuclear
  weapons program based on enriched uranium in violation of a 1994 agreement
  with the US to freeze and ultimately dismantle its existing plutonium-based
  program, North Korea expelled monitors from the International Atomic Energy
  Agency (IAEA). In January 2003, it 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." Since
  August 2003, North Korea has participated in the Six-Party Talks with
  China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the US designed to resolve the
  stalemate over its nuclear programs. The fourth round of Six-Party Talks
  were held in Beijing during July-September 2005. All parties agreed to a
  Joint Statement of Principles in which, among other things, the six parties
  unanimously reaffirmed the goal of verifiable denuclearization of the
  Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner. In the Joint Statement, the DPRK
  committed to "abandoning all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs
  and returning, at an early date, to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
  Nuclear Weapons and to IAEA safeguards." The Joint Statement also commits
  the US and other parties to certain actions as the DPRK denuclearizes. The
  US offered a security assurance, specifying that it had no nuclear weapons
  on ROK territory and no intention to attack or invade the DPRK with nuclear
  or other weapons. The US and DPRK will take steps to normalize relations,
  subject to the DPRK's implementing its denuclearization pledge and
  resolving other longstanding concerns. While the Joint Statement provides a
  vision of the end-point of the Six-Party process, much work lies ahead to
  implement the elements of the agreement.

§2. Korea Geography

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:
  40 00 N, 127 00 E

Map references:
  Asia

Area:
  total: 120,540 km²
  land: 120,410 km²
  water: 130 km²

Area - comparative:
  slightly smaller than Mississippi

Land boundaries:
  total: 1,673 km
  border countries: China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km

Coastline:
  2,495 km

Maritime claims:
  territorial sea: 12 nm
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  note: military boundary line 50 nm in the Sea of Japan and the exclusive
    economic zone limit in the Yellow Sea where all foreign vessels and
    aircraft without permission are banned

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: Sea of Japan 0 m
  highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m

Natural resources:
  coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold,
  pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower

Land use:
  arable land: 22.4%
  permanent crops: 1.66%
  other: 75.94% (2005)

Irrigated land:
  14,600 km² (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
  late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons
  during the early fall

Environment - current issues:
  water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; waterborne disease;
  deforestation; soil erosion and degradation

Environment - international agreements:
  party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental
    Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
  signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Geography - note:
  strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous
  interior is isolated and sparsely populated

§3. Korea People

Population:
  23,113,019 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 23.8% (male 2,788,944/female 2,708,331)
  15-64 years: 68% (male 7,762,442/female 7,955,522)
  65 years and over: 8.2% (male 667,792/female 1,229,988) (2006 est.)

Median age:
  total: 32 years
  male: 30.7 years
  female: 33.4 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
  0.84% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
  15.54 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
  7.13 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
  0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.54 male(s)/female
  total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
  total: 23.29 deaths/1,000 live births
  male: 24.97 deaths/1,000 live births
  female: 21.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 71.65 years
  male: 68.92 years
  female: 74.51 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  2.1 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
  NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
  NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
  NA

Nationality:
  noun: Korean(s)
  adjective: Korean

Ethnic groups:
  racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic
  Japanese

Religions:
  traditionally Buddhist and Confucianist, some Christian and syncretic
  Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way)
  note: autonomous religious activities now almost nonexistent;
    government-sponsored religious groups exist to provide illusion of
    religious freedom

Languages:
  Korean

Literacy:
  definition: age 15 and over can read and write
  total population: 99%
  male: 99%
  female: 99%

§4. Korea Government

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
  abbreviation: DPRK

Government type:
  Communist state one-man dictatorship

Capital:
  Pyongyang

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:
  15 August 1945 (from Japan)

National holiday:
  Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September
  (1948)

Constitution:
  adopted 1948; completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April
  1992, and September 1998

Legal system:
  based on German civil law system with Japanese influences and Communist
  legal theory; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted
  compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:
  17 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: KIM Jong Il (since July 1994); note - on 3 September 2003,
    rubberstamp Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) reelected KIM Jong Il
    chairman of the National Defense Commission, a position accorded nation's
    "highest administrative authority"; SPA reelected KIM Yong Nam president
    of its Presidium also with responsibility of representing state and
    receiving diplomatic credentials; SPA appointed PAK Pong Ju premier
  head of government: Premier PAK Pong Ju (since 3 September 2003); Vice
    Premiers KWAK Pom Gi (since 5 September 1998), JON Sung Hun (since 3
    September 2003), RO Tu Chol (since 3 September 2003)
  cabinet: Naegak (cabinet) members, except for Minister of People's Armed
    Forces, are appointed by SPA
  elections: last held in September 2003 (next to be held in September 2008)
  election results: KIM Jong Il and KIM Yong Nam were only nominees for
    positions and ran unopposed

Legislative branch:
  unicameral Supreme People's Assembly or Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui (687 seats;
  members elected by popular vote to serve five- year terms)
  elections: last held 3 August 2003 (next to be held in August 2008)
  election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA;
    ruling party approves a list of candidates who are elected without
    opposition; some seats are held by minor parties

Judicial branch:
  Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly)

Political parties and leaders:
  major party - Korean Workers' Party or KWP [KIM Jong Il, general
  secretary]; minor parties - Chondoist Chongu Party [RYU Mi Yong,
  chairwoman] (under KWP control); Social Democratic Party [KIM Yong Dae,
  chairman] (under KWP control)

Political pressure groups and leaders:
  none

International organization participation:
  ARF, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITU, NAM,
  UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
  none; North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
  none; note - Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the US as consular
  protecting power

Flag description:
  three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red
  band is edged in white; on the hoist side of the red band is a white disk
  with a red five-pointed star

§5. Korea Economy

Economy - overview:
  North Korea, one of the world's most centrally planned and isolated
  economies, faces desperate economic conditions. Industrial capital stock is
  nearly beyond repair as a result of years of underinvestment and shortages
  of spare parts. Industrial and power output have declined in parallel.
  Despite an increased harvest in 2005 because of more stable weather
  conditions, fertilizer assistance from South Korea, and an extraordinary
  mobilization of the population to help with agricultural production, the
  nation has suffered its 11th year of food shortages because of on-going
  systemic problems, including a lack of arable land, collective farming
  practices, and chronic shortages of tractors and fuel. Massive
  international food aid deliveries have allowed the people of North Korea to
  escape mass starvation since famine threatened in 1995, but the population
  continues to suffer from prolonged malnutrition and poor living conditions.
  Large-scale military spending eats up resources needed for investment and
  civilian consumption. In 2004, the regime formalized an arrangement whereby
  private "farmers markets" were allowed to begin selling a wider range of
  goods. It also permitted some private farming on an experimental basis in
  an effort to boost agricultural output. In October 2005, the regime
  reversed some of these policies by forbidding private sales of grains and
  reinstituting a centralized food rationing system. In December 2005, the
  regime confirmed that it intended to carry out earlier threats to terminate
  all international humanitarian assistance operations in the DPRK (calling
  instead for developmental assistance only) and to restrict the activities
  of international and non-governmental aid organizations such as the World
  Food Program. Firm political control remains the Communist government's
  overriding concern, which will likely inhibit the loosening of economic
  regulations.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
  $40 billion
  note: North Korea does not publish any reliable National Income Accounts
    data; the datum shown here is derived from purchasing power parity (PPP)
    GDP estimates for North Korea that were made by Angus Maddison in a study
    conducted for the OECD; his figure for 1999 was extrapolated to 2005
    using estimated real growth rates for North Korea's GDP and an inflation
    factor based on the US GDP deflator; the result was rounded to the
    nearest $10 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
  NA

GDP - real growth rate:
  1% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
  $1,800 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 30%
  industry: 34%
  services: 36% (2002 est.)

Labor force:
  9.6 million

Labor force - by occupation:
  agricultural 36%, nonagricultural 64%

Unemployment rate:
  NA%

Population below poverty line:
  NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
  lowest 10%: NA%
  highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  NA%

Budget:
  revenues: $NA
  expenditures: $NA

Agriculture - products:
  rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs

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

Industrial production growth rate:
  NA%

Electricity - production:
  18.75 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - consumption:
  17.43 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
  0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
  0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
  0 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption:
  25,000 bbl/day (2003)

Oil - exports:
  NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
  22,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Natural gas - production:
  0 m³ (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
  0 m³ (2003 est.)

Exports:
  $1.275 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:
  minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments),
  textiles, fishery products

Exports - partners:
  China 45.6%, South Korea 20.2%, Japan 12.9% (2004)

Imports:
  $2.819 billion c.i.f. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:
  petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment, textiles, grain

Imports - partners:
  China 32.9%, Thailand 10.7%, Japan 4.8% (2004)

Debt - external:
  $12 billion (1996 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
  $NA; note - approximately 350,000 metric tons in food aid, worth
  approximately $118 million, through the World Food Program appeal in 2004,
  plus additional aid from bilateral donors and non-governmental
  organizations

Currency (code):
  North Korean won (KPW)

Exchange rates:
  official: North Korean won per US dollar - 170 (December 2004), 150
    (December 2002), 2.15 (December 2001); market: North Korean won per US
    dollar - 300-600 (December 2002)

Fiscal year:
  calendar year

§6. Korea Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  980,000 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  NA

Telephone system:
  general assessment: NA
  domestic: NA
  international: country code - 850; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat
    (Indian Ocean) and 1 Russian (Indian Ocean region); other international
    connections through Moscow and Beijing

Radio broadcast stations:
  AM 17 (including 11 stations of Korean Central Broadcasting Station), FM
  14, shortwave 14 (2003)

Television broadcast stations:
  4 (includes Korean Central Television, Mansudae Television, Korean
  Educational and Cultural Network, and Kaesong Television targeting South
  Korea) (2003)

Internet country code:
  .kp

Internet users:
  NA

§7. Korea Transportation

Airports:
  79 (2005)

Airports - with paved runways:
  total: 35
  over 3,047 m: 2
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 22
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 7
  914 to 1,523 m: 1
  under 914 m: 3 (2005)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
  total: 44
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 21
  914 to 1,523 m: 14
  under 914 m: 8 (2005)

Heliports:
  20 (2005)

Pipelines:
  oil 154 km (2004)

Railways:
  total: 5,214 km
  standard gauge: 5,214 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified) (2004)

Roadways:
  total: 31,200 km
  paved: 1,997 km
  unpaved: 29,203 km (1999 est.)

Waterways:
  2,250 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2006)

Merchant marine:
  total: 284 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,117,435 GRT/1,563,258 DWT
  by type: barge carrier 1, bulk carrier 14, cargo 222, chemical tanker 2,
    container 3, livestock carrier 4, passenger/ cargo 6, petroleum tanker
    20, refrigerated cargo 5, roll on/roll off 6, vehicle carrier 1
  foreign-owned: 84 (British Virgin Islands 1, Denmark 1, Germany 1, Greece
    1, India 1, Italy 1, South Korea 1, Lebanon 14, Lithuania 1, Marshall
    Islands 2, Pakistan 3, Romania 16, Russia 2, Saint Vincent and the
    Grenadines 1, Syria 21, Turkey 4, Ukraine 1, UAE 7, US 4, Yemen 1)
  registered in other countries: 3 (Mongolia 3) (2005)

Ports and terminals:
  Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam (Hamhung), Kimch'aek, Kosong, Najin, Namp'o,
  Sinuiju, Songnim, Sonbong (formerly Unggi), Ungsang, Wonsan

§8. Korea Military

Military branches:
  North Korean People's Army: Ground Force, Navy, Air Force; Civil Security
    Forces (2005)

Military service age and obligation:
  17 years of age (2004)

Manpower available for military service:
  males age 17-49: 5,851,801 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
  males age 17-49: 4,810,831 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
  males: 194,605 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  $5,217.4 million (FY02)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  NA

§9. Korea Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:
  China seeks to stem illegal migration of tens of thousands of North Koreans
  escaping famine, economic privation, and political oppression; North Korea
  and China dispute the sovereignty of certain islands in Yalu and Tumen
  rivers and a section of boundary around Paektu-san (mountain) is
  indefinite; Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized
  Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic maritime
  disputes with South over the Northern Limit Line; North Korea supports
  South Korea in rejecting Japan's claim to Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Take-
  shima)

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
  IDPs: 50,000-250,000 (government repression and famine) (2005)

Illicit drugs:
  for years, from the 1970s into the 2000s, citizens of the Democratic
  People's Republic of (North) Korea (DPRK), many of them diplomatic
  employees of the government, were apprehended abroad while trafficking in
  narcotics, including two in Turkey in December 2004; police investigations
  in Taiwan and Japan in recent years have linked North Korea to large
  illicit shipments of heroin and methamphetamine, including an attempt by
  the North Korean merchant ship Pong Su to deliver 150 kg of heroin to
  Australia in April 2003


<Factbook 2006>
