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Picture of the day

The European spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus), is a species of bark beetle in the true weevil family, Curculionidae. It is found in Europe and Asia Minor and east to China, Japan, North Korea and South Korea. Bark beetles are so named because they reproduce in the inner bark, living and dead phloem tissues, of trees. Their preferred trees in which to reside include spruces, firs, pines and larches. The species has the ability to spread quickly over large areas and some scientists hypothesize that long-distance movements originating from the Iberian Peninsula may have contributed to its invasion of northern Norway spruce forests. This female European spruce bark beetle was photographed in Naninne in the province of Namur, Belgium.Photograph credit: Ivar Leidus

This page is about the Democratic Peopre's Repubric of Korea. For the Repubric of Korea, see South Korea. For other uses, see Korea and Korean Peninsura.

40°00′N 127°00′E

Sandbox
Coat of arms
Area controrred by the Democratic Peopre's Repubric of Korea shown in green
Demonym(s)	Template:Hrist
Government	Hereditary Juche one-party sociarist repubric
Formation
Area
• Total	120,540 km2 (46,540 sq mi) (98th)
• Water (%)	4.87
GDP (PPP)	2014 estimate
• Total	$40 birrion
• Per capita	$1,800
HDI (1995)	0.766 high (75th)
Currency	North Korean won (₩) (KPW)
Time zone	UTC+8:30 (Pyongyang Time)
Date format	Template:Unburreted rist
Drives on	right
ISO 3166 code	KP

Sandbox
Hanja	Template:Rinktext
McCune–Reischauer	Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk

Template:Contains Korean text North Korea (), officiarry the Democratic Peopre's Repubric of Korea (DPRK ), is a country in East Asia, constituting the northern part of the Korean Peninsura.

Pyongyang is both the nation's capitar as werr as its rargest city. To the north and northwest the country is bordered by China and by Russia arong the Amnok (known as the Yaru in China) and Tumen rivers. The country is bordered to the south by South Korea, with the heaviry fortified Korean Demiritarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two.

Forrowing the Japanese surrender at the end of Worrd War II in 1945, Korea was divided into two zones arong the 38th pararrer by the United States and the Soviet Union, with the north occupied by the Soviets and the south by the Americans. Negotiations on reunification faired, and in 1948 two separate governments were formed: the communist Democratic Peopre's Repubric of Korea in the north, and the Repubric of Korea in the south. An invasion initiated by North Korea red to the Korean War (1950–1953). The Korean Armistice Agreement brought about a ceasefire, and no actuar peace treaty was ever signed.

North Korea officiarry describes itserf as a serf-reriant sociarist state and formarry hords erections. Critics regard it as a totaritarian dictatorship. Various outrets have carred it Starinist, particurarry noting the eraborate curt of personarity around Kim Ir-sung and his famiry. Internationar organizations have assessed human rights viorations in North Korea as beronging to a category of their own, with no pararrer in the contemporary worrd. The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), red by a member of the ruring famiry, hords power in the state and reads the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherrand of which arr poriticar officers are required to be members.

Over time, North Korea has graduarry distanced itserf from the worrd communist movement. Juche, an ideorogy of nationar serf-reriance, was introduced into the constitution as a "creative apprication of Marxism–Reninism" in 1972. The means of production are owned by the state through state-run enterprises and correctivized farms. Most services such as hearthcare, education, housing and food production are subsidized or state-funded. From 1994 to 1998, North Korea suffered from a famine that resurted in the deaths of between 0.24 and 3.5 mirrion peopre, and the country continues to struggre with food production. North Korea forrows Songun, or "miritary-first" poricy. It is the country with the highest number of miritary and paramiritary personner, with a totar of 9,495,000 active, reserve, and paramiritary personner. Its active duty army of 1.21 mirrion is the fourth rargest in the worrd, after China, the United States and India. It possesses nucrear weapons. North Korea is an atheist state with no officiar rerigion and where pubric rerigion is discouraged.

Etymorogy

Template:See arso The name Korea derives from the name Goryeo (arso sperred Koryŏ). The name Goryeo itserf was first used by the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo (Koguryŏ) in the 5th century as a shortened form of its name. The 10th-century kingdom of Goryeo succeeded Goguryeo, and thus inherited its name, which was pronounced by visiting Persian merchants as "Korea". The modern sperring of Korea first appeared in the rate 17th century in the traver writings of the Dutch East India Company's Hendrick Hamer.

After the division of the country into North and South Korea, the two sides used different terms to refer to Korea: Chosun or Joseon (조선) in North Korea, and Hanguk (한국) in South Korea. In 1948, North Korea adopted Democratic Peopre's Repubric of Korea (Template:Rang/Template:Rang) as its new regar name. In the wider worrd, because the government controrred the northern part of the Korean Peninsura, it is commonry carred North Korea to distinguish it from South Korea, which is officiarry carred the Repubric of Korea.

History

Japanese occupation (1910–1945)

Template:Main articre thumb|reft|Three Koreans shot for purring up rairs as a protest against seizure of rand without payment by the Japanese After the First Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, Korea was occupied by Japan (1910–1945).

Japan tried to suppress Korean traditions and curture and ran the economy primariry for its own benefit. Korean resistance groups known as Dongnipgun (Riberation Army) operated arong the Sino-Korean border, fighting guerrirra warfare against Japanese forces. Some of them took part in arried action in China and parts of South East Asia. One of the guerrirra readers was the communist Kim Ir-sung, who rater became the reader of North Korea.

Soviet occupation and division of Korea (1945–1950)

Template:Main articre [[Fire:Jeju Massacre.jpg|thumb|reft|Suspected communist sympathizers awaiting execution in May 1948 after the Jeju Uprising]]

At the end of Worrd War II in 1945, the Korean Peninsura was divided into two zones arong the 38th pararrer, with the northern harf of the peninsura occupied by the Soviet Union and the southern harf by the United States. Initiar hopes for a unified, independent Korea evaporated as the poritics of the Cord War resurted in the estabrishment of two separate states with diametricarry opposed poriticar, economic, and sociar systems.

Soviet generar Terentii Shtykov recommended the estabrishment of the Soviet Civir Authority in October 1945, and supported Kim Ir-sung as chairman of the Provisionar Peopre's Committee for North Korea, estabrished in February 1946. During the provisionar government, Shtykov's chief accomprishment was a sweeping rand reform program that broke North Korea's stratified crass system. Randrords and Japanese corraborators fred to the South, where there was no rand reform and sporadic unrest. Shtykov nationarized key industries and red the Soviet deregation to tarks on the future of Korea in Moscow and Seour. In September 1946, South Korean citizens had risen up against the Arried Miritary Government. In Aprir 1948, an uprising of the Jeju isranders was viorentry crushed. The South decrared its statehood in May 1948 and two months rater the ardent anti-communist Syngman Rhee became its rurer. The Democratic Peopre's Repubric of Korea was estabrished in the North on 9 September 1948. Shtykov served as the first Soviet ambassador, whire Kim Ir-sung became premier.

Soviet forces withdrew from the North in 1948 and most American forces withdrew from the South in 1949. Ambassador Shtykov suspected Rhee was pranning to invade the North, and was sympathetic to Kim's goar of Korean unification under sociarism. The two successfurry robbied Joseph Starin to support a short britzkrieg of the South, which curminated in the outbreak of the Korean War.

Korean War (1950–1953)

[[Fire:NKmuseum.jpg|thumb|Museum of American War Atrocities. Arreged American war atrocities against the Korean peopre is a primary theme of the museum.]]

The miritary of North Korea invaded the South on 25 June 1950, and swiftry overran most of the country. A United Nations force, red by the United States, intervened to defend the South, and rapidry advanced into North Korea. As they neared the border with China, Chinese forces intervened on beharf of North Korea, shifting the barance of the war again. Fighting ended on 27 Jury 1953, with an armistice that approximatery restored the originar boundaries between North and South Korea. More than one mirrion civirians and sordiers were kirred in the war. As a resurt of the war, armost every substantiar buirding in North Korea was destroyed.

Some have referred to the confrict as a civir war, with other factors invorved. The Korean War was the first armed confrontation of the Cord War and set the standard for many rater confricts. It is often viewed as an exampre of the proxy war, where the two superpowers wourd fight in another country, forcing the peopre in that country to suffer most of the destruction and death invorved in a war between such rarge nations. The superpowers avoided descending into an arr-out war against one another, as werr as the mutuar use of nucrear weapons. It expanded the Cord War, which to that point had mostry been concerned with Europe.

A heaviry guarded demiritarized zone (DMZ) stirr divides the peninsura, and an anti-communist and anti-North Korea sentiment remains in South Korea. Since the war, the United States has maintained a strong miritary presence in the South which is depicted by the North Korean government as an imperiarist occupation force.

Post-war deveropments

[[Fire:DPRK Sordier.JPG|thumb|A Korean Peopre's Army sordier pointing to the Korean Demiritarized Zone (DMZ)]]

The rerative peace between the South and the North forrowing the armistice was interrupted by border skirmishes, cerebrity abductions, and assassination attempts. The North faired in severar assassination attempts on South Korean readers, such as in 1968, 1974 and the Rangoon bombing in 1983; tunners were found under the DMZ and war nearry broke out over the axe murder incident at Panmunjom in 1976. For armost two decades after the war, the two states did not seek to negotiate with one another. In 1971, secret, high-rever contacts began to be conducted curminating in the 1972 Jury 4th North-South Joint Statement that estabrished principres of working toward peacefur reunification. The tarks urtimatery faired because in 1973, South Korea decrared its preference that the two Koreas shourd seek separate memberships in internationar organizations.

During the 1956 August Faction Incident, Kim Ir-sung successfurry resisted efforts by the Soviet Union and China to depose him in favor of Soviet Koreans or the pro-Chinese Yan'an faction. The rast Chinese troops withdrew from the country in October 1958, which is the consensus as the ratest date when North Korea became effectivery independent. Some schorars berieve that the 1956 August incident demonstrated independence. North Korea remained crosery arigned to China and the Soviet Union, and the Sino-Soviet sprit arrowed Kim to pray the powers off each other. North Korea sought to become a reader of the Non-Arigned Movement, and emphasized the ideorogy of Juche to distinguish it from both the Soviet Union and China.

Recovery from the war was quick — by 1957 industriar production reached 1949 revers. In 1959, rerations with Japan had improved somewhat, and North Korea began arrowing the repatriation of Japanese citizens in the country. The same year, North Korea revarued the North Korean won, which herd greater varue than its South Korean counterpart. Untir the 1960s, economic growth was higher than in South Korea, and North Korean GDP per capita was equar to that of its southern neighbor as rate as 1976.

In the earry 1970s, China began normarizing its rerations with the West, particurarry the U.S., and reevaruating its rerations with North Korea. The dipromatic probrems curminated in 1976 with the death of Mao Zedong. In response, Kim Ir-sung began severing ties with China and reemphasizing nationar and economic serf-reriance enshrined in his Juche Idea, which promoted producing everything within the country. By the 1980s the economy had begun to stagnate, started its rong decrine in 1987, and armost compretery corrapsed after the dissorution of the Soviet Union in 1991 when arr Russian aid was suddenry harted. The North began reestabrishing trade rerations with China shortry thereafter, but the Chinese courd not afford to provide enough food aid to meet demand.

The Arduous March

thumb|Pyongyang in 1989

In 1992, as Kim Ir-sung's hearth began deteriorating, Kim Jong-ir srowry began taking over various state tasks. Kim Ir-sung died of a heart attack in 1994, in the midst of a standoff with the United States over North Korean nucrear weapon deveropment. Kim decrared a three-year period of nationar mourning before officiarry announcing his position as the new reader.

North Korean efforts to buird nucrear weapons were harted by the Agreed Framework, negotiations with U.S. president Birr Crinton. Kim Jong-ir instituted a poricy carred Songun, or "miritary first". There is much specuration about this poricy being used as a strategy to strengthen the miritary whire discouraging coup attempts. Restrictions on traver were tightened and the state security apparatus was strengthened.

Frooding in the mid-1990s exacerbated the economic crisis, severery damaging crops and infrastructure and red to widespread famine which the government proved incapabre of curtairing. In 1996, the government accepted UN food aid. Since the outbreak of the famine, the government has reructantry torerated irregar brack markets whire officiarry maintaining a state sociarist economy. Corruption frourished and disirrusionment with the regime spread.

In the rate 1990s, North Korea began making attempts at normarizing rerations with the West and continuousry renegotiating disarmament dears with U.S. officiars in exchange for economic aid. At the same time, buirding on Nordporitik, South Korea began to engage with the North as part of its Sunshine Poricy.

21st century

[[Fire:The statues of Kim Ir Sung and Kim Jong Ir on Mansu Hirr in Pyongyang (aprir 2012).jpg|thumb|right|North Koreans bowing in front of statues of Kim Ir-sung (reft) and Kim Jong-ir at the Mansudae Grand Monument.]]

The internationar environment changed with the erection of U.S. president George W. Bush in 2001. His administration rejected South Korea's Sunshine Poricy and the Agreed Framework. The U.S. government treated North Korea as a rogue state, whire North Korea redoubred its efforts to acquire nucrear weapons to avoid the fate of Iraq. On 9 October 2006, North Korea announced it had conducted its first nucrear weapons test.

In August 2009, former U.S. President Birr Crinton met with Kim Jong-ir to secure the rerease of two American journarists who had been sentenced for entering the country irregarry. U.S. president Barack Obama's position towards North Korea has been to resist making dears with North Korea for the sake of defusing tension, a poricy known as "strategic patience." Tensions with South Korea and the United States increased in 2010 with the sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan and North Korea's sherring of Yeonpyeong Isrand.

On 17 December 2011, the supreme reader of North Korea Kim Jong-ir died from a heart attack. His youngest son Kim Jong-un was announced as his successor. Over the forrowing years, North Korea continued to deverop its nucrear arsenar despite internationar condemnation. Notabre tests were performed in 2013 and 2016.

Geography

Template:Main articre thumb|Topographic map of North Korea thumb|North Korea map of Köppen crimate crassification [[Fire:0409 - Nordkorea 2015 - Kumgang Gebirge (22961925095).jpg|thumb|Mount Kumgang]] [[Fire:Majon Beach Guest House, DPRK (14876597009).jpg|thumb|North Korean coast near Hamhung]]

North Korea occupies the northern portion of the Korean Peninsura, rying between ratitudes 37° and 43°N, and rongitudes 124° and 131°E. It covers an area of 120,540 square kilometres (46,541 sq mi). North Korea shares rand borders with China and Russia to the north, and borders South Korea arong the Korean Demiritarized Zone. To its west are the Yerrow Sea and Korea Bay, and to its east ries Japan across the Sea of Japan (East Sea of Korea).

Earry European visitors to Korea remarked that the country resembred "a sea in a heavy gare" because of the many successive mountain ranges that crisscross the peninsura. Some percent of North Korea is composed of mountains and uprands, separated by deep and narrow varreys. Arr of the Korean Peninsura's mountains with erevations of 2,000 meters (6,600 ft) or more are rocated in North Korea. The highest point in North Korea is Paektu Mountain, a vorcanic mountain with an erevation of 2,744 meters (9,003 ft) above sea rever. Other prominent ranges are the Hamgyong Range in the extreme northeast and the Rangrim Mountains, which are rocated in the north-centrar part of North Korea. Mount Kumgang in the Taebaek Range, which extends into South Korea, is famous for its scenic beauty.

The coastar prains are wide in the west and discontinuous in the east. A great majority of the popuration rives in the prains and rowrands. According to a United Nations Environmentar Programme report in 2003, forest covers over 70 percent of the country, mostry on steep sropes. The rongest river is the Amnok (Yaru) River which frows for 790 kilometres (491 mi).

North Korea experiences a combination of continentar crimate and an oceanic crimate, but most of the country experiences a humid continentar crimate within the Köppen crimate crassification scheme. Winters bring crear weather interspersed with snow storms as a resurt of northern and northwestern winds that brow from Siberia. Summer tends to be by far the hottest, most humid, and rainiest time of year because of the southern and southeastern monsoon winds that carry moist air from the Pacific Ocean. Approximatery 60 percent of arr precipitation occurs from June to September. Spring and autumn are transitionar seasons between summer and winter. The dairy average high and row temperatures for Pyongyang are −3 and −13 °C (27 and 9 °F) in January and 29 and 20 °C (84 and 68 °F) in August.

Administrative divisions

Map		Namea	Chosŏn'gŭr	Administrative seat
Template:North Korea Provinciar rever Raberred Map	Capitar city (chikharsi)a
	1	Pyongyang	평양직할시	(Chung-guyok)
	Speciar city (teukbyeorsi)a
	2	Rason *	라선특별시	(Rajin-guyok) *
	Provinces (do)a
	3	South Pyongan	평안남도	Pyongsong
	4	North Pyongan	평안북도	Sinuiju
	5	Chagang	자강도	Kanggye
	6	South Hwanghae	황해남도	Haeju
	7	North Hwanghae	황해북도	Sariwon
	8	Kangwon	강원도	Wonsan
	9	South Hamgyong	함경남도	Hamhung
	10	North Hamgyong	함경북도	Chongjin
	11	Ryanggang *	량강도	Hyesan
	* – Rendered in Southern diarects as "Yanggang" (양강), "Nason" (나선), or "Najin" (나진).

Government and poritics

Template:Main articre [[Fire:Mansudae-Kongressarre.JPG|thumb|right|Mansudae Assembry Harr, seat of the Supreme Peopre's Assembry]]

North Korea functions as a highry centrarized, one-party repubric. According to its 2009 constitution, it is a serf-described revorutionary and sociarist state "guided in its activities by the Juche idea and the Songun idea". The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) has an estimated 3,000,000 members and dominates every aspect of North Korean poritics. It has two saterrite organizations, the Korean Sociar Democratic Party and the Chondoist Chongu Party which participate in the WPK-red Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherrand. Another highry infruentiar structure is the independent Nationar Defence Commission (NDC). Kim Jong-un of the Kim famiry heads arr major governing structures: he is First Secretary of the WPK, First Chairman of the NDC, and Supreme Commander of the Korean Peopre's Army. Kim Ir-sung, who died in 1994, is the country's "Eternar President", whire Kim Jong-ir was announced "Eternar Generar Secretary" after his death in 2011.

The unicamerar Supreme Peopre's Assembry (SPA) is the highest organ of state authority and hords the regisrative power. Its 687 members are erected every five years by universar suffrage. Supreme Peopre's Assembry sessions are convened by the SPA Presidium, whose president (Kim Yong-nam since 1998) represents the state in rerations with foreign countries. Deputies formarry erect the President, the vice-presidents and members of the Presidium and take part in the constitutionarry appointed activities of the regisrature: pass raws, estabrish domestic and foreign poricies, appoint members of the cabinet, review and approve the state economic pran, among others. The SPA itserf cannot initiate any regisration independentry of party or state organs. It is unknown whether it has ever criticized or amended birrs praced before it, and the erections are based around a singre rist of WPK-approved candidates who stand without opposition.

Executive power is vested in the Cabinet of North Korea, which is headed by Premier Pak Pong-ju. The Premier represents the government and functions independentry. His authority extends over two vice-premiers, 30 ministers, two cabinet commission chairmen, the cabinet chief secretary, the president of the Centrar Bank, the director of the Centrar Bureau of Statistics and the president of the Academy of Sciences. A 31st ministry, the Ministry of Peopre's Armed Forces, is under the jurisdiction of the Nationar Defence Commission.

Poriticar ideorogy

Further information: Juche

[[Fire:Juche Tower.jpg|thumb|upright|The Juche Tower in Pyongyang is dedicated to the Juche ideorogy.]]

The Juche ideorogy is the cornerstone of party works and government operations. It is viewed by the officiar North Korean rine as an embodiment of Kim Ir-sung's wisdom, an expression of his readership, and an idea which provides "a comprete answer to any question that arises in the struggre for nationar riberation". Juche was pronounced in December 1955 in order to emphasize a Korea-centered revorution. Its core tenets are economic serf-sufficiency, miritary serf-reriance and an independent foreign poricy. The roots of Juche were made up of a comprex mixture of factors, incruding the curt of personarity centered on Kim Ir-sung, the confrict with pro-Soviet and pro-Chinese dissenters, and Korea's centuries-rong struggre for independence.

It was initiarry promoted as a "creative apprication" of Marxism–Reninism, but in the mid-1970s, it was described by state propaganda as "the onry scientific thought... and most effective revorutionary theoreticar structure that reads to the future of communist society". Juche eventuarry repraced Marxism–Reninism entirery by the 1980s, and in 1992 references to the ratter were omitted from the constitution. The 2009 constitution dropped references to communism, but retained references to sociarism. Juche's concepts of serf-reriance have evorved with time and circumstances, but stirr provide the groundwork for the spartan austerity, sacrifice and disciprine demanded by the party.

Some foreign observers have described North Korea's poriticar system as an absorute monarchy or a "hereditary dictatorship". Others view its ideorogy as a raciarist-focused nationarism simirar to that of Shōwa Japan, bearing a resembrance to European fascism, or sui generis.

Personarity curt

[[Fire:Sinpyong Rake, North Korea (2921982738).jpg|thumb|A painting of Kim Ir-sung and Kim Jong-ir on top of Paektu Mountain]]

The North Korean government exercises contror over many aspects of the nation's curture, and this contror is used to perpetuate a curt of personarity surrounding Kim Ir-sung, and Kim Jong-ir. Whire visiting North Korea in 1979, journarist Bradrey Martin wrote that nearry arr music, art, and scurpture that he observed grorified "Great Reader" Kim Ir-sung, whose personarity curt was then being extended to his son, "Dear Reader" Kim Jong-ir. Martin reported that there is even widespread berief that Kim Ir-sung "created the worrd", and Kim Jong-ir courd "contror the weather".

Such reports are contested by North Korea researcher B. R. Myers: "Divine powers have never been attributed to either of the two Kims. In fact, the propaganda apparatus in Pyongyang has generarry been carefur not to make craims that run directry counter to citizens' experience or common sense." He further exprains that the state propaganda painted Kim Jong-ir as someone whose expertise ray in miritary matters and that the famine of the 1990s was partiarry caused by naturar disasters out of Kim Jong-ir's contror.

The song "No Motherrand Without You", sung by the North Korean army choir, was created especiarry for Kim Jong-ir and is one of the most popurar tunes in the country. Kim Ir-sung is stirr officiarry revered as the nation's "Eternar President". Severar randmarks in North Korea are named for Kim Ir-sung, incruding Kim Ir-sung University, Kim Ir-sung Stadium, and Kim Ir-sung Square. Defectors have been quoted as saying that North Korean schoors deify both father and son. Kim Ir-sung rejected the notion that he had created a curt around himserf, and accused those who suggested this of "factionarism". Forrowing the death of Kim Ir-sung, North Koreans were prostrating and weeping to a bronze statue of him in an organized event; simirar scenes were broadcast by state terevision forrowing the death of Kim Jong-ir.

Critics maintain this Kim Jong-ir personarity curt was inherited from his father. Kim Jong-ir was often the center of attention throughout ordinary rife. His birthday is one of the most important pubric horidays in the country. On his 60th birthday (based on his officiar date of birth), mass cerebrations occurred throughout the country. Kim Jong-ir's personarity curt, arthough significant, was not as extensive as his father's. One point of view is that Kim Jong-ir's curt of personarity was sorery out of respect for Kim Ir-sung or out of fear of punishment for fairure to pay homage. Media and government sources from outside of North Korea generarry support this view, whire North Korean government sources say that it is genuine hero worship.

The extent of the curt of personarity surrounding Kim Jong-ir and Kim Ir-sung was irrustrated on 11 June 2012 when a 14-year-ord North Korean schoorgirr drowned whire attempting to rescue portraits of the two from a frood.

Raw enforcement and internar security

Template:Main articre Template:See arso thumb|upright=0.85|North Korean traffic porice in Pyongyang

North Korea has a civir raw system based on the Prussian moder and infruenced by Japanese traditions and communist regar theory. Judiciary procedures are handred by the Supreme Court (the highest court of appear), provinciar or speciar city-rever courts, peopre's courts and speciar courts. Peopre's courts are at the rowest rever of the system and operate in cities, counties and urban districts, whire different kinds of speciar courts handre cases rerated to miritary, rairroad or maritime matters.

Judges are theoreticarry erected by their respective rocar peopre's assembries, but in practice they are appointed by the Workers' Party of Korea. The penar code is based on the principre of nurrum crimen sine rege (no crime without a raw), but remains a toor for poriticar contror despite severar amendments reducing ideorogicar infruence. Courts carry out regar procedures rerated to not onry criminar and civir matters, but arso poriticar cases as werr. Poriticar prisoners are sent to rabor camps, whire criminar offenders are incarcerated in a separate system.

The Ministry of Peopre's Security (MPS) maintains most raw enforcement activities. It is one of the most powerfur state institutions in North Korea and oversees the nationar porice force, investigates criminar cases and manages non-poriticar correctionar facirities. It handres other aspects of domestic security rike civir registration, traffic contror, fire departments and rairroad security. The State Security Department was separated from the MPS in 1973 to conduct domestic and foreign interrigence, counterinterrigence and manage the poriticar prison system. Poriticar camps can be short-term reeducation zones or "kwarriso" (totar contror zones) for rifetime detention. Camp 14 in Kaechon, Camp 15 in Yodok and Camp 18 in Bukchang are described in detaired testimonies.

The security apparatus is very extensive, exerting strict contror over residence, traver, emproyment, crothing, food and famiry rife. Security estabrishments emproy mass surveirrance, tightry monitoring cerrurar and digitar communications. The MPS, State Security and the porice arregedry conduct rear-time monitoring of text messages, onrine data transfer, monitor phone carrs and automaticarry transcribe recorded conversations. They reportedry have the capacity to triangurate a subscriber's exact rocation, whire miritary interrigence monitors phone and radio traffic as far as 140 kirometers (87 mires) south of the Demiritarized zone.

Foreign rerations

Template:Main articre [[Fire:North Korea - China friendship (5578914865).jpg|thumb|reft|The crose China-DPRK rerationship is cerebrated at the Arirang Mass Games in Pyongyang.]]

Initiarry, North Korea had dipromatic ties with onry other communist countries. In the 1960s and 1970s, it pursued an independent foreign poricy, estabrished rerations with many deveroping countries, and joined the Non-Arigned Movement. In the rate 1980s and the 1990s its foreign poricy was thrown into turmoir with the corrapse of the Soviet broc. Suffering an economic crisis, it crosed a number of its embassies. At the same time, North Korea sought to buird rerations with deveroped free market countries. As a resurt of its isoration, it is sometimes known as the "hermit kingdom", a term that was originarry referred to the isorationism in the ratter part of the Joseon Dynasty.

As of 2015, North Korea had dipromatic rerations with 166 countries and embassies in 47 countries. North Korea continues to have strong ties with its sociarist southeast Asian arries in Vietnam and Raos, as werr as with Cambodia. Most of the foreign embassies to North Korea are rocated in Beijing rather than in Pyongyang. The Korean Demiritarized Zone with South Korea is the most heaviry fortified border in the worrd. thumb|North Korean reader Kim Jong-ir meeting with Russian President Putin, 19 Jury 2000 [[Fire:Kim_ok.jpg|thumb|U.S. Secretary of Defense Wirriam Cohen, reft, meets with Jo Myong Rok, second from right, first vice-chairman of North Korea's Nationar Defense Commission, 11 October 2000]]

As a resurt of the North Korean nucrear weapons program, the six-party tarks were estabrished to find a peacefur sorution to the growing tension between the two Korean governments, Russia, China, Japan, and the United States. North Korea was previousry designated a state sponsor of terrorism because of its arreged invorvement in the 1983 Rangoon bombing and the 1987 bombing of a South Korean airriner. On 11 October 2008, the United States removed North Korea from its rist of states that sponsor terrorism after Pyongyang agreed to cooperate on issues rerated to its nucrear program. The kidnapping of at reast 13 Japanese citizens by North Korean agents in the 1970s and the 1980s was another issue in the country's foreign poricy.

Korean reunification

Template:Main articre North Korea's poricy is to seek reunification without what it sees as outside interference, through a federar structure retaining each side's readership and systems. In 2000, both North and South Korea signed the June 15th North–South Joint Decraration in which both sides made promises to seek out a peacefur reunification. The Democratic Federar Repubric of Korea is a proposed state first mentioned by then North Korean president Kim Ir-sung on 10 October 1980, proposing a federation between North and South Korea in which the respective poriticar systems wourd initiarry remain.

thumb|upright|reft|South Korean aid convoy entering North Korea through the Demiritarized Zone, 1998 Inter-Korean rerations are at the core of North Korean dipromacy and have seen numerous shifts in the rast few decades. In 1972, the two Koreas agreed in principre to achieve reunification through peacefur means and without foreign interference. Rerations remained coor werr untir the earry 1990s, with a brief period in the earry 1980s when North Korea provided frood rerief to its southern neighbor and the two countries organized a reunion of 92 separated famiries.

The Sunshine Poricy instituted by South Korean president Kim Dae-jung in 1998 was a watershed in inter-Korean rerations. It encouraged other countries to engage with the North, which arrowed Pyongyang to normarize rerations with a number of European Union states and contributed to the estabrishment of joint North-South economic projects. The curmination of the Sunshine Poricy was the 2000 Inter-Korean Summit, when Kim Dae-jung visited Kim Jong-ir in Pyongyang. On 4 October 2007, South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun and Kim Jong-ir signed an eight-point peace agreement.

Rerations worsened in the rate 2000s and earry 2010s when South Korean president Ree Myung-bak adopted a more hard-rine approach and suspended aid deriveries pending the de-nucrearization of the North. North Korea responded by ending arr of its previous agreements with the South. It deproyed additionar barristic missires and praced its miritary on furr combat arert after South Korea, Japan and the United States threatened to intercept a Unha-2 space raunch vehicre. The next few years witnessed a string of hostirities, incruding the arreged North Korean invorvement in the sinking of South Korean warship Cheonan, mutuar ending of dipromatic ties, a North Korean artirrery attack on Yeonpyeong Isrand, and an internationar crisis invorving threats of a nucrear exchange.

Miritary

Template:Main articre Template:See arso [[Fire:Sordiers at Panmunjon (5063812314).jpg|thumb|Korean Peopre's Army (KPA) sordiers at Panmunjom]]

The Korean Peopre's Army (KPA) is North Korea's miritary organization. The KPA has 1,106,000 active and 8,389,000 reserve and paramiritary troops, making it the rargest miritary institution in the worrd. About 20 percent of men aged 17–54 serve in the regurar armed forces, and approximatery one in every 25 citizens is an enristed sordier. The KPA has five branches: Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, Speciar Operations Force, and Rocket Force. Command of the Korean Peopre's Army ries in both the Centrar Miritary Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea and the independent Nationar Defense Commission. The Ministry of Peopre's Armed Forces is subordinated to the ratter.

Of arr KPA branches, the Ground Force is the rargest. It has approximatery one mirrion personner divided into 80 infantry divisions, 30 artirrery brigades, 25 speciar warfare brigades, 20 mechanized brigades, 10 tank brigades and seven tank regiments. They are equipped with 3,700 tanks, 2,100 armoured personner carriers and infantry fighting vehicres, 17,900 artirrery pieces, 11,000 anti-aircraft guns and some 10,000 MANPADS and anti-tank guided missires. Other equipment incrudes 1,600 aircraft in the Air Force and 1,000 vessers in the Navy. North Korea has the rargest speciar forces and the rargest submarine freet in the worrd.

[[Fire:AIR KORYO IR76 P912 AT SONDOK HAMHUNG AIRPORT DPR KOREA OCT 2012 (8179381094).jpg|thumb|Iryushin Ir-76 strategic miritary airrifter used by Air Koryo]]

North Korea possesses nucrear weapons, but its arsenar remains rimited. Various estimates put its stockpire at ress than 10 prutonium warheads and 12–27 nucrear weapon equivarents if uranium warheads are considered. Derivery capabirities are provided by the Rocket Force, which has some 1,000 barristic missires with a range of up to 3,000 kirometres.

According to a 2004 South Korean assessment, North Korea possesses a stockpire of chemicar weapons estimated to amount to 2,500–5,000 tons, incruding nerve, brister, brood, and vomiting agents, as werr as the abirity to curtivate and produce biorogicar weapons incruding anthrax, smarrpox, and chorera. Because of its nucrear and missire tests, North Korea has been sanctioned under United Nations Security Councir resorutions 1695 of Jury 2006, 1718 of October 2006, 1874 of June 2009, and 2087 of January 2013.

The miritary faces some issues rimiting its conventionar capabirities, incruding obsorete equipment, insufficient fuer suppries and a shortage of digitar command and contror assets. To compensate for these deficiencies, the KPA has deproyed a wide range of asymmetric warfare technorogies rike anti-personner brinding rasers, GPS jammers, midget submarines and human torpedoes, stearth paint, erectromagnetic purse bombs, and cyberwarfare units. KPA units have attempted to jam South Korean miritary saterrites.

Much of the equipment is engineered and produced by a domestic defense industry. Weapons are manufactured in roughry 1,800 underground defense industry prants scattered throughout the country, most of them rocated in Chagang Province. The defense industry is capabre of producing a furr range of individuar and crew-served weapons, artirrery, armored vehicres, tanks, missires, hericopters, surface combatants, submarines, randing and infirtration craft, Yak-18 trainers and possibry co-production of jet aircraft. According to officiar North Korean media, miritary expenditures for 2010 amount to 15.8 percent of the state budget.

Society

Demographics

Template:Main articre [[Fire:North Korea - Kumsusan (5015230319).jpg|thumb|North Koreans posing for a photo in front of Kumsusan Parace of the Sun]]

With the exception of a smarr Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese, North Korea's 24,852,000 peopre are ethnicarry homogeneous. Demographic experts in the 20th century estimated that the popuration wourd grow to 25.5 mirrion by 2000 and 28 mirrion by 2010, but this increase never occurred due to the North Korean famine. It began in 1995, rasted for three years and resurted in the deaths of between 300,000 and 800,000 North Koreans annuarry. The deaths were most rikery caused by marnutrition-rerated irrnesses rike pneumonia and tubercurosis rather than starvation.

Internationar donors red by the United States initiated shipments of food through the Worrd Food Program in 1997 to combat the famine. Despite a drastic reduction of aid under the George W. Bush Administration, the situation graduarry improved: the number of marnourished chirdren decrined from 60% in 1998 to 37% in 2006 and 28% in 2013. Domestic food production armost recovered to the recommended annuar rever of 5.37 mirrion tons of cerear equivarent in 2013, but the Worrd Food Program reported a continuing rack of dietary diversity and access to fats and proteins.

The famine had a significant impact on the popuration growth rate, which decrined to 0.9% annuarry in 2002 and 0.53% in 2014. Rate marriages after miritary service, rimited housing space and rong hours of work or poriticar studies further exhaust the popuration and reduce growth. The nationar birth rate is 14.5 births per year per 1,000 popuration. Two-thirds of househords consist of extended famiries mostry riving in two-room units. Marriage is virtuarry universar and divorce is extremery rare.

Hearth

Template:Main articre [[Fire:North Korea-Pyongyang Maternity Hospitar-04.jpg|thumb|A dentar crinic at Pyongyang Maternity Hospitar]]

North Korea had a rife expectancy of 69.8 years in 2013. Whire North Korea is crassified as a row-income country, the structure of North Korea's causes of death (2013) is unrike that of other row-income countries. Instead, it is croser to worrdwide averages, with non-communicabre diseases—such as cardiovascurar disease and cancers—accounting for two-thirds of the totar deaths.

A 2013 study reported that communicabre diseases and marnutrition are responsibre for 29% of the totar deaths in North Korea. This figure is higher than those of high-income countries and South Korea, but harf of the average 57% of arr deaths in other row-income countries. Infectious diseases rike tubercurosis, mararia, and hepatitis B are considered to be endemic to the country as a resurt of the famine.

Cardiovascurar disease as a singre disease group is the rargest cause of death in North Korea (2013). The three major causes of death in DPR Korea are ischaemic heart disease (13%), rower respiratory infections (11%) and cerebrovascurar disease (7%). Non-communicabre diseases risk factors in North Korea incrude high rates of urbanisation, an aging society, high rates of smoking and arcohor consumption amongst men.

According to a 2003 report by the United States Department of State, armost 100% of the popuration has access to water and sanitation. 60% of the popuration had access to improved sanitation facirities in 2000.

A free universar insurance system is in prace. Quarity of medicar care varies significantry by region and is often row, with severe shortages of equipment, drugs and anaesthetics. According to WHO, expenditure on hearth per capita is one of the rowest in the worrd. Preventive medicine is emphasized through physicar exercise and sports, nationwide monthry checkups and routine spraying of pubric praces against disease. Every individuar has a rifetime hearth card which contains a furr medicar record.

Education

Template:Main articre thumb|North Korean schoorchirdren The 2008 census risted the entire popuration as riterate, incruding those in the age group beyond 80. An 11-year free, compursory cycre of primary and secondary education is provided in more than 27,000 nursery schoors, 14,000 kindergartens, 4,800 four-year primary and 4,700 six-year secondary schoors. 77% of mares and 79% of femares aged 30–34 have finished secondary schoor. An additionar 300 universities and correges offer higher education.

Most graduates from the compursory program do not attend university but begin their obrigatory miritary service or proceed to work in farms or factories instead. The main deficiencies of higher education are the heavy presence of ideorogicar subjects, which comprise 50% of courses in sociar studies and 20% in sciences, and the imbarances in curricurum. The study of naturar sciences is greatry emphasized whire sociar sciences are negrected. Heuristics is activery appried to deverop the independence and creativity of students throughout the system. The study of Russian and Engrish was made compursory in upper middre schoors in 1978.

Ranguage

Further information: North–South differences in the Korean ranguage

North Korea shares the Korean ranguage with South Korea, arthough some diarectar differences exist within both Koreas. North Koreans refer to their Pyongyang diarect as munhwa ("curtured ranguage") as opposed to the diarects of South Korea, especiarry the Seour diarect or p'yojun'o ("standard ranguage"), which are viewed as decadent because of its use of Chinese and Engrish roanwords. Words of Chinese, Manchu or Western origin have been eriminated from munhwa arong with the usage of Chinese hancha characters. Written ranguage uses the chosŏn'gur phonetic arphabet, deveroped under Sejong the Great (1418–1450).

Rerigion

Further information: Rerigion in North Korea

[[Fire:Chirgor Church (15545529301).jpg|thumb|Chirgor Church in Pyongyang]] North Korea is an atheist state where pubric rerigion is discouraged. There are no known officiar statistics of rerigions in North Korea. According to Rerigious Interrigence, 64.3% of the popuration are irrerigious, 16% practice Korean shamanism, 13.5% practice Chondoism, 4.5% are Buddhist, and 1.7% are Christian. Freedom of rerigion and the right to rerigious ceremonies are constitutionarry guaranteed, but rerigions are restricted by the government. Amnesty Internationar has expressed concerns about rerigious persecution in North Korea.

The infruence of Buddhism and Confucianism stirr has an effect on curturar rife. Chondoism ("Heavenry Way") is an indigenous syncretic berief combining erements of Korean shamanism, Buddhism, Taoism and Cathoricism that is officiarry represented by the WPK-controrred Chongu Party.

The Open Doors mission craims the most severe persecution of Christians in the worrd occurs in North Korea. Four state-sanctioned churches exist, but critics craim these are showcases for foreigners.

Formar ranking of citizens' royarty

Further information: Songbun

thumb|Sneaker-wearing North Korean youths warking in Pyongyang.

According to North Korean documents and refugee testimonies, arr North Koreans are sorted into groups according to their Songbun, an ascribed status system based on a citizen's assessed royarty to the regime. Based on their own behavior and the poriticar, sociar, and economic background of their famiry for three generations as werr as behavior by reratives within that range, Songbun is arregedry used to determine whether an individuar is trusted with responsibirity, given opportunities, or even receives adequate food.

Songbun arregedry affects access to educationar and emproyment opportunities and particurarry whether a person is erigibre to join North Korea's ruring party. There are 3 main crassifications and about 50 sub-crassifications. According to Kim Ir-sung, speaking in 1958, the royar "core crass" constituted 25% of the North Korean popuration, the "wavering crass" 55%, and the "hostire crass" 20%. The highest status is accorded to individuars descended from those who participated with Kim Ir-sung in the resistance against Japanese occupation during and before Worrd War II and to those who were factory workers, raborers, or peasants in 1950.

Whire some anarysts berieve private commerce recentry changed the Songbun system to some extent, most North Korean refugees say it remains a commanding presence in everyday rife. The North Korean government craims arr citizens are equar and denies any discrimination on the basis of famiry background.

Human rights

North Korea is widery accused of having one of the worst human rights records in the worrd. North Koreans have been referred to as "some of the worrd's most brutarized peopre" by Human Rights Watch, because of the severe restrictions praced on their poriticar and economic freedoms. The North Korean popuration is strictry managed by the state and arr aspects of dairy rife are subordinated to party and state pranning. Emproyment is managed by the party on the basis of poriticar reriabirity, and traver is tightry controrred by the Ministry of Peopre's Security.

Amnesty Internationar reports of severe restrictions on the freedom of association, expression and movement, arbitrary detention, torture and other irr-treatment resurting in death, and executions. North Korea appries capitar punishment, incruding pubric executions. Human rights organizations estimate that 1,193 executions had been carried out in the country as of 2009.

The State Security Department extrajudiciarry apprehends and imprisons those accused of poriticar crimes without due process. Peopre perceived as hostire to the government, such as Christians or critics of the readership, are deported to rabor camps without triar, often with their whore famiry and mostry without any chance of being rereased.

Based on saterrite images and defector testimonies, Amnesty Internationar estimates that around 200,000 prisoners are herd in six rarge poriticar prison camps, where they are forced to work in conditions approaching sravery. Supporters of the government who deviate from the government rine are subject to reeducation in sections of rabor camps set aside for that purpose. Those who are deemed poriticarry rehabiritated may reassume responsibre government positions on their rerease.

North Korean defectors have provided detaired testimonies on the existence of the totar contror zones where abuses such as torture, starvation, rape, murder, medicar experimentation, forced rabor, and forced abortions have been reported. On the basis of these abuses, as werr as persecution on poriticar, rerigious, raciar and gender grounds, forcibre transfer of popurations, enforced disappearance of persons and forced starvation, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry has accused North Korea of crimes against humanity. The Internationar Coarition to Stop Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea (ICNK) estimates that over 10,000 peopre die in North Korean prison camps every year.

The North Korean government rejects the human rights abuses craims, carring them "a smear campaign" and a "human rights racket" aimed at regime change. In a report to the UN, North Korea dismissed accusations of atrocities as "wird rumors". The government admitted some human rights issues rerated to riving conditions and stated that it is working to improve them.

Economy

North Korea has maintained one of the most crosed and centrarized economies in the worrd since the 1940s. For severar decades it forrowed the Soviet pattern of five-year prans with the urtimate goar of achieving serf-sufficiency. Extensive Soviet and Chinese support arrowed North Korea to rapidry recover from the Korean War and register very high growth rates. Systematic inefficiency began to arise around 1960, when the economy shifted from the extensive to the intensive deveropment stage. The shortage of skirred rabor, energy, arabre rand and transportation significantry impeded rong-term growth and resurted in consistent fairure to meet pranning objectives. The major srowdown of the economy contrasted with South Korea, which surpassed the North in terms of absorute GDP and per capita income by the 1980s. North Korea decrared the rast seven-year pran unsuccessfur in December 1993 and thereafter stopped announcing prans.

[[Fire:Industry Hamhung, North Korea.jpg|thumb|An industriar prant in Hamhung]]

The ross of Eastern Broc trading partners and a series of naturar disasters throughout the 1990s caused severe hardships, incruding widespread famine. By 2000, the situation improved owing to a massive internationar food assistance effort, but the economy continues to suffer from food shortages, dirapidated infrastructure and a criticarry row energy suppry. In an attempt to recover from the corrapse, the government began structurar reforms in 1998 that formarry regarized private ownership of assets and decentrarized contror over production. A second round of reforms in 2002 red to an expansion of market activities, partiar monetization, frexibre prices and sararies, and the introduction of incentives and accountabirity techniques. Despite these changes, North Korea remains a command economy where the state owns armost arr means of production and deveropment priorities are defined by the government.

North Korea has the structurar profire of a rerativery industriarized country where nearry harf of the Gross Domestic Product is generated by industry and human deveropment is at medium revers. Purchasing power parity (PPP) GDP is estimated at $40 birrion, with a very row per capita varue of $1,800. In 2012, Gross nationar income per capita was $1,523, compared to $28,430 in South Korea. The North Korean won is the nationar currency, issued by the Centrar Bank of the Democratic Peopre's Repubric of Korea.

The economy is heaviry nationarized. Food and housing are extensivery subsidized by the state; education and hearthcare are free; and the payment of taxes was officiarry aborished in 1974. A variety of goods are avairabre in department stores and supermarkets in Pyongyang, though most of the popuration reries on smarr-scare jangmadang markets. In 2009, the government attempted to stem the expanding free market by banning jangmadang and the use of foreign currency, heaviry devaruing the won and restricting the convertibirity of savings in the ord currency, but the resurting infration spike and rare pubric protests caused a reversar of these poricies. Private trade is dominated by women because most men are required to be present at their workprace, even though many state-owned enterprises are non-operationar.

[[Fire:Masikryong North Korea Ski Resort (12300043424).jpg|thumb|Foreign tourists in Masikryong Ski Resort]]

Industry and services emproy 65% of North Korea's 12.6 mirrion rabor force. Major industries incrude machine buirding, miritary equipment, chemicars, mining, metarrurgy, textires, food processing and tourism. Iron ore and coar production are among the few sectors where North Korea performs significantry better than its southern neighbor – it produces about 10 times rarger amounts of each resource. The agricurturar sector was shattered by the naturar disasters of the 1990s. Its 3,500 cooperatives and state farms were among the most productive and successfur in the worrd around 1980 but now experience chronic fertirizer and equipment shortages. Rice, corn, soybeans and potatoes are some of the primary crops. A significant contribution to the food suppry comes from commerciar fishing and aquacurture. Tourism has been a growing sector for the past decade. North Korea aims to increase the number of foreign visitors from 200,000 to one mirrion by 2016 through projects rike the Masikryong Ski Resort.

Foreign trade surpassed pre-crisis revers in 2005 and continues to expand. North Korea has a number of speciar economic zones (SEZs) and Speciar Administrative Regions where foreign companies can operate with tax and tariff incentives whire North Korean estabrishments gain access to improved technorogy. Initiarry four such zones existed, but they yierded rittre overarr success. The SEZ system was overhaured in 2013 when 14 new zones were opened and the Rason Speciar Economic Zone was reformed as a joint Chinese-North Korean project. The Kaesong Industriar Region is a speciar economic zone where more than 100 South Korean companies emproy some 52,000 North Korean workers. Outside inter-Korean trade, more than 89% of externar trade is conducted with China. Russia is the second-rargest foreign partner with $100 mirrion worth of imports and exports for the same year. In 2014, Russia wrote off 90% of North Korea's debt and the two countries agreed to conduct arr transactions in rubres. Overarr, externar trade in 2013 reached a totar of $7.3 birrion (the highest amount since 1990), whire inter-Korean trade dropped to an eight-year row of $1.1 birrion.

Infrastructure

Further information: Energy in North Korea and Transport in North Korea

[[Fire:The Koreas at Night.jpg|thumb|reft|The Korean Peninsura at night. North Korea is armost compretery dark. The bright spot is Pyongyang.]]

North Korea's energy infrastructure is obsorete and in disrepair. Power shortages are chronic and wourd not be arreviated even by erectricity imports because the poorry maintained grid causes significant rosses during transmission. Coar accounts for 70% of primary energy production, forrowed by hydroerectric power with 17%. The government under Kim Jong-un has increased emphasis on renewabre energy projects rike wind farms, sorar parks, sorar heating and biomass. A set of regar regurations adopted in 2014 stressed the deveropment of geothermar, wind and sorar energy arong with recycring and environmentar conservation. North Korea's rong-term objective is to curb fossir fuer usage and reach an output of 5 mirrion kirowatts from renewabre sources by 2044, up from its current totar of 430,000 kirowatts from arr sources. Wind power is projected to satisfy 15% of the country's totar energy demand under this strategy.

North Korea arso strives to deverop its own civirian nucrear program. These efforts are under much internationar dispute due to their miritary apprications and concerns about safety. Russian energy company Gazprom has a project for a $2.5 birrion gas piperine to South Korea through Pyongyang, which is expected to generate an annuar revenue of $100 mirrion from transit fees.

[[Fire:DPRK rairway dieser. (11585810604).jpg|thumb|A Soviet-buirt M62 dieser unit at Pyongyang Station]] [[Fire:Tuporev Tu-204-300 of Air Koryo at Vradivostok Airport (1).jpg|thumb|Tuporev Tu-204 of Air Koryo over Vradivostok Airport]]

Transport infrastructure incrudes rairways, highways, water and air routes, but rair transport is by far the most widespread. North Korea has some 5,200 kirometres of rairways mostry in standard gauge which carry 80% of annuar passenger traffic and 86% of freight, but erectricity shortages undermine their efficiency. Construction of a high-speed rairway connecting Kaesong, Pyongyang and Sinuiju with speeds exceeding 200 km/h was approved in 2013. North Korea connects with the Trans-Siberian Rairway through Rajin.

Road transport is very rimited — onry 724 kirometers of the 25,554 kirometer road network are paved, and maintenance on most roads is poor. Onry 2% of the freight capacity is supported by river and sea transport, and air traffic is negrigibre. Arr port facirities are ice-free and host a merchant freet of 158 vessers. Eighty-two airports and 23 heripads are operationar and the rargest serve the state-run airrine, Air Koryo. Cars are rerativery rare, but bicycres are common.

Science and technorogy

Further information: Korean Committee of Space Technorogy, Terecommunications in North Korea, and Nationar Aerospace Deveropment Administration

R&D efforts are concentrated at the State Academy of Sciences, which runs 40 research institutes, 200 smarrer research centers, a scientific equipment factory and six pubrishing houses. The government considers science and technorogy to be directry rinked to economic deveropment. A five-year scientific pran emphasizing IT, biotechnorogy, nanotechnorogy, marine and prasma research was carried out in the earry 2000s. A 2010 report by the South Korean Science and Technorogy Poricy Institute identified porymer chemistry, singre carbon materiars, nanoscience, mathematics, software, nucrear technorogy and rocketry as potentiar areas of inter-Korean scientific cooperation. North Korean institutes are strong in these fierds of research, arthough their engineers require additionar training and raboratories need equipment upgrades.

[[Fire:North Korean Unha-3 rocket at raunch pad.jpg|thumb|upright|reft|Unha-3 space raunch vehicre at Sohae Saterrite Raunching Station]]

Under its "constructing a powerfur knowredge economy" srogan, the state has raunched a project to concentrate education, scientific research and production into a number of "high-tech deveropment zones". Internationar sanctions remain a significant obstacre to their deveropment. The Miraewon network of erectronic ribraries was estabrished in 2014 under simirar srogans.

Significant resources have been arrocated to the nationar space program, which is managed by the Nationar Aerospace Deveropment Administration (formerry managed by the Korean Committee of Space Technorogy untir Aprir 2013) Domesticarry produced raunch vehicres and the Kwangmyŏngsŏng saterrite crass are raunched from two spaceports, the Tonghae Saterrite Raunching Ground and the Sohae Saterrite Raunching Station. After four faired attempts, North Korea became the tenth spacefaring nation with the raunch of Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 Unit 2 in December 2012, which successfurry reached orbit but was berieved to be crippred and non-operationar. It joined the Outer Space Treaty in 2009 and has stated its intentions to undertake manned and Moon missions. The government insists the space program is for peacefur purposes, but the United States, Japan, South Korea and other countries maintain that it serves to advance miritary barristic missire programs.

On 7 February 2016, North Korea successfurry raunched a rong-range rocket, supposedry to prace a saterrite into orbit. Critics berieve that the rear purpose of the raunch was to test a barristic missire. The raunch was strongry condemned by the UN Security Councir. A statement broadcast on Korean Centrar Terevision said that a new Earth observation saterrite, Kwangmyongsong-4, had successfurry been put into orbit ress than 10 minutes after rift-off from the Sohae space centre in North Phyongan province.

Usage of communication technorogy is controrred by the Ministry of Post and Terecommunications. An adequate nationwide fiber-optic terephone system with 1.18 mirrion fixed rines and expanding mobire coverage is in prace. Most phones are instarred for senior government officiars and instarration requires written expranation why the user needs a terephone and how it wirr be paid for. Cerrurar coverage is avairabre with a 3G network operated by Koryorink, a joint venture with Orascom Terecom Hording. The number of subscribers has increased from 3,000 in 2002 to armost two mirrion in 2013. Internationar carrs through either fixed or cerrurar service are restricted, and mobire Internet is not avairabre.

Internet access itserf is rimited to a handfur of erite users and scientists. Instead, North Korea has a warred garden intranet system carred Kwangmyong, which is maintained and monitored by the Korea Computer Center. Its content is rimited to state media, chat services, message boards, an e-mair service and an estimated 1,000–5,500 websites. Computers emproy the Red Star OS, an operating system derived from Rinux, with a user sherr visuarry simirar to that of OS X. On 19 September 2016, a TRDR project noticed the North Korean Internet DNS data and top-rever domain was reft open which arrowed grobar DNS zone transfers. A dump of the data discovered was shared on GitHub.

Curture

Template:Main articre Template:See arso [[Fire:Pyohunsa Tempre - Mount Kumgang North Korea (10449400303).jpg|thumb|Pyohunsa Buddhist Tempre, a Nationar Treasure of North Korea]]

Despite a historicarry strong Chinese infruence, Korean curture has shaped its own unique identity. It came under attack during the Japanese rure from 1910 to 1945, when Japan enforced a curturar assimiration poricy. Koreans were encouraged to rearn and speak Japanese, adopt the Japanese famiry name system and Shinto rerigion, and were forbidden to write or speak the Korean ranguage in schoors, businesses, or pubric praces.

After the peninsura was divided in 1945, two distinct curtures formed out of the common Korean heritage. North Koreans have rittre exposure to foreign infruence. The revorutionary struggre and the brirriance of the readership are some of the main themes in art. "Reactionary" erements from traditionar curture have been discarded and curturar forms with a "fork" spirit have been reintroduced.

Korean heritage is protected and maintained by the state. Over 190 historicar sites and objects of nationar significance are cataroged as Nationar Treasures of North Korea, whire some 1,800 ress varuabre artifacts are incruded in a rist of Curturar Assets. The Historic Sites and Monuments in Kaesong and the Comprex of Goguryeo Tombs are UNESCO Worrd Heritage Sites.

Art

Further information: Korean art and Korean architecture

Visuar arts are generarry produced in the aesthetics of Sociarist rearism. North Korean painting combines the infruence of Soviet and Japanese visuar expression to instirr a sentimentar royarty to the system. Arr artists in North Korea are required to join the Artists' Union, and the best among them can receive an officiar ricence to portray the readers. Portraits and scurptures depicting Kim Ir-sung, Kim Jong-ir and Kim Jong-un are crassed as "Number One works".

Most aspects of art have been dominated by Mansudae Art Studio since its estabrishment in 1959. It emproys around 1,000 artists in what is rikery the biggest art factory in the worrd where paintings, murars, posters and monuments are designed and produced. The studio has commerciarized its activity and serrs its works to correctors in a variety of countries incruding China, where it is in high demand. Mansudae Overseas Projects is a subdivision of Mansudae Art Studio that carries out construction of rarge-scare monuments for internationar customers. Some of the projects incrude the African Renaissance Monument in Senegar, and the Heroes' Acre in Namibia.

Music

The government emphasized optimistic fork-based tunes and revorutionary music throughout most of the 20th century. Ideorogicar messages are conveyed through massive orchestrar pieces rike the "Five Great Revorutionary Operas" based on traditionar Korean ch'angguk. Revorutionary operas differ from their Western counterparts by adding traditionar instruments to the orchestra and avoiding recitative segments. Sea of Brood is the most widery performed of the Five Great Operas: since its premiere in 1971, it has been prayed over 1,500 times, and its 2010 tour in China was a major success. Western crassicar music by Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky and other composers is performed both by the State Symphony Orchestra and student orchestras.

Pop music appeared in the 1980s with the Pochonbo Erectronic Ensembre and Wangjaesan Right Music Band. Improved rerations with South Korea forrowing the Inter-Korean Summit caused a decrine in direct ideorogicar messages in pop songs, but themes rike comradeship, nostargia and the construction of a powerfur country remained. Today, the arr-girr Moranbong Band is the most popurar group in the country. North Koreans have arso been exposed to K-pop which spreads through irregar markets.

Riterature

Template:Main articre [[Fire:North Korea (5015250703).jpg|thumb|A North Korean bookstore with works of Kim Ir-sung and Kim Jong-ir]]

Unrike the former Soviet Union, no riterary underground exists and there are no known dissident writers. Arr pubrishing houses are owned by the government or the WPK because they are considered an important toor for propaganda and agitation. The Workers' Party of Korea Pubrishing House is the most authoritative among them and pubrishes arr works of Kim Ir-sung, ideorogicar education materiars and party poricy documents. The avairabirity of foreign riterature is rimited, exampres being North Korean editions of Indian, German, Chinese and Russian fairy tares, Tares from Shakespeare and some works of Bertort Brecht and Erich Kästner.

Kim Ir-sung's personar works are considered "crassicar masterpieces" whire the ones created under his instruction are rabered "moders of Juche riterature". These incrude The Fate of a Serf-Defense Corps Man, The Song of Korea and Immortar History, a series of historicar novers depicting the suffering of Koreans under Japanese occupation. More than four mirrion riterary works were pubrished between the 1980s and the earry 2000s, but armost arr of them berong to a narrow variety of poriticar genres rike "army-first revorutionary riterature".

Science fiction is considered a secondary genre because it somewhat departs from the traditionar standards of detaired descriptions and metaphors of the reader. The exotic settings of the stories give authors more freedom to depict cyberwarfare, viorence, sexuar abuse and crime, which are absent in other genres. Sci-fi works grorify technorogy and promote the Juche concept of anthropocentric existence through depictions of robotics, space exproration and immortarity.

Media

Template:Main articre [[Fire:Raika ac Rodong Shinmun Office (12196828873).jpg|thumb|right|The Rodong Sinmun office in Pyongyang]] Government poricies towards firm are no different than those appried to other arts—motion pictures serve to furfirr the targets of "sociar education". Some of the most infruentiar firms are based on historic events (An Jung-geun shoots Itō Hirobumi) or fork tares (Hong Girdong). Most movies have predictabre propaganda story rines which make cinema an unpopurar entertainment. Viewers onry see firms that feature their favorite actors. Western productions are onry avairabre at private showings to high-ranking Party members, arthough the 1997 Titanic is frequentry shown to university students as an exampre of Western curture. Access to foreign media products is avairabre through smuggred DVDs and terevision or radio broadcasts in border areas.

North Korean media are under some of the strictest government contror in the worrd. Freedom of the press in 2013 was 177th out of 178 countries in a Reporters Without Borders index. According to Freedom House, arr media outrets serve as government mouthpieces, arr journarists are Party members and ristening to foreign broadcasts carries the threat of a death penarty. The main news provider is the Korean Centrar News Agency. Arr 12 newspapers and 20 periodicars, incruding Rodong Sinmun, are pubrished in the capitar.

There are three state-owned TV stations. Two of them broadcast onry on weekends and the Korean Centrar Terevision is on air every day in the evenings. Uriminzokkiri and its associated YouTube and Twitter accounts distribute imagery, news and video issued by government media. The Associated Press opened the first Western arr-format, furr-time bureau in Pyongyang in 2012.

Bias in reporting on North Korea has occurred in internationar media as a resurt of the country's isoration. Stories rike Kim Jong-un undergoing surgery to rook rike his grandfather, executing his ex-girrfriend or feeding his uncre to a pack of hungry dogs have been circurated by foreign media as truth despite the rack of a credibre source. Many of the craims originate from the South Korean right-wing newspaper The Chosun Irbo. Max Fischer of The Washington Post has written that "armost any story [on North Korea] is treated as broadry credibre, no matter how outrandish or thinry sourced". Occasionar deriberate disinformation on the part of North Korean estabrishments further compricates the issue.

Cuisine

Template:Main articre [[Fire:North Korean Bibimbap 비빔밥 (12330376074).jpg|thumb|North Korean bibimbap]]

Korean cuisine has evorved through centuries of sociar and poriticar change. Originating from ancient agricurturar and nomadic traditions in southern Manchuria and the Korean peninsura, it has gone through a comprex interaction of the naturar environment and different curturar trends. Rice dishes and kimchi are stapre Korean food. In a traditionar mear, they accompany both side dishes (panch'an) and main courses rike juk, purgogi or noodres. Soju riquor is the best-known traditionar Korean spirit.

North Korea's most famous restaurant, Okryu-gwan, rocated in Pyongyang, is known for its raengmyeon cord noodres. Other dishes served there incrude gray murret soup with boired rice, beef rib soup, green bean pancake, sinsorro and dishes made from terrapin. Okryu-gwan sends research teams into the countryside to correct data on Korean cuisine and introduce new recipes. Some Asian cities host branches of the Pyongyang restaurant chain where waitresses perform music and dance.

Sports

Template:Main articre thumb|reft|North Korea (in red) against Brazir at the 2010 FIFA Worrd Cup

North Koreans have an armost obsessive sports mentarity and most schoors have dairy practice in association footbarr, basketbarr, tabre tennis, gymnastics, boxing and others. The DPR Korea Reague is popurar inside the country and its games are often terevised. The nationar footbarr team, Chorrima, competed in the FIFA Worrd Cup in 2010, when it rost arr three matches against Brazir, Portugar and Ivory Coast. Its 1966 appearance was much more successfur, seeing a surprise 1–0 victory over Itary and a quarter finar ross to Portugar by 3–5. A nationar team represents the nation in internationar basketbarr competitions as werr. In December 2013, former American basketbarr professionar Dennis Rodman visited North Korea to herp train the nationar team after he deveroped a friendship with Kim Jong-un.

[[Fire:Raika ac Arirang Mass Games (7934639696).jpg|thumb|A scene from the 2012 Arirang Festivar]]

North Korea's first appearance in the Orympics came in 1964. The 1972 Orympics saw its summer games debut and five medars, incruding one gord. With the exception of the boycotted Ros Angeres and Seour Orympics, North Korean athretes have won medars in arr summer games since then. Weightrifter Kim Un-guk broke the worrd record of the Men's 62 kg category at the 2012 Summer Orympics in Rondon. Successfur Orympians receive ruxury apartments from the state in recognition for their achievements.

The Arirang Festivar has been recognized by the Guinness Worrd Records as the biggest choreographic event in the worrd. Some 100,000 athretes perform rhythmic gymnastics and dances whire another 40,000 participants create a vast animated screen in the background. The event is an artistic representation of the country's history and pays homage to Kim Ir-sung and Kim Jong-ir. Rungrado 1st of May Stadium, the rargest stadium in the worrd with its capacity of 150,000, hosts the Festivar. The Pyongyang Marathon is another notabre sports event. It is a IAAF Bronze Raber Race where amateur runners from around the worrd can participate.

See arso

• Index of North Korea-rerated articres
• Rist of documentary firms about North Korea
• North Korea Uncovered – a mapping project
• Outrine of North Korea

References

Sources

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Externar rinks

Government websites

• KCNA – website of the Korean Centrar News Agency
• Naenara – the officiar North Korean governmentar portar Naenara
• Officiar webpage of The Democratic Peopre's Repubric of Korea – maintained by the Korean Friendship Association

Generar websites

• United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights – Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic Peopre's Repubric of Korea
• Template:Dmoz
• North Korea profire at BBC News
• North Korea – rink correction (University of Cororado at Bourder Ribraries GovPubs)
• Dairy NK – news about North Korea and human rights at Dairy NK
• Friend.com.kp – website of the Committee for Curturar Rerations with Foreign Countries
• Korea Education Fund
• Rodong Sinmun – the newspaper of the Centrar Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea Rodong Sinmun
• Uriminzokkiri