Pengguna:Natsukusha/bak pasir/korut

{{Short description|Country in East Asia}}
{{About|the Democratic People's Republic of Korea|the Republic of Korea|South Korea|other uses|Korea (disambiguation)}}
{{Distinguish|People's Republic of Korea|text=the provisional [[People's Republic of Korea]] (1945–1946)}}

{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Republik Rakyat Demokratis Korea
| common_name            = Korea Utara
| native_name            = {{nowrap|{{native name|ko|조선민주주의인민공화국|italics=off}}<br />{{resize|90%|{{lang|ko-latn|Josŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk}} ([[Alih Aksara Korea (Utara)|AK(U)]])}}}}
| image_flag             = Flag of North Korea.svg
| image_coat             = Emblem of North Korea.svg
| symbol_type            = Emblem
| national_anthem        = {{lang|ko|애국가}}<br />[[Aegukka]]
| national_motto         = {{lang|ko|강성대국}}<br />{{transl|ko|Kangsŏngdaeguk}}<br />"[[Strong and Prosperous Nation]]"
| image_map              = Democratic People's Republic of Korea (orthographic projection).svg
| map_caption            = '''Dark green:''' Territory controlled by the DPRK<br />'''Lighter green:''' Territory claimed but not controlled by the DPRK
| capital                = [[Pyongyang]]
| largest_city           = capital
| coordinates            = {{Coord|39|2|N|125|45|E|type:city}}
| official_languages     = [[Korean language|Korean]] ([[North Korean standard language|Munhwaŏ]])<ref name="Minahan2014">{{cite book|last=Minahan|first=James B.|title=Ethnic Groups of North, East, and Central Asia: An Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oZAAQBAJ&pg=PA147|year=2014|publisher=ABC-CLIO|location=Santa Barbara|isbn=978-1-61069-018-8|page=147}}</ref>
| languages_type         = [[Official script]]
| languages              = [[Hangul|Chosŏn'gŭl]]<ref name="AltonChidley2013">{{cite book|last1=Alton|first1=David|last2=Chidley|first2=Rob|title=Building Bridges: Is There Hope for North Korea?|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eTWqpOOXI_QC&pg=PA89|year=2013|publisher=Lion Books|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-7459-5598-8|page=89}}</ref>
| demonym                = {{hlist |[[Demographics of North Korea|North Korean]] |[[Koreans|Korean]]}}
| religion               = [[State atheism]]
| government_type        = [[Unitary state|Unitary]] [[Juche]]ist [[One-party state|one-party]] [[Socialist state|socialist]] [[republic]] under a [[totalitarian]] [[hereditary dictatorship]]
<!-- The title of "Supreme Leader" has not been written into the state constitution or the party rules as a separate office. -->
| leader_title1          = [[General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea|General Secretary of the WPK]] and [[President of the State Affairs Commission|President of the SAC]]
| leader_name1           = [[Kim Jong-un]]{{Efn|Kim Jong-un holds four concurrent positions: [[General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea|General Secretary of the Workers' Party]], [[Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea|Chairman of the Central Military Commission]], [[President of the State Affairs Commission]] and [[Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of North Korea|Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces]].}}
| leader_title2          = [[Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly|Chairman of the SPA Standing Committee]] and [[State Affairs Commission of North Korea|First Vice President of the SAC]]
| leader_name2           = {{nowrap|[[Choe Ryong-hae]]{{Efn|Choe Ryong-hae represents North Korea internationally. The Presidency was written out of the constitution in 1998. [[Kim Il-sung]], who died in 1994, was declared "[[Eternal leaders of North Korea|eternal President]]" in its preamble.}}}}
| leader_title3          = [[State Affairs Commission of North Korea|Vice President of the SAC]] and [[Premier of North Korea|Premier of Cabinet]]
| leader_name3           = [[Kim Tok-hun]]
| leader_title4          = [[Chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly|Chairman of the SPA]]
| leader_name4           = [[Pak Thae-song]]
| ethnic_groups          = 
| ethnic_groups_year     = 
| legislature            = [[Supreme People's Assembly]]
| sovereignty_type       = Formation
| established_event1     = [[Soviet Civil Administration|Soviet administration]]
| established_date1      = 3 October 1945
| established_event2     = [[Provisional People's Committee of North Korea|1st provisional govt.]]
| established_date2      = 8 February 1946
| established_event3     = [[People's Committee of North Korea|2nd provisional govt.]]
| established_date3      = 22 February 1947
| established_event4     = DPRK established
| established_date4      = 9 September 1948
| established_event5     = [[Constitution of North Korea|Current constitution]]
| established_date5      = 27 December 1972
| established_event6     = [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 702|Admitted to]] the [[United Nations|UN]]
| established_date6      = {{nowrap|17 September 1991}}
| established_event7     = {{nowrap|[[Panmunjom Declaration]]}}
| established_date7      = 27 April 2018
| area_km2               = 120,540
| area_sq_mi             = 46,540
| area_rank              = 97th<!--Demographic Yearbook--><!-- Area rank should match List of countries and dependencies by area -->
| area_footnote          = <ref name="unstats08"/>
| percent_water          = 0.11
| population_estimate_year = {{UN_Population|Year}}
| population_estimate    = {{UN_Population|Dem. People's Republic of Korea}}{{UN_Population|ref}}
| population_estimate_rank = 55th
| population_census_year = 2008
| population_census      = 24,052,231<ref>{{cite web|url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sources/census/2010_PHC/North_Korea/Final%20national%20census%20report.pdf#20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100331091148/http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sources/census/2010_PHC/North_Korea/Final%20national%20census%20report.pdf |archive-date=31 March 2010 |page=14 |title=DPR Korea 2008 Population Census National Report |year=2009 |publisher=DPRK Central Bureau of Statistics |access-date=19 February 2011 |location=Pyongyang |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| population_density_km2 = 212
| population_density_rank = 45th
| GDP_PPP                = $40 billion<ref name="CIAGDP(PPP)"/>
| GDP_PPP_year           = 2015
| GDP_PPP_rank           = 
| GDP_PPP_per_capita     = $1,800<ref name="CIAGDP(PPP)Capita"/>
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 
| GDP_nominal            = $30 billion<ref name="unsd">{{cite web|url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/snaama/selbasicFast.asp |title=National Accounts Main Aggregate Database |publisher=[[United Nations Statistics Division]] |date=December 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205025204/http://unstats.un.org/unsd/snaama/selbasicFast.asp |archive-date=5 February 2016 }}</ref><ref name="nkeconwatch.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.nkeconwatch.com/category/statistics/gdp-statistics/ |title=North Korean Economy Watch » GDP statistics |access-date=9 February 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170108045819/http://www.nkeconwatch.com/category/statistics/gdp-statistics/ |archive-date=8 January 2017 }} Hyundai Research Institute (South Korea)</ref>
| GDP_nominal_year       = 2017
| GDP_nominal_rank       = 
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = $1,300<ref name="nkeconwatch.com"/>
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 
| HDI                    = 
| HDI_year               = 
| currency               = [[North Korean won|Korean People's won]] (₩)
| currency_code          = KPW
| time_zone              = [[Time in North Korea|Pyongyang Time]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Decree on Redesignating Pyongyang Time|url=http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/news/?19+8938|website=Naenara|access-date=4 May 2018|date=30 April 2018}}</ref>
| utc_offset             = +9
| DST_note               = 
| time_zone_DST          = 
| antipodes              = 
| date_format            = {{unbulleted list |yy, {{lang|ko|yyyy년 mm월 dd일}} |yy, yyyy/mm/dd {{resize|75%|([[Juche calendar|AD–1911]]{{\}}[[Anno Domini|AD]])}}}}
| drives_on              = right
| calling_code           = [[Telephone numbers in North Korea|+850]]<ref name="CIATelephone"/>
| iso3166code            = 
| cctld                  = [[.kp]]<ref name="Hersher2016"/>
| today                  = 
}}
{{Infobox Korean name
|title = '''Democratic People's Republic of Korea'''
|image = North Korea.svg
|image_size = 300px
|caption = "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" in [[Hangul|Chosŏn'gŭl]] (top) and [[Hanja|hancha]] (bottom) scripts.
|hangul = {{linktext|조선|민주주의|인민|공화국}}
|hanja = {{lang|ko|{{linktext|朝鮮|民主主義|人民|共和國}}}}
|mr = Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk
|rr = Joseon Minjujuui Inmin Gonghwaguk
|Guideline for the Romanization of Korean = Choson Minjujuui Inmin Konghwaguk
|color = khaki
|context = north
}}
{{Infobox transliteration
| title = North Korea
| skhangul = {{linktext|북|한}} 
| skhanja = {{linktext|北韓}} 
| skrr = Bukhan 
| skmr = Puk'an 
| nkhangul = {{linktext|조선}} 
| nkhanja = {{linktext|朝鮮}} 
| nkrr = Joseon 
| nkmr = Chosŏn
}}

'''North Korea''',{{efn|[[Korean language|Korean]]: {{linktext|조선}} / {{linktext|朝鮮}}, [[McCune–Reischauer|MR]]: ''Chosŏn''; literally {{linktext|북조선}} / {{linktext|北朝鮮}}, [[McCune–Reischauer|MR]]: ''Pukchosŏn'', or {{linktext|북한}} / {{linktext|北韓}} [[Revised Romanization of Korean|RR]]: ''Bukhan'' in South Korean usage.}} officially the '''Democratic People's Republic of Korea''' ('''DPRK'''),{{efn|Also abbreviated '''DPR Korea''' and '''Korea, DPR'''; Korean: {{linktext|조선민주주의인민공화국}} / {{linktext|朝鮮民主主義人民共和國}}, ''Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk''}} is a country in [[East Asia]], constituting the northern part of the [[Korea]]n Peninsula. It borders China and Russia to the north, at the [[Yalu River|Yalu]] (Amnok) and [[Tumen River|Tumen]] rivers, and South Korea to the south at the [[Korean Demilitarized Zone]]. Its western border is formed by the [[Yellow Sea]], while its eastern border is defined by the [[Sea of Japan]]. North Korea, like its southern counterpart, claims to be the legitimate government of the entire peninsula and [[List of islands of North Korea|adjacent islands]]. [[Pyongyang]] is the country's capital and largest city.

In 1910, [[Korean Empire|Korea]] was [[Korea under Japanese rule|annexed]] by the [[Empire of Japan]]. In 1945, after the [[Surrender of Japan|Japanese surrender]] at the [[End of World War II in Asia|end of World War II]], Korea was [[Division of Korea|divided into two zones]] along the [[38th parallel north|38th parallel]], with the [[Soviet Civil Administration|north occupied by the Soviet Union]] and the [[United States Army Military Government in Korea|south occupied by the United States]]. Negotiations on reunification failed, and in 1948, separate governments were formed: the socialist DPRK in the north, and the capitalist Republic of Korea in the south. The [[Korean War]] began in 1950, with an invasion by North Korea, and lasted to 1953. The [[Korean Armistice Agreement]] brought about a [[ceasefire]] and established a [[demilitarized zone]] (DMZ), but no formal [[peace treaty]] was ever signed.

According to Article 1 of the [[Constitution of North Korea|state constitution]], North Korea is an "independent [[socialist state]]".{{Efn|The constitution of the DPRK, Article 1, states that "The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is an independent socialist State representing the interests of all the Korean people."<ref>{{Cite wikisource|title=Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (2019)|year=2019|anchor=CHAPTER_I._POLITICS| plainchapter=CHAPTER I. POLITICS}}</ref>}} It [[Elections in North Korea|holds elections]], though they have been described by independent observers as [[sham election]]s, as North Korea is a [[Totalitarianism|totalitarian]] [[dictatorship]],{{Efn|Sources stating that North Korea is a [[Totalitarianism|totalitarian]] [[dictatorship]]:<ref name=":9">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15256929|title=North Korea country profile|date=9 April 2018|work=BBC News}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/world/north-korea-defectors/|title=Kim Jong Un's North Korea: Life inside the totalitarian state|newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref><ref name="britannica">{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/totalitarianism|title=Totalitarianism|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|date=2018}}</ref><!--Do not change without consensus. See Talk page and its archives.--><ref>{{cite book|title=Britannica Book of the Year 2014|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LccRAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA642|year=2014|publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.|location=London|isbn=978-1-62513-171-3|page=642|chapter=Korea, North}}</ref>}} with an elaborate [[North Korean cult of personality|cult of personality]] around the [[Kim dynasty (North Korea)|Kim dynasty]]. The [[Workers' Party of Korea]], led by a member of the ruling family, is the dominant party and leads the [[Democratic Front for the Reunification of Korea]], of which all political officers are required to be members. 

According to Article 3 of the constitution, ''[[Juche]]'' is the official [[ideology]] of North Korea.<ref name="naenara">{{Cite web|title=DPRK Socialist Constitution|url=http://www.naenara.com.kp/index.php/Main/index/en/politics?arg_val=constitution|website=www.naenara.com.kp}}</ref> The [[means of production]] are owned by the state through [[State-owned enterprise|state-run enterprises]] and [[Collective farming|collectivized farms]]. Most services—such as [[Socialized medicine|healthcare]], [[State school|education]], [[State housing|housing]], and [[Agricultural subsidy|food production]]—are subsidized or state-funded. From 1994 to 1998, [[North Korean famine|North Korea suffered a famine]] that resulted in the deaths of between 240,000 and 420,000 people, and the population continues to suffer from malnutrition.<ref name="Spoorenberg"/>

North Korea follows ''[[Songun]]'', or "[[Militarism|military first]]" policy, for its [[Korean People's Army]]. It [[North Korea and weapons of mass destruction|possesses nuclear weapons]], and is the country with the [[List of countries by number of military and paramilitary personnel|second highest number of military and paramilitary personnel]], with a total of 7.769 million [[Active duty|active]], [[Military reserve force|reserve]], and [[paramilitary]] personnel, or approximately {{Percentage|7769000|{{UN_Population|Dem. People's Republic of Korea}}}} of its population. Its active duty army of 1.28 million soldiers is the fourth-largest in the world, consisting of {{Percentage|1280000|{{UN_Population|Dem. People's Republic of Korea}}|1}} of its population. A 2014 inquiry by the [[United Nations]] into abuses of [[human rights in North Korea]] concluded that "the gravity, scale and nature of these violations reveal a state that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world," with [[Amnesty International]] and [[Human Rights Watch]] holding similar views.<ref name="Amnesty International 2007">{{cite web |url=http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/north_korea/index.do |title=Our Issues, North Korea |access-date=1 August 2007 |author=Amnesty International |year=2007 |work=Human Rights Concerns |author-link=Amnesty International |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070329050950/http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/north_korea/index.do |archive-date=29 March 2007}}</ref><ref name="ohchr.org">{{citation|title=Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Chapter VII. Conclusions and recommendations|date=17 February 2014|url=http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/CoIDPRK/Report/A.HRC.25.CRP.1_ENG.doc|work=United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights|page=346|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227104633/http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/CoIDPRK/Report/A.HRC.25.CRP.1_ENG.doc|access-date=1 November 2014|archive-date=27 February 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="hrw1">{{cite web|url=http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/05/16/nkorea15944.htm |title=Grotesque indifference |access-date=1 August 2007 |author=Kay Seok |date=15 May 2007 |work=[[Human Rights Watch]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929174709/http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/05/16/nkorea15944.htm |archive-date=29 September 2007 }}</ref><ref name="hrw2">{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/02/17/human-rights-north-korea |title=Human Rights in North Korea |work=hrw.org |publisher=Human Rights Watch |date=17 February 2009 |access-date=13 December 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429044053/http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/02/17/human-rights-north-korea |archive-date=29 April 2011 }}</ref> The North Korean government denies these abuses.<ref name="human_rights4">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29531969 |title=North Korea defends human rights record in report to UN |work=BBC News |date=8 October 2014 |access-date=8 October 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141112172608/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29531969 |archive-date=12 November 2014}}</ref><ref name="Taylor">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/04/22/north-korean-state-media-slams-u-n-human-rights-report-because-it-was-led-by-a-gay-man/|first=Adam|last=Taylor|title=North Korea slams U.N. human rights report because it was led by gay man|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=22 April 2014|access-date=23 April 2014}}</ref><ref name="kcna.co.jp">{{cite web|url=http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2014/201404/news22/20140422-02ee.html|website=kcna.co.jp|publisher=the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)|access-date=17 August 2015|date=22 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140729025304/http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2014/201404/news22/20140422-02ee.html|archive-date=29 July 2014|title=KCNA Commentary Slams Artifice by Political Swindlers}}</ref> In addition to being a member of the United Nations since 1991, North Korea is also a member of the [[Non-Aligned Movement]], [[Group of 77|G77]], and the [[ASEAN Regional Forum]].

== Names ==
{{See also|Names of Korea}}
The name ''Korea'' is derived from the name ''Goryeo'' (also spelled ''Koryŏ''). The name ''Goryeo'' itself was first used by the ancient kingdom of [[Goguryeo]] (Koguryŏ) which was one of the great powers in [[East Asia]] during its time,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A2cfZkU5aQgC&q=koguryo+powerful+empire|title=The History of the World|last1=Roberts|first1=John Morris|last2=Westad|first2=Odd Arne|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2013|isbn=978-0-19-993676-2|page=443|access-date=15 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=acvGAAAAQBAJ&q=Inner+Mongolia|title=Averting Global War: Regional Challenges, Overextension, and Options for American Strategy|last1=Gardner|first1=Hall|date=27 November 2007|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-0-230-60873-3|pages=158–159|access-date=15 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PvlthkbFU1UC&pg=PA1133|title=History of Humanity: From the seventh to the sixteenth century|last1=Laet|first1=Sigfried J. de|publisher=UNESCO|year=1994|isbn=978-92-3102813-7|page=1133|access-date=8 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GBvRs-za0CIC&pg=PA6|title=East Asia: A New History|last1=Walker|first1=Hugh Dyson|date=20 November 2012|publisher=AuthorHouse|isbn=978-1-4772-6517-8|pages=6–7|access-date=19 November 2016}}</ref> ruling most of the [[Korean Peninsula]], [[Manchuria]], parts of the [[Russian Far East]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t_DqBgAAQBAJ&q=Koguryo+Siberia+Russia%27s|title=Rediscovering Russia in Asia: Siberia and the Russian Far East: Siberia and the Russian Far East|last1=Kotkin|first1=Stephen|last2=Wolff|first2=David|date=2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-46129-6|access-date=15 July 2016}}</ref> and parts of [[Inner Mongolia]],<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BA_QAgAAQBAJ&q=Inner+Mongolia|title=Korea: The Impossible Country: The Impossible Country|last1=Tudor|first1=Daniel|date=2012|publisher=Tuttle Publishing|isbn=978-1-4629-1022-9|access-date=15 July 2016}}</ref> under [[Gwanggaeto the Great]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QFPsi3IK8gcC&pg=PA35|title=A History of Korea: From "Land of the Morning Calm" to States in Conflict|last1=Kim|first1=Jinwung|date=2012|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0-253-00078-1|location=Bloomington|page=35|access-date=15 July 2016}}</ref> The 10th-century kingdom of [[Goryeo]] succeeded Goguryeo,<ref name="Koryo1">{{cite book|last1=Rossabi|first1=Morris|title=China Among Equals: The Middle Kingdom and Its Neighbors, 10th–14th Centuries|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520045620|page=323|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sNpD5UKmkswC&q=%22As+the+self-proclaimed+successor+to+Koguryo+and+the+protector+of+Parhae+refugees%2C+many+of+them+of+Koguryo+origin%2C+Koryo+considered+the+northern+territories+in+Manchuria+its+rightful+legacy.%22|access-date=8 November 2016|language=en|date=20 May 1983}}</ref><ref name="Koryo2">{{cite book|last1=Yi|first1=Ki-baek|title=A New History of Korea|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0674615762|page=103|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2mdVwXpMzwC&pg=PA103|access-date=8 November 2016|language=en|year=1984}}</ref><ref name="Koryo3">{{cite book|last1=Kim|first1=Djun Kil|title=The History of Korea|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0313038532|page=57|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ci_iGuAAqmsC&pg=PA57|access-date=8 November 2016|language=en|date=30 January 2005}}</ref><ref name="Koryo4">{{cite book|last1=Grayson|first1=James H.|title=Korea – A Religious History|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781136869259|page=79|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LU78AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA79|access-date=8 November 2016|language=en|date=5 November 2013}}</ref> and thus inherited its name, which was pronounced by visiting Persian merchants as "Korea".<ref>{{citation |last = Yunn |first = Seung-Yong |year = 1996 |title = Religious culture of Korea |chapter = Muslims earlier contact with Korea |publisher = Hollym International |page = 99}}</ref> The modern spelling of Korea first appeared in the late 17th century in the travel writings of the [[Dutch East India Company|Dutch East India Company's]] [[Hendrick Hamel]].<ref name="UDN">{{cite web|url=http://city.udn.com/54543/2933925 |script-title=zh:Korea原名Corea？ 美國改的名 |publisher=[[United Daily News]] |date=5 July 2008 |access-date=28 March 2014 |language=zh |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006101951/http://city.udn.com/54543/2933925 |archive-date=6 October 2014 }}</ref>

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 People's Republic of Korea'' ({{Lang-ko|조선민주주의인민공화국}}, ''Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk''; {{Audio|조선민주주의인민공화국 발음.ogg|listen|help=no}}) as its new legal name. In the wider world, because the government controls the northern part of the [[Korean Peninsula]], it is commonly called ''North Korea'' to distinguish it from South Korea, which is officially called the ''Republic of Korea'' in English. Both governments consider themselves to be the legitimate government of the whole of [[Korea]].<ref>{{cite book| title = The Making of Modern Korea | url = https://archive.org/details/makingmodernkore00buzo | url-access = limited | last = Buzo | first = Adrian | year = 2002| publisher = Routledge| location = London | isbn = 978-0-415-23749-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/makingmodernkore00buzo/page/n82 72]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| title = Korea's Place in the Sun: A Modern History| last = Cumings| first = Bruce| author-link = Bruce Cumings| year = 2005| publisher = [[W. W. Norton & Company]]| location = New York| isbn = 978-0-393-32702-1 |pages=505–06}}</ref> For this reason, the people do not consider themselves as 'North Koreans' but as Koreans in the same divided country as their compatriots in the South and foreign visitors are discouraged from using the former term.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nknews.org/2014/02/why-is-north-korea-called-the-dprk/|title=Why is North Korea called the DPRK?|last=Young|first=Benjamin R|date=7 February 2014|work=[[NK News]]|access-date=9 February 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209140607/http://www.nknews.org/2014/02/why-is-north-korea-called-the-dprk/|archive-date=9 February 2014}}</ref>

== History ==
{{Main|History of North Korea}}

===Founding===
[[File:Kim Il-sung in 1950.jpg|thumb|160px|[[Kim Il-sung]], the founder of North Korea]]
After the [[First Sino-Japanese War]] and the [[Russo-Japanese War]], Korea was [[Korea under Japanese rule|ruled by Japan]] from 1910 to 1945. Korean resistance groups known as [[Dongnipgun]] (Liberation Army) operated along the Sino-Korean border, fighting guerrilla warfare against Japanese forces. Some of them took part in allied action in China and parts of [[South East Asia]]. One of the guerrilla leaders was the communist [[Kim Il-sung]], who later became the first leader of North Korea.

After the [[Surrender of Japan|Japanese surrender]] at the [[End of World War II in Asia|end of World War II]] in 1945, [[Division of Korea|the Korean Peninsula was divided]] into two zones along the [[38th parallel north|38th parallel]], with the northern half of the peninsula occupied by the Soviet Union and the southern half [[United States Army Military Government in Korea|by the United States]]. Negotiations on reunification failed. Soviet general [[Terentii Shtykov]] recommended the establishment of the [[Soviet Civil Authority]] in October 1945, and supported [[Kim Il-sung]] as chairman of the [[Provisional People's Committee for North Korea]], established in February 1946. In September 1946, South Korean citizens rose up against the Allied Military Government. In April 1948, an [[Jeju Uprising|uprising of the Jeju islanders]] was violently crushed. The South declared its statehood in May 1948 and two months later the ardent anti-communist [[Syngman Rhee]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Administrative Population and Divisions Figures (#26) |work=DPRK: The Land of the Morning Calm |publisher=Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British Official Use |date=April 2003 |url=http://www.pcgn.org.uk/North%20Korea-%20Land%20of%20the%20Morning%20Calm-%202003.pdf |access-date=10 October 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060925042059/http://www.pcgn.org.uk/North%20Korea-%20Land%20of%20the%20Morning%20Calm-%202003.pdf |archive-date=25 September 2006}}</ref> became its ruler. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea was established in the North on 9 September 1948. Shtykov served as the first Soviet ambassador, while Kim Il-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 planning to invade the North and was sympathetic to Kim's goal of Korean unification under socialism. The two successfully lobbied [[Joseph Stalin]] to support a quick war against the South, which culminated in the outbreak of the Korean War.<ref name=LankovArticle>{{cite news|last=Lankov |first=Andrei |date=25 January 2012 |title=Terenti Shtykov: the other ruler of nascent N. Korea |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2012/01/363_103451.html |newspaper=[[The Korea Times]] |access-date=14 April 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417010008/http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2012/01/363_103451.html |archive-date=17 April 2015 }}</ref><ref name=ABC-CLIO>{{cite web|url=http://www.historyandtheheadlines.abc-clio.com/contentpages/ContentPage.aspx?entryId=1498210&currentSection=1498040&productid=33 |title=Terentii Shtykov |author=Timothy Dowling |publisher=ABC-CLIO |access-date=26 April 2015 |website=History and the Headlines |date=2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924030620/http://www.historyandtheheadlines.abc-clio.com/contentpages/ContentPage.aspx?entryId=1498210&currentSection=1498040&productid=33 |archive-date=24 September 2015 }}</ref><ref name=Lankov1945-1948>{{cite book|last=Lankov|first=Andrei|chapter="North Korea in 1945–48: The Soviet Occupation and the Birth of the State,"|title=From Stalin to Kim Il Sung – The Formation of North Korea, 1945–1960|pages=2–3}}</ref><ref name=Lankov2>{{cite book|last=Lankov|first=Andrei|date=10 April 2013|title=The Real North Korea: Life and Politics in the Failed Stalinist Utopia|page=7|publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref>

===Korean War===
{{Main|Korean War}}
{{See also|Aftermath of the Korean War|Korean Demilitarized Zone|North Korea–South Korea relations}}
[[File:Korean war 1950-1953.gif|thumb|upright|Territory often changed hands early in the war, until the front stabilized.{{legend|#EF767E|North Korean, Chinese, and Soviet forces}}{{legend|#73AA73|South Korean, U.S., Commonwealth, and United Nations forces}}]]
The [[military of North Korea]] invaded the [[South Korea|South]] on 25 June 1950, and swiftly overran most of the country. The [[United Nations Command]] (UNC) was subsequently established following the [[UN Security Council]]'s recognition of North Korean aggression against South Korea. The motion passed because the [[Soviet Union]], a close ally of North Korea and a member of the UN Security Council, was boycotting the UN over its recognition of the [[Taiwan|Republic of China]] rather than the [[China|People's Republic of China]].<ref>{{cite web |title=United Nations Security Council - History |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/United-Nations-Security-Council/History |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=12 May 2021 |language=en}}</ref> The UNC, led by the United States, intervened to defend the South, and rapidly advanced into North Korea. As they neared the border with China, [[People's Volunteer Army|Chinese forces]] intervened on behalf of North Korea, shifting the balance of the war again. Fighting ended on 27 July 1953, with [[Korean Armistice Agreement|an armistice]] that approximately restored the original boundaries between North and South Korea, but no peace treaty was signed.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,528320,00.html|title=U.S.: N. Korea Boosting Guerrilla War Capabilities|date=23 June 2009|access-date=4 July 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090627213353/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0%2C2933%2C528320%2C00.html|archive-date=27 June 2009|publisher=FOX News Network, LLC|agency=Associated Press}}</ref> Approximately 3 million people died in the Korean War, with a higher proportional civilian death toll than [[World War II]] or the [[Vietnam War]], making it perhaps the deadliest conflict of the Cold War-era.<ref name="Kim p.45">{{cite book|last=Kim|first=Samuel S.|chapter=The Evolving Asian System|title=International Relations of Asia|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]]|year=2014|isbn=978-1442226418|page=45|quote=With three of the four major Cold War fault lines—divided Germany, divided Korea, divided China, and divided Vietnam—East Asia acquired the dubious distinction of having engendered the largest number of armed conflicts resulting in higher fatalities between 1945 and 1994 than any other region or sub-region. Even in Asia, while Central and South Asia produced a regional total of 2.8 million in human fatalities, East Asia's regional total is 10.4 million including the [[Chinese Civil War]] (1 million), the Korean War (3 million), the [[Vietnam War]] (2 million), and the [[Pol Pot]] [[Cambodian genocide|genocide]] in Cambodia (1 to 2 million).}}</ref><ref name="Cumings p. 35">{{cite book|last=Cumings|first=Bruce|author-link=Bruce Cumings|title=The Korean War: A History|publisher=[[Modern Library]]|year=2011|isbn=978-0812978964|page=35|quote=Various encyclopedias state that the countries involved in the three-year conflict suffered a total of more than 4 million casualties, of which at least 2 million were civilians—a higher percentage than in World War II or Vietnam. A total of 36,940 Americans lost their lives in the Korean theater; of these, 33,665 were killed in action, while 3,275 died there of nonhostile causes. Some 92,134 Americans were wounded in action, and decades later, 8,176 were still reported as missing. South Korea sustained 1,312,836 casualties, including 415,004 dead. Casualties among other UN allies totaled 16,532, including 3,094 dead. Estimated North Korean casualties numbered 2 million, including about one million civilians and 520,000 soldiers. An estimated 900,000 Chinese soldiers lost their lives in combat.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=McGuire|first=James|title=Wealth, Health, and Democracy in East Asia and Latin America|url=https://archive.org/details/wealthhealthdemo00mcgu|url-access=limited|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2010|isbn=978-1139486224|page=[https://archive.org/details/wealthhealthdemo00mcgu/page/n217 203]|quote=In Korea, war in the early 1950s cost nearly 3 million lives, including nearly a million civilian dead in South Korea.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Painter|first=David S.|author-link=David S. Painter|title=The Cold War: An International History|url=https://archive.org/details/coldwarinternati00pain|url-access=limited|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=1999|isbn=978-0415153164|page=[https://archive.org/details/coldwarinternati00pain/page/n40 30]|quote=Before it ended, the Korean War cost over 3 million people their lives, including over 50,000 US servicemen and women and a much higher number of Chinese and Korean lives. The war also set in motion a number of changes that led to the militarization and intensification of the Cold War.}}</ref><ref name="Lewy pp. 450-453">{{cite book|last=Lewy|first=Guenter|author-link=Guenter Lewy|title=America in Vietnam|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=1980|isbn=978-0199874231|pages=450–453|quote=For the Korean War the only hard statistic is that of American military deaths, which included 33,629 battle deaths and 20,617 who died of other causes. The North Korean and Chinese Communists never published statistics of their casualties. The number of South Korean military deaths has been given as in excess of 400,000; the South Korean Ministry of Defense puts the number of killed and missing at 281,257. Estimates of communist troops killed are about one-half million. The total number of Korean civilians who died in the fighting, which left almost every major city in North and South Korea in ruins, has been estimated at between 2 and 3 million. This adds up to almost 1 million military deaths and a possible 2.5 million civilians who were killed or died as a result of this extremely destructive conflict. The proportion of civilians killed in the major wars of this century (and not only in the major ones) has thus risen steadily. It reached about 42 percent in World War II and may have gone as high as 70 percent in the Korean War. ... we find that the ratio of civilian to military deaths [in Vietnam] is not substantially different from that of World War II and is well below that of the Korean War.|title-link=America in Vietnam}}</ref> In both per capita and absolute terms, North Korea was the country most devastated by the war, which resulted in the death of an estimated 12–15% of the North Korean population ({{circa}} 10 million), "a figure close to or surpassing the proportion of [[World War II casualties of the Soviet Union|Soviet citizens killed in World War II]]," according to [[Charles K. Armstrong]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Armstrong|first=Charles K.|url=https://apjjf.org/-Charles-K--Armstrong/3460/article.pdf|title=The Destruction and Reconstruction of North Korea, 1950–1960|journal=The Asia-Pacific Journal|volume=8|issue=51|page=1|date=20 December 2010|access-date=13 September 2019|quote=The number of Korean dead, injured or missing by war's end approached three million, ten percent of the overall population. The majority of those killed were in the North, which had half of the population of the South; although the DPRK does not have official figures, possibly twelve to fifteen percent of the population was killed in the war, a figure close to or surpassing the proportion of Soviet citizens killed in World War II.}}</ref> As a result of the war, almost every substantial building in North Korea was destroyed.<ref>{{cite book| last = Cumings| first = Bruce| author-link = Bruce Cumings| title = Korea's Place in the Sun: A Modern History| publisher = WW Norton & Company| year = 1997| isbn = 978-0-393-31681-0| pages = [https://archive.org/details/koreasplaceinsun00bruc/page/297 297–298]| url = https://archive.org/details/koreasplaceinsun00bruc/page/297}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last = Jager| first = Sheila Miyoshi| author-link = Sheila Miyoshi Jager| title = Brothers at War – The Unending Conflict in Korea| year = 2013| publisher = Profile Books| location = London| isbn = 978-1-84668-067-0| pages = 237–242}}</ref> Some have referred to the conflict as a civil war, with other factors involved.<ref name="AMH">{{Cite book|chapter=The Korean War, 1950–1953 |url=http://www.history.army.mil/books/AMH-V2/AMH%20V2/ |chapter-url=http://www.history.army.mil/books/AMH-V2/AMH%20V2/chapter8.htm |title=American Military History, Volume 2 |year=2005 |access-date=20 August 2007 |publisher=[[United States Army Center of Military History]] |editor=Richard W. Stewart |id=CMH Pub 30-22 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528231553/http://www.history.army.mil/books/AMH-V2/AMH%20V2/ |archive-date=28 May 2008 }}</ref>

A heavily guarded [[Korean Demilitarized Zone|demilitarized zone]] (DMZ) still divides the peninsula, and an anti-communist and anti-North Korea sentiment remains in South Korea. Since the war, the United States has maintained a strong [[United States Forces Korea|military presence in the South]] which is depicted by the North Korean government as an imperialist occupation force.<ref>{{Cite book|author = Abt, Felix | title=A Capitalist in North Korea: My Seven Years in the Hermit Kingdom| publisher = Tuttle Publishing| year = 2014 | pages = 125–126 | isbn = 9780804844390 }}</ref> It claims that the Korean War was caused by the United States and South Korea.<ref name="Brune1996">{{cite book|author=Lester H. Brune|title=The Korean War: Handbook of the Literature and Research|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tq5JIGX04bgC&pg=PA60|year=1996|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-28969-9|page=60}}</ref>

===Post-war developments===
[[File:Dprk_pyongyang_tchholima_05.jpg|thumb|230px|[[Chollima Statue|Statue]] of [[Chollima Movement]] in Pyongyang]]
The relative peace between the South and the North following the armistice was interrupted by border skirmishes, celebrity abductions, and assassination attempts. The North failed in several assassination attempts on South Korean leaders, such as [[Blue House Raid|in 1968]], 1974, and the [[Rangoon bombing]] in 1983; tunnels were found under the DMZ and tensions flared over the [[axe murder incident]] at [[Panmunjom]] in 1976.<ref>Kirkbride, Wayne (1984). ''DMZ, a story of the Panmunjom axe murder''. Hollym International Corp.</ref> For almost two decades after the war, the two states did not seek to negotiate with one another. In 1971, secret, high-level contacts began to be conducted culminating in the 1972 [[July 4th North–South Joint Statement]] that established principles of working toward peaceful reunification. The talks ultimately failed because in 1973, South Korea declared its preference that the two Koreas should seek separate memberships in international organizations.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Bandow |editor1-first=Doug |editor2-last=Carpenter |editor2-first=Ted Galen |title=The U.S.-South Korean Alliance: Time for a Change |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HXdhDRCGD1kC&pg=PA99 |year=1992 |publisher=Transaction Publishers |location=New Brunswick |isbn=978-1-4128-4086-6 |pages=99–100 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913142656/https://books.google.com/books?id=HXdhDRCGD1kC&&pg=PA99 |archive-date=13 September 2016 }}</ref>

During the 1956 [[August Faction Incident]], [[Kim Il-sung]] successfully resisted efforts by the [[Soviet Union]] and China to depose him in favor of [[Soviet Koreans faction|Soviet Koreans]] or the pro-Chinese [[Yan'an faction]].<ref name=Sino-SovietSplit>Chung, Chin O. ''Pyongyang Between Peking and Moscow: North Korea's Involvement in the Sino-Soviet Dispute, 1958–1975''. University of Alabama, 1978, p. 45.</ref><ref name=NKMajorPowers>{{cite journal|author1=Kim, Young Kun|author2=Zagoria, Donald S.|title=North Korea and the Major Powers|journal=Asian Survey|volume=15|issue=12|date=December 1975|pages=1017–1035|jstor=2643582|doi=10.1525/as.1975.15.12.01p0132i}}</ref> The last Chinese troops withdrew from the country in October 1958, which is the consensus as the latest date when North Korea became effectively independent. Some scholars believe that the 1956 August incident demonstrated independence.<ref name=Sino-SovietSplit /><ref name=NKMajorPowers />{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=XV}} North Korea remained closely aligned with China and the Soviet Union, and the [[Sino-Soviet split]] allowed Kim to play the powers off each other.<ref name=Armstrong2>{{cite book|last=Armstrong|first=Charles|title=Tyranny of the Weak: North Korea and the World, 1950–1992|series=Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University|publisher=Cornell University Press|pages=99–100|quote=Kim would not yield to Soviet and Chinese pressure even when combined, much less when the Soviets and Chinese were later in competition with one another.}}</ref> North Korea sought to become a leader of the [[Non-Aligned Movement]], and emphasized the ideology of ''[[Juche]]'' to distinguish it from both the Soviet Union and China.<ref>Schaefer, Bernd. "North Korean 'Adventurism' and China's Long Shadow, 1966–1972". Washington, D.C .: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 2004.</ref> In United States policymaking, North Korea was considered among the [[Captive Nations]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Campbell|first=John Coert|date=196|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T44nUbmBAD8C&q=%E2%80%9CCaptive+Nations%E2%80%9D&pg=RA1-PA116|title=American Policy Toward Communist Eastern Europe: The Choices Ahead|page=116|publisher=[[University of Minnesota Press]]|location=Minneapolis|isbn=0-8166-0345-6}}</ref>

[[File:Pyongyang metro station 2.jpg|thumb|230px|[[Pyongyang Metro]] with bomb shelter functions]]
Recovery from the war was slowed by a massive famine in 1954-55. Local officials had exaggerated the size of the harvest by 50-70%. After the central government took its share starvation threatened many peasants; about 800,000 died. In addition collectivization was resisted; many farmers killed their livestock rather than turn them over to the collective farm. Another famine in 1994-98 killed 2.8 million.<ref>Andrei Lankov. "Trouble Brewing: The North Korean Famine of 1954–1955 and Soviet Attitudes toward North Korea." ''Journal of Cold War Studies'' 22:2 (Spring 2020) pp:3-25. [https://hdiplo.org/to/AR1020 online]</ref>

Industry was the favored sector. By 1957 industrial production reached 1949 levels. In 1959, relations with Japan had improved somewhat, and North Korea began allowing the repatriation of Japanese citizens in the country. The same year, North Korea revalued the [[North Korean won]], which held greater value than its South Korean counterpart. Until the 1960s, economic growth was higher than in South Korea, and North Korean GDP per capita was equal to that of its southern neighbor as late as 1976.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|pp=XXXII, 46}} However, by the 1980s, the economy had begun to stagnate; it started its long decline in 1987 and almost completely collapsed after the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] in 1991, when all Soviet aid was suddenly halted.{{Sfn|French|2007|pp=97–99}}

An internal CIA study acknowledged various achievements of the North Korean government post-war: compassionate care for war orphans and children in general, a radical improvement in the status of women, free housing, free healthcare, and health statistics particularly in life expectancy and infant mortality that were comparable to even the most advanced nations up until the [[North Korean famine]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Cumings|first=Bruce|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pe86S4iCz34C|title=North Korea: Another Country|date=10 May 2011|publisher=The New Press|isbn=978-1-59558-739-8|location=|pages=9|language=en}}</ref> Life expectancy in the North was 72 before the famine which was only marginally lower than in the South.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Lankov|first=Andrei|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LNpRyIPgi3wC|title=The Real North Korea: Life and Politics in the Failed Stalinist Utopia|date=2 May 2013|publisher=OUP USA|isbn=978-0-19-996429-1|location=|pages=64|language=en}}</ref> The country once boasted a comparatively developed healthcare system; pre-famine North Korea had a network of nearly 45,000 family practitioners with some 800 hospitals and 1,000 clinics.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Demick|first=Barbara|date=16 July 2010|title=North Korea's giant leap backwards|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jul/17/north-korea-famine-fears|access-date=21 January 2021|website=the Guardian|language=en}}</ref>

===Post Cold War===
In 1992, as Kim Il-sung's health began deteriorating, [[Kim Jong-il]] slowly began taking over various state tasks. Kim Il-sung [[Death and state funeral of Kim Il-sung|died of a heart attack in 1994]], with Kim Jong-il declaring a three-year period of national mourning before officially announcing his position as the new leader afterwards.<ref name="edit_CNN-">{{Cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/9707/08/north.korea/|title=North Korea ends mourning for Kim Il Sung|last=Chinoy|first=Mike|date=8 July 1997|website=CNN|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150519004336/https://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/9707/08/north.korea/|archive-date=19 May 2015|access-date=9 May 2015}}</ref>

North Korea promised to halt its development of nuclear weapons under the [[Agreed Framework]], negotiated with U.S. president [[Bill Clinton]] and signed in 1994. Building on [[Nordpolitik]], South Korea began to engage with the North as part of its [[Sunshine Policy]].<ref>Kwak, Tae-Hwan; Joo, Seung-Ho (2003). ''The Korean peace process and the four powers''. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. {{ISBN|978-0-7546-3653-3}}.</ref><ref>DeRouen, Karl; Heo, Uk (2005). ''Defense and Security: A Compendium of National Armed Forces and Security Policies''.ABC-CLIO.</ref> Kim Jong-il instituted a policy called ''[[Songun]]'', or "military first".<ref>[http://www.carlisle.army.mil/USAWC/Parameters/Articles/03spring/hodge.htm "North Korea's Military Strategy"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130224223043/http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usawc/parameters/Articles/03spring/hodge.htm|date=24 February 2013}}, ''Parameters'', U.S. Army War College Quarterly.</ref>

Flooding in the mid-1990s exacerbated the economic crisis, severely damaging crops and infrastructure and led to [[North Korean famine|widespread famine]] which the government proved incapable of curtailing, resulting in the deaths of between 240,000 and 420,000 people. In 1996, the government accepted UN food aid.<ref name="Spoorenberg" />

===21st century===
{{see also|2017–2018 North Korea crisis|2018–19 Korean peace process}}
The international environment changed with the election of U.S. president [[George W. Bush]] in 2001. His administration rejected South Korea's Sunshine Policy and the Agreed Framework. The U.S. government treated North Korea as a [[rogue state]], while North Korea redoubled its efforts to acquire nuclear weapons.<ref>{{cite book| last = Jager| first = Sheila Miyoshi| title = Brothers at War – The Unending Conflict in Korea| year = 2013| publisher = Profile Books| location = London| isbn = 978-1-84668-067-0| page = 456}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|author = Abt, Felix | title=A Capitalist in North Korea: My Seven Years in the Hermit Kingdom| publisher = Tuttle Publishing| year = 2014 | pages = 55, 109, 119 | isbn = 9780804844390 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| last1= Oberdorfer| first1=Don| last2=Carlin| first2=Robert | title=The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History | publisher = Basic Books| year = 2014 | pages = 357–359 | isbn = 9780465031238}}</ref> On 9 October 2006, North Korea announced it had conducted [[2006 North Korean nuclear test|its first nuclear weapons test]].<ref name="radioactive">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/13/AR2006101300576.html|title=U.S.: Test Points to N. Korea Nuke Blast|last1=Burns|first1=Robert|date=13 October 2006|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=18 January 2020|last2=Gearan|first2=Anne}}</ref><ref name="nukeconfirmed">{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=aO7kW.RjqqaE&refer=japan|title=North Korea Nuclear Test Confirmed by U.S. Intelligence Agency|last=Bliss|first=Jeff|date=16 October 2006|work=[[Bloomberg News]]|access-date=16 October 2006|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930030836/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=aO7kW.RjqqaE&refer=japan|archive-date=30 September 2007}}</ref>

[[U.S. President]] [[Barack Obama]] adopted a policy of "strategic patience", resisting making deals with North Korea.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/66581/sung-yoon-lee/the-pyongyang-playbook |title=The Pyongyang Playbook |access-date=6 November 2010 |last1=Lee |first1=Sung-Yoon |author-link=Sung-Yoon Lee |date=26 August 2010 |work=[[Foreign Policy]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100904041934/http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/66581/sung-yoon-lee/the-pyongyang-playbook |archive-date=4 September 2010 }}</ref> Tensions with South Korea and the United States increased in 2010 with the [[ROKS Cheonan sinking|sinking of the South Korean warship ''Cheonan'']]<ref name="Anger at North Korea over sinking">{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/asia_pacific/10131683.stm |work=BBC News |title=Anger at North Korea over sinking |date=20 May 2010 |access-date=23 May 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100523031829/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/asia_pacific/10131683.stm |archive-date=23 May 2010 }}</ref> and North Korea's [[Bombardment of Yeonpyeong|shelling of Yeonpyeong Island]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2010/11/24/86/0301000000AEN20101124012200315F.HTML |title=S. Korea to toughen rules of engagement against N. Korean attack |access-date=24 November 2010 |author=Deok-hyun Kim |date=24 November 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101201215252/http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2010/11/24/86/0301000000AEN20101124012200315F.HTML |archive-date=1 December 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2010/201011/news24/20101124-09ee.html |title=Lee Myung Bak Group Accused of Scuttling Dialogue and Humanitarian Work |access-date=24 November 2010 |author=Korean Central News Agency |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101128061222/http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2010/201011/news24/20101124-09ee.html |archive-date=28 November 2010 }}</ref>

On 17 December 2011, Kim Jong-il [[Death and state funeral of Kim Jong-il|died from a heart attack]]. His youngest son [[Kim Jong-un]] was announced as his successor.<ref name="apdeath">{{cite news|title=North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, 69, has died |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5izIlSjdJ6OnbxnvsA8REol_H-PpA?docId=e4eb9efdbd884d2fbff01ada250d87de |access-date=19 December 2011 |newspaper=Associated Press |date=19 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111220172541/https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5izIlSjdJ6OnbxnvsA8REol_H-PpA?docId=e4eb9efdbd884d2fbff01ada250d87de |archive-date=20 December 2011 }}</ref> In the face of international condemnation, North Korea continued to develop its nuclear arsenal, possibly including a [[hydrogen bomb]] and a missile capable of reaching the United States.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/north-koreas-military-capabilities|title=North Korea's Military Capabilities|first=Eleanor|last=Albert|publisher=Council on Foreign Relations|date=3 January 2018}}</ref>

Throughout 2017, following [[Donald Trump]]'s ascension to the US presidency, tensions between the United States and North Korea increased, and there was heightened rhetoric between the two, with Trump threatening "fire and fury" if North Korea ever attacked U.S. territory<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-trump-warns-north-korea-of-fire-and-1502220642-htmlstory.html|title=Trump warns North Korea of 'fire and fury'|last=Bierman|first=Noah|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=4 August 2018}}</ref> amid North Korea threats to test missiles that would land near [[Guam]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-40883372|title=N Korea promises Guam strike plan in days|date=10 August 2017|work=[[BBC News]]|access-date=4 August 2018|language=en-GB}}</ref> The tensions substantially decreased in 2018, and a détente developed.<ref name="auto2">{{cite news|url=https://www.nknews.org/2018/02/delegation-visit-shows-n-korea-can-take-drastic-steps-to-improve-relations-mo|title=Delegation visit shows N. Korea can take 'drastic' steps to improve relations: MOU|last=Ji|first=Dagyum|date=12 February 2018|work=[[NK News]]|access-date=18 January 2020}}</ref> A [[2018–20 Korean peace process|series of summits]] took place between Kim Jong-un of North Korea, President [[Moon Jae-in]] of South Korea, and President Trump.<ref>[https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/06/29/donald-trump-looks-brief-handshake-meeting-kim-jong-un/1608092001/ Donald Trump meets Kim Jong Un in DMZ; steps onto North Korean soil.] ''USA Today''. 30 June 2019.</ref> It has been {{Age ym|2017|11|27}} since North Korea's last ICBM test.

==Geography==
{{Main|Geography of North Korea}}
[[File:North Korea Topography.png|thumb|Topographic map of North Korea]]
North Korea occupies the northern portion of the [[Korean Peninsula]], lying between latitudes [[37th parallel north|37°]] and [[43rd parallel north|43°N]], and longitudes [[124th meridian east|124°]] and [[131st meridian east|131°E]]. It covers an area of {{convert|120540|km2|sqmi|0|sp=us}}.<ref name="unstats08">{{Cite book|url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dyb2012/Table03.pdf#page=5|title=Demographic Yearbook – Table 3: Population by sex, rate of population increase, surface area and density|publisher=United Nations Statistics Division|year=2012|access-date=29 November 2014|page=5}}</ref> To its west are the [[Yellow Sea]] and [[Korea Bay]], and to its east lies Japan across the [[Sea of Japan]].
[[File:0409 - Nordkorea 2015 - Kumgang Gebirge (22961925095).jpg|thumb|[[Mount Kumgang]]]]
[[File:North Korean coast near Hamhung (14876597009).jpg|thumb|North Korean coast near [[Hamhung]]]]
Early European visitors to Korea remarked that the country resembled "a sea in a heavy gale" because of the many successive [[mountain range]]s that crisscross the peninsula.<ref name="Topography">{{cite web|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+kp0030)|title=Topography and Drainage|publisher=Library of Congress|access-date=17 August 2009|date=1 June 1993|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041117072403/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+kp0030%29|archive-date=17 November 2004|url-status=dead}}</ref> Some 80 percent of North Korea is composed of mountains and uplands, separated by deep and narrow valleys. All of the Korean Peninsula's mountains with elevations of {{convert|2000|m|ft|sp=us}} or more are located in North Korea. The highest point in North Korea is [[Paektu Mountain]], a volcanic mountain with an elevation of {{convert|2744|m|ft|sp=us}} above sea level.<ref name="Topography"/> Considered a sacred place by North Koreans, Mount Paektu holds significance in Korean culture and has been incorporated in the elaborate folklore and personality cult around the Kim dynasty.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Song | first = Yong-deok | title = The recognition of mountain Baekdu in the Koryo dynasty and early times of the Joseon dynasty | journal=History and Reality V.64 | year = 2007 }}</ref> For example, the song, "We Will Go To Mount Paektu" sings in praise of Kim Jong-un and describes a symbolic trek to the mountain. Other prominent ranges are the [[Hamgyong Mountains|Hamgyong Range]] in the extreme northeast and the [[Rangrim Mountains]], which are located in the north-central part of North Korea. [[Mount Kumgang]] in the [[Taebaek Mountains|Taebaek Range]], which extends into South Korea, is famous for its scenic beauty.<ref name="Topography"/>

The coastal plains are wide in the west and discontinuous in the east. A great majority of the population lives in the plains and lowlands. According to a [[United Nations Environmental Programme]] report in 2003, forest covers over 70 percent of the country, mostly on steep slopes.<ref name="United Nations Environmental Programme 12">{{cite web |url=http://www.unep.org/PDF/DPRK_SOE_Report.pdf |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20100724234402/http://www.unep.org/PDF/DPRK_SOE_Report.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 July 2010 |title=DPR Korea: State of the Environment, 2003 |author=United Nations Environmental Programme |page=12}}</ref> North Korea had a 2019 [[Forest Landscape Integrity Index]] mean score of 8.02/10, ranking it 28th globally out of 172 countries.<ref name="FLII-Supplementary">{{cite journal|last1=Grantham|first1=H. S.|last2=Duncan|first2=A.|last3=Evans|first3=T. D.|last4=Jones|first4=K. R.|last5=Beyer|first5=H. L.|last6=Schuster|first6=R.|last7=Walston|first7=J.|last8=Ray|first8=J. C.|last9=Robinson|first9=J. G.|last10=Callow|first10=M.|last11=Clements|first11=T.|last12=Costa|first12=H. M.|last13=DeGemmis|first13=A.|last14=Elsen|first14=P. R.|last15=Ervin|first15=J.|last16=Franco|first16=P.|last17=Goldman|first17=E.|last18=Goetz|first18=S.|last19=Hansen|first19=A.|last20=Hofsvang|first20=E.|last21=Jantz|first21=P.|last22=Jupiter|first22=S.|last23=Kang|first23=A.|last24=Langhammer|first24=P.|last25=Laurance|first25=W. F.|last26=Lieberman|first26=S.|last27=Linkie|first27=M.|last28=Malhi|first28=Y.|last29=Maxwell|first29=S.|last30=Mendez|first30=M.|last31=Mittermeier|first31=R.|last32=Murray|first32=N. J.|last33=Possingham|first33=H.|last34=Radachowsky|first34=J.|last35=Saatchi|first35=S.|last36=Samper|first36=C.|last37=Silverman|first37=J.|last38=Shapiro|first38=A.|last39=Strassburg|first39=B.|last40=Stevens|first40=T.|last41=Stokes|first41=E.|last42=Taylor|first42=R.|last43=Tear|first43=T.|last44=Tizard|first44=R.|last45=Venter|first45=O.|last46=Visconti|first46=P.|last47=Wang|first47=S.|last48=Watson|first48=J. E. M.|display-authors=1|title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity – Supplementary Material|journal=Nature Communications|volume=11|issue=1|year=2020|page=5978|issn=2041-1723|doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3|pmid=33293507|pmc=7723057|doi-access=free}}</ref> The longest river is the [[Amnok]] (Yalu) River which flows for {{convert|790|km|mi|0|sp=us}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.koreanhistoryproject.org/Jta/Kr/KrGEO0.htm |title=Korea Geography |access-date=1 August 2007 |author=Bill Caraway |year=2007 |work=The Korean History Project |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070706035307/http://koreanhistoryproject.org/Jta/Kr/KrGEO0.htm |archive-date=6 July 2007 }}</ref> The country contains three terrestrial ecoregions: [[Central Korean deciduous forests]], [[Changbai Mountains mixed forests]], and [[Manchurian mixed forests]].<ref name="DinersteinOlson2017">{{cite journal|last1=Dinerstein|first1=Eric|last2=Olson|first2=David|last3=Joshi|first3=Anup|last4=Vynne|first4=Carly|last5=Burgess|first5=Neil D.|last6=Wikramanayake|first6=Eric|last7=Hahn|first7=Nathan|last8=Palminteri|first8=Suzanne|last9=Hedao|first9=Prashant|last10=Noss|first10=Reed|last11=Hansen|first11=Matt|last12=Locke|first12=Harvey|last13=Ellis|first13=Erle C|last14=Jones|first14=Benjamin|last15=Barber|first15=Charles Victor|last16=Hayes|first16=Randy|last17=Kormos|first17=Cyril|last18=Martin|first18=Vance|last19=Crist|first19=Eileen|last20=Sechrest|first20=Wes|last21=Price|first21=Lori|last22=Baillie|first22=Jonathan E. M.|last23=Weeden|first23=Don|last24=Suckling|first24=Kierán|last25=Davis|first25=Crystal|last26=Sizer|first26=Nigel|last27=Moore|first27=Rebecca|last28=Thau|first28=David|last29=Birch|first29=Tanya|last30=Potapov|first30=Peter|last31=Turubanova|first31=Svetlana|last32=Tyukavina|first32=Alexandra|last33=de Souza|first33=Nadia|last34=Pintea|first34=Lilian|last35=Brito|first35=José C.|last36=Llewellyn|first36=Othman A.|last37=Miller|first37=Anthony G.|last38=Patzelt|first38=Annette|last39=Ghazanfar|first39=Shahina A.|last40=Timberlake|first40=Jonathan|last41=Klöser|first41=Heinz|last42=Shennan-Farpón|first42=Yara|last43=Kindt|first43=Roeland|last44=Lillesø|first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow|last45=van Breugel|first45=Paulo|last46=Graudal|first46=Lars|last47=Voge|first47=Maianna|last48=Al-Shammari|first48=Khalaf F.|last49=Saleem|first49=Muhammad|display-authors=1|title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm|journal=BioScience|volume=67|issue=6|year=2017|pages=534–545|issn=0006-3568|doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014|pmid=28608869|pmc=5451287|doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Climate===
[[File:Koppen-Geiger Map PRK present.svg|thumb|upright=0.9|North Korea map of Köppen climate classification]]
North Korea experiences a combination of [[continental climate]] and an [[oceanic climate]],<ref name="United Nations Environmental Programme 12"/><ref name="climate">{{cite web|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+kp0031) |title=North Korea Country Studies. Climate |publisher=Lcweb2.loc.gov |access-date=23 June 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121212003435/lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+kp0031) |archive-date=12 December 2012 }}</ref> but most of the country experiences a [[humid continental climate]] within the [[Köppen climate classification]] scheme. Winters bring clear weather interspersed with snow storms as a result of northern and northwestern winds that blow from [[Siberia]].<ref name="climate"/> 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]]. Approximately 60 percent of all precipitation occurs from June to September.<ref name="climate"/> Spring and autumn are transitional seasons between summer and winter. The daily average high and low temperatures for [[Pyongyang]] are {{convert|−3|and|−13|°C|°F}} in January and {{convert|29|and|20|°C|°F}} in August.<ref name="climate"/>

===Administrative divisions===
{{Main|Administrative divisions of North Korea}}
{{See also|Provinces of Korea|Special cities of North Korea|List of cities in North Korea}}
<div class="left">
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Map !! !! Name !! Chosŏn'gŭl !! Administrative seat
|-
| rowspan="14" |{{North Korea Provincial level Labelled Map}}
!colspan="5"| Directly-governed city (''chikhalsi'')
|-
| 1 || [[Pyongyang]] ||{{lang|ko-Hang|평양직할시}}|| ([[Chung-guyok]])
|-
!colspan="5"| Special city (''teukbyeolsi'')
|-
| 2 || [[Rason]] ||{{lang|ko-Hang|라선특별시}}|| ([[Rajin-guyok]])
|-
!colspan="5"| Provinces (''do'')
|-
| 3 || [[South Pyongan Province|South Pyongan]] ||{{lang|ko-Hang|평안남도}}|| [[Pyongsong]]
|-
| 4 || [[North Pyongan Province|North Pyongan]] ||{{lang|ko-Hang|평안북도}}|| [[Sinuiju]]
|-
| 5 || [[Chagang Province|Chagang]] ||{{lang|ko-Hang|자강도}}|| [[Kanggye]]
|-
| 6 || [[South Hwanghae Province|South Hwanghae]] ||{{lang|ko-Hang|황해남도}}|| [[Haeju]]
|-
| 7 || [[North Hwanghae Province|North Hwanghae]] ||{{lang|ko-Hang|황해북도}}|| [[Sariwon]]
|-
| 8 || [[Kangwon Province (North Korea)|Kangwon]] ||{{lang|ko-Hang|강원도}}|| [[Wonsan]]
|-
| 9 || [[South Hamgyong Province|South Hamgyong]] ||{{lang|ko-Hang|함경남도}}|| [[Hamhung]]
|-
| 10 || [[North Hamgyong Province|North Hamgyong]] ||{{lang|ko-Hang|함경북도}}|| [[Chongjin]]
|-
| 11 || [[Ryanggang Province|Ryanggang]] ||{{lang|ko-Hang|량강도}}|| [[Hyesan]]
|}
</div>
{{Largest cities of North Korea|class=info}}

==Government and politics==
{{Main|Government of North Korea|Politics of North Korea}}
{{multiple image
| align = right
| direction = horizontal
| caption_align = center
| image1 = Kim Jong-un April 2019 crop.jpg
| caption1 = [[Kim Jong-un]]<br /><small>[[General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea|General Secretary of the Workers' Party]]
and [[President of the State Affairs Commission|President of the State Affairs]]</small>
| image2 = 18th Summit of Non-Aligned Movement gets underway in Baku 005 (cropped).jpg
| caption2 = [[Choe Ryong-hae]]<br /><small>[[Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly|Chairman of the SPA Standing Committee]] and [[State Affairs Commission of North Korea|First Vice President of the SAC]]</small>
| total_width = 250
}}

North Korea functions as a highly centralized, [[one-party state]]. According to its [[2016 Constitution of North Korea|2016 constitution]], it is a self-described revolutionary and [[socialist state]] "guided in its activities by the Juche idea and the Songun idea".<ref>{{cite book|title=Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea|url=http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/politics/?rule+2|year=2016|publisher=Foreign Languages Publishing House|orig-year=Amended and supplemented on 29 June, Juche 105 (2016), at the Fourth Session of the Thirtieth Supreme People's Assembly|at=Chapter I, Articles 1–3|access-date=22 May 2018}}</ref> In addition to the constitution, North Korea is governed by the [[Ten Principles for the Establishment of a Monolithic Ideological System]] (also known as the "Ten Principles of the One-Ideology System") which establishes standards for governance and a guide for the behaviors of North Koreans.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00400&num=4162|title=Kim Jong Il's Ten Principles: Restricting the People|author=Namgung Min|newspaper=Daily NK|date=13 October 2008|access-date=20 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408033900/http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00400&num=4162|archive-date=8 April 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Workers' Party of Korea]] (WPK), led by a member of the [[Kim dynasty (North Korea)|Kim dynasty]],<ref name="scmp-yoo-sep-18-2013">{{cite news|url=http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1296394/democratic-peoples-monarchy-korea-north-korea-changes-ruling-principles|title=North Korea rewrites rules to legitimise Kim family succession|author=Audrey Yoo|date=16 October 2013|newspaper=South China Morning Post|access-date=16 October 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131028160038/http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1296394/democratic-peoples-monarchy-korea-north-korea-changes-ruling-principles|archive-date=28 October 2013}}</ref> has an estimated 3,000,000 members and dominates every aspect of North Korean politics. It has two satellite organizations, the [[Korean Social Democratic Party]] and the [[Chondoist Chongu Party]]{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=192}} which participate in the WPK-led [[Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland]] of which all political officers are required to be members.<ref name="parlunion5">{{cite web|url=http://www.asgp.info/Resources/Data/Documents/CJOZSZTEPVVOCWJVUPPZVWPAPUOFGF.pdf|title=The Parliamentary System of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea|work=Constitutional and Parliamentary Information|publisher=Association of Secretaries General of Parliaments (ASGP) of the [[Inter-Parliamentary Union]]|page=5|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303054935/http://www.asgp.info/Resources/Data/Documents/CJOZSZTEPVVOCWJVUPPZVWPAPUOFGF.pdf|archive-date=3 March 2012|access-date=1 October 2010}}</ref>

[[Kim Jong-un]] of the [[Kim dynasty (North Korea)|Kim dynasty]] is the current [[Supreme Leader (North Korean title)|Supreme Leader]] or ''Suryeong'' of North Korea.<ref name="leon_DPRK">{{cite web|title=DPRK has quietly amended its Constitution |last=Petrov |first=Leonid |work=Korea Vision |date=12 October 2009 |access-date=21 July 2015 |url=https://leonidpetrov.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/dprk-has-quietly-amended-its-constitution/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016015037/https://leonidpetrov.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/dprk-has-quietly-amended-its-constitution/ |archive-date=16 October 2015 }}</ref> He heads all major governing structures: he is [[General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea]], [[President of the State Affairs Commission]], and [[Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea|Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces]].<ref name="NK Leaders">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-15258881 |title=North Korea profile: Leaders |publisher=BBC |date=26 March 2014 |access-date=18 May 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518174559/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-15258881 |archive-date=18 May 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16325390 |title=North Korea: Kim Jong-un hailed 'supreme commander' |publisher=BBC |date=24 December 2011 |access-date=18 May 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107065350/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16325390 |archive-date=7 January 2014 }}</ref> His grandfather [[Kim Il-sung]], the founder and leader of North Korea until his death in 1994, is the country's "[[eternal President]]",<ref name="hitchens07">{{Cite news|url=http://www.slate.com/id/2180464/ |title=Why has the Bush administration lost interest in North Korea? |last=Hitchens |first=Christopher |date=24 December 2007 |work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |access-date=9 April 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100520172644/http://www.slate.com/id/2180464/ |archive-date=20 May 2010 }}</ref> while his father [[Kim Jong-il]] who succeeded Kim Il-sung as the leader was announced "Eternal General Secretary" and "Eternal Chairman of the National Defence Commission" after his death in 2011.<ref name="NK Leaders"/>

According to the [[Constitution of North Korea]], there are officially three main branches of government. The first of these is the [[State Affairs Commission of North Korea|State Affairs Commission]] (SAC), which acts as "the supreme national guidance organ of state sovereignty".<ref>Article 109 of the Constitution of North Korea</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=DPRK Constitution Text Released Following 2016 Amendments |url=https://nkleadershipwatch.wordpress.com/2016/09/04/dprk-constitution-text-released-following-2016-amdendments/ |website=North Korea Leadership Watch |access-date=18 April 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170418164245/https://nkleadershipwatch.wordpress.com/2016/09/04/dprk-constitution-text-released-following-2016-amdendments/ |archive-date=18 April 2017 |date=4 September 2016 }}</ref> Its role is to deliberate and decide the work on defense building of the State, including major policies of the State, and to carry out the directions of the Chairman of the commission, Kim Jong-Un.

[[File:Mansudae-Kongressalle.JPG|thumb|right|[[Mansudae Assembly Hall]], seat of the Supreme People's Assembly]]
[[Legislative power]] is held by the unicameral [[Supreme People's Assembly]] (SPA). Its 687 members are elected every five years by [[universal suffrage]],<ref>{{cite book|title=Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea|publisher=Foreign Languages Publishing House|year=2014|isbn=978-9946-0-1099-1|location=Pyongyang|page=1|chapter=Preamble|chapter-url=http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/download.php?4+4047#.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822192732/http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/book/download.php?4+4047|archive-date=22 August 2016|url-status=dead}} Amended and supplemented on 1 April, Juche 102 (2013), at the Seventh Session of the Twelfth Supreme People's Assembly.</ref> though the elections have been described by outside observers as [[sham election]]s.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/10/world/asia/north-korea.html|title=North Korea Uses Election To Reshape Parliament|author=Choe Sang-Hun|date=9 March 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=18 March 2014}}</ref><ref name="defectorcensus">{{cite news|url=http://www.nknews.org/2014/03/the-weird-weird-world-of-north-korean-elections/|title=The weird, weird world of North Korean elections|last=Hotham|first=Oliver|date=3 March 2014|newspaper=[[NK News]]|access-date=17 July 2015}}</ref> Supreme People's Assembly sessions are convened by the SPA Presidium, whose [[Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly|Chairman]] ([[Choe Ryong-hae]] since 2019) represents the state in relations with foreign countries. Deputies formally elect the Chairman, the vice-chairmen and members of the Presidium and take part in the constitutionally appointed activities of the legislature: pass laws, establish domestic and foreign policies, appoint members of the cabinet, review and approve the state economic plan, among others.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=198}} The SPA itself cannot initiate any legislation independently of party or state organs. It is unknown whether it has ever criticized or amended bills placed before it, and the elections are based around a single list of WPK-approved candidates who stand without opposition.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|pp=197–198}}

[[Executive power]] is vested in the [[Cabinet of North Korea]], which has been headed by [[Premier of North Korea|Premier]] [[Kim Dok-hun]] since 14 August 2020.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01700&num=10516 |title=Pak Opens Account with Conservative Aire |newspaper=The Daily NK |date=23 April 2013 |access-date=18 May 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006095253/http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01700&num=10516 |archive-date=6 October 2014 }}</ref> The Premier represents the government and functions independently. His authority extends over two vice-premiers, 30 [[Minister (government)|ministers]], two cabinet commission chairmen, the cabinet chief secretary, the president of the [[Central Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea|Central Bank]], the director of the [[Central Bureau of Statistics (North Korea)|Central Bureau of Statistics]] and the president of the [[Academy of Sciences of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea|Academy of Sciences]]. A 31st ministry, the [[Ministry of People's Armed Forces]], is under the jurisdiction of the State Affairs Commission.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=200}}

North Korea, like its southern counterpart, claims to be the legitimate government of the entire [[Korean Peninsula|Korean peninsula]] and adjacent islands.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.law.go.kr/lsInfoP.do?lsiSeq=61603&efYd=19880225#0000|language=ko |script-title=ko:국가법령정보센터 {{!}} 법령 > 본문 – 대한민국헌법|website=www.law.go.kr|access-date=25 October 2019}}</ref> Despite its official title as the "Democratic People's Republic of Korea", some observers have described North Korea's political system as an [[absolute monarchy]]<ref>Young W. Kihl, Hong Nack Kim. ''North Korea: The Politics of Regime Survival''. Armonk, New York, M. E. Sharpe, Inc., 2006. p. 56.</ref><ref>Robert A. Scalapino, Chong-Sik Lee. ''The Society''. University of California Press, 1972. p. 689.</ref><ref>Bong Youn Choy. A history of the Korean reunification movement: its issues and prospects. Research Committee on Korean Reunification, Institute of International Studies, Bradley University, 1984. p. 117.</ref> or a "hereditary dictatorship".<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2452356.ece |title=A tale of two dictatorships: The links between North Korea and Syria |last=Sheridan |first=Michael |date=16 September 2007 |work=[[The Times]] |access-date=9 April 2010 |location=London |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100525100455/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2452356.ece |archive-date=25 May 2010 }}</ref> It has also been described as a [[Stalinism|Stalinist]] [[dictatorship]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/28/wnkorea128.xml |title=North Korea power struggle looms |access-date=31 October 2007 |last=Spencer |first=Richard |date=28 August 2007 |work=The Telegraph (online version of United Kingdom's national newspaper) |quote=A power struggle to succeed Kim Jong-il as leader of North Korea's Stalinist dictatorship may be looming after his eldest son was reported to have returned from semi-voluntary exile. |location=London |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071120121946/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2007%2F08%2F28%2Fwnkorea128.xml |archive-date=20 November 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2388356.ece |title=North Korea's nuclear 'deal' leaves Japan feeling nervous |access-date=31 October 2007 |last=Parry |first=Richard Lloyd |author-link=Richard Lloyd Parry |date=5 September 2007 |work=The Times (online version of United Kingdom's national newspaper of record) |quote=The US Government contradicted earlier North Korean claims that it had agreed to remove the Stalinist dictatorship’s designation as a terrorist state and to lift economic sanctions, as part of talks aimed at disarming Pyongyang of its nuclear weapons. |location=London |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726115520/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2388356.ece |archive-date=26 July 2008 }}</ref><ref name="nysuccess">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/02/international/asia/02CND-KORE.html?ex=1380513600&en=a29d7f1e49aabee0&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND |title=North Korea Says It Is Using Plutonium to Make A-Bombs |access-date=31 October 2007 |last=Brooke |first=James |author-link=James Brooke (journalist) |date=2 October 2003 |work=The New York Times |quote=North Korea, run by a Stalinist dictatorship for almost six decades, is largely closed to foreign reporters and it is impossible to independently check today's claims. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071206032652/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/02/international/asia/02CND-KORE.html?ex=1380513600&en=a29d7f1e49aabee0&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND |archive-date=6 December 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11465278 |title=A portrait of North Korea's new rich |access-date=18 June 2009 |date=29 May 2008 |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |quote=EVERY developing country worth its salt has a bustling middle class that is transforming the country and thrilling the markets. So does Stalinist North Korea. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080802001701/http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11465278 |archive-date=2 August 2008 }}</ref>

===Political ideology===
{{Further|Juche}}

The ''[[Juche]]'' ideology is the cornerstone of party works and government operations. It is viewed by the official North Korean line as an embodiment of Kim Il-sung's wisdom, an expression of his leadership, and an idea which provides "a complete answer to any question that arises in the struggle for national liberation".{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=203}} ''Juche'' was pronounced in December 1955 in a speech called ''[[On Eliminating Dogmatism and Formalism and Establishing Juche in Ideological Work]]'' in order to emphasize a Korea-centered revolution.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=203}} Its core tenets are [[economic self-sufficiency]], military self-reliance and an independent foreign policy. The roots of ''Juche'' were made up of a complex mixture of factors, including the cult of personality centered on Kim Il-sung, the conflict with pro-Soviet and pro-Chinese dissenters, and Korea's centuries-long struggle for independence.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=204}} ''Juche'' was introduced into [[Constitution of North Korea|the constitution]] in 1972.<ref>[[Wikisource:Constitution of North Korea (1972)]]</ref>{{sfn|Martin|2004|p=111|ps=: "Although it was in that 1955 speech that Kim Il-sung gave full voice to his arguments for ''juche'', he had been talking along similar lines as early as 1948."}}

''Juche'' was initially promoted as a "creative application" of [[Marxism–Leninism]], but in the mid-1970s, it was described by state propaganda as "the only scientific thought... and most effective revolutionary theoretical structure that leads to the future of communist society". ''Juche'' eventually replaced Marxism–Leninism entirely by the 1980s,{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=206}} and in 1992 references to the latter were omitted from the constitution.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=186}} The 2009 constitution dropped references to communism and elevated the ''[[Songun]]'' military first policy while explicitly confirming the position of Kim Jong-il.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSSEO253213 |title=North Korea drops communism, boosts "Dear Leaders" |first1=Jon |last1=Herskovitz |first2=Christine |last2=Kim |date=28 September 2009 |access-date=17 July 2011 |work=Reuters |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110816144214/http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/09/28/idUSSEO253213 |archive-date=16 August 2011 }}</ref> However, the constitution retains references to socialism.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nknews.org/2016/06/n-korea-updates-constitution-expanding-kim-jong-uns-position|title=N.Korea updates constitution expanding Kim Jong Un's position|author=JH Ahn|work=NK News|date=30 June 2016}}</ref> ''Juche''{{'}}s concepts of self-reliance have evolved with time and circumstances, but still provide the groundwork for the spartan austerity, sacrifice, and discipline demanded by the party.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=207}} Scholar [[Brian Reynolds Myers]] views North Korea's actual ideology as a [[Korean ethnic nationalism]] similar to [[statism in Shōwa Japan]] and European [[fascism]].<ref>{{cite web|url = http://feer.com/reviews/2009/december51/the-cleanest-race-how-north-koreans-see-themselves-and-why-it-matters|title = Review of ''The Cleanest Race''|author = Andrei Lankov|date = 4 December 2009|work = Far Eastern Economic Review|access-date = 5 June 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100104035159/http://feer.com/reviews/2009/december51/the-cleanest-race-how-north-koreans-see-themselves-and-why-it-matters|archive-date =4 January 2010|author-link = Andrei Lankov}}</ref><ref>[[Christopher Hitchens]]: [http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/fighting_words/2010/02/a_nation_of_racist_dwarfs.html A Nation of Racist Dwarfs – Kim Jong-il's regime is even weirder and more despicable than you thought] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120601044431/http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/fighting_words/2010/02/a_nation_of_racist_dwarfs.html |date=1 June 2012 }} (2010)</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Brian Reynolds Myers |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704471504574445980801810944 |title=The Constitution of Kim Jong Il. |work=[[Wall Street Journal]] |date=1 October 2009 |access-date=20 December 2012 |quote=From its beginnings in 1945 the regime has espoused—to its subjects if not to its Soviet and Chinese aid-providers—a race-based, paranoid nationalism that has nothing to do with Marxism-Leninism. [...] North Korea has always had less in common with the former Soviet Union than with the Japan of the 1930s, another 'national defense state' in which a command economy was pursued not as an end in itself, but as a prerequisite for rapid armament. North Korea is, in other words, a national-socialist country |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110074510/http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704471504574445980801810944.html |archive-date=10 November 2012 |author-link=Brian Reynolds Myers }}</ref>

===Kim dynasty===
{{main|Supreme Leader (North Korean title)}}
[[File:Mansudae-Monument-Bow-2014.jpg|230px|thumb|North Korean citizens paying respect to the statues of Kim Il-sung (left) and Kim Jong-il at the [[Mansu Hill Grand Monument|Mansudae Grand Monument]]]]
Since the founding of the nation, North Korea's [[Supreme Leader (North Korean title)|supreme leadership]] has stayed within the Kim family, which in North Korea is referred to as the ''[[Paektu Mountain|Mount Paektu]] Bloodline''. It is a three-generation lineage descending from the country's first [[Leader of North Korea|leader]], [[Kim Il-sung]]. Kim Il-sung developed North Korea around the ''Juche ideology'', and stayed in power until his death.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kim Il-sung|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kim-Il-Sung|url-status=live}}</ref> Kim developed a cult of personality closely tied to the state philosophy of Juche, which was later passed on to his successors: his son [[Kim Jong-il]] in 1994 and grandson [[Kim Jong-un]] in 2011. In 2013, Clause 2 of Article 10 of the newly edited ''Ten Fundamental Principles of the [[Workers' Party of Korea|Korean Workers' Party]]'' stated that the party and revolution must be carried "eternally" by the "Mount Paektu Bloodline".<ref>[http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2013/08/13/2013081301558.html The Twisted Logic of the N.Korean Regime] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113064929/http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2013/08/13/2013081301558.html |date=13 January 2017 }}. Chosun Ilbo. 13 August 2013. Accessed date: 11 January 2017.</ref>

According to ''New Focus International'', the cult of personality, particularly surrounding Kim Il-sung, has been crucial for legitimizing the family's hereditary succession.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://newfocusintl.com/just-witnessed-coup-north-korea/ |title=We have just witnessed a coup in North Korea |author=Staff |publisher=New Focus International |date=27 December 2013 |access-date=22 January 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140126131556/http://newfocusintl.com/just-witnessed-coup-north-korea/ |archive-date=26 January 2014 }}</ref> The control the North Korean government exercises over many aspects of the nation's culture is used to perpetuate the [[cult of personality]] surrounding Kim Il-sung,{{Sfn|Myers|2011|p= 100}} and Kim Jong-il.{{Sfn|Myers|2011|p=113}} While visiting North Korea in 1979, journalist Bradley Martin wrote that nearly all music, art, and sculpture that he observed glorified "Great Leader" Kim Il-sung, whose personality cult was then being extended to his son, "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-il.{{sfn|Martin|2004|p=353}}

Claims that the dynasty has been deified are contested by North Korea researcher [[Brian Reynolds Myers|B. R. Myers]]: "Divine powers have never been attributed to either of the two Kims. In fact, the propaganda apparatus in Pyongyang has generally been careful ''not'' to make claims that run directly counter to citizens' experience or common sense."{{Sfn|Myers|2011|p=7}} He further explains that the state propaganda painted Kim Jong-il as someone whose expertise lay in military matters and that the famine of the 1990s was partially caused by natural disasters out of Kim Jong-il's control.{{Sfn|Myers|2011|p=114, 116}}

[[File:Chung Eui-yong and Kim Jong-un.jpg|thumb|[[Kim Jong-un]] and his sister [[Kim Yo-jong]] (right) in March 2018]]
The song "[[No Motherland Without You]]", sung by the North Korean army choir, was created especially for Kim Jong-il and is one of the most popular tunes in the country. Kim Il-sung is still officially revered as the nation's "[[Eternal President]]". Several landmarks in North Korea are [[List of things named after Kim Il-sung|named for Kim Il-sung]], including [[Kim Il-sung University]], [[Kim Il-sung Stadium]], and [[Kim Il-sung Square]]. Defectors have been quoted as saying that North Korean schools deify both father and son.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kang|first1=Chol-hwan|author-mask1=Kang Chol-hwan|last2=Rigoulot|first2=Pierre|title=The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in a North Korean Gulag|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cp5xAAAAMAAJ|year=2001|publisher=BasicBooks|location=New York|isbn=978-0-465-01101-8|page=2}}</ref> Kim Il-sung rejected the notion that he had created a cult around himself, and accused those who suggested this of "[[Political faction|factionalism]]".{{sfn|Martin|2004|p=105}} Following the death of Kim Il-sung, North Koreans were prostrating and weeping to a bronze statue of him in an organized event;<ref>{{cite news | title=DEATH OF A LEADER: THE SCENE; In Pyongyang, Crowds of Mourners Gather at Kim Statue| work=The New York Times| url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C04E5D9143FF933A25754C0A962958260| access-date=19 November 2007 | date=10 July 1994}}</ref> similar scenes were broadcast by state television following the death of Kim Jong-il.<ref>{{cite news|title=North Koreans' reaction to Kim Jong-il's death is impossible to gauge |first=Justin |last=McCurry |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/dec/19/north-koreans-kim-jong-il |newspaper=The Guardian |date=19 December 2011 |access-date=29 May 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423004813/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/dec/19/north-koreans-kim-jong-il |archive-date=23 April 2016 }}</ref>

Critics maintain that Kim Jong-il's personality cult was inherited from his father. Kim Jong-il was often the center of attention throughout ordinary life. His birthday is one of the most important [[Public holidays in North Korea|public holidays in the country]]. On his 60th birthday (based on his official date of birth), mass celebrations occurred throughout the country.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1823713.stm |title=North Korea marks leader's birthday |publisher=BBC |date=16 February 2002 |access-date=18 December 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081123095151/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1823713.stm |archive-date=23 November 2008 }}</ref> Kim Jong-il's personality cult, although significant, was not as extensive as his father's. One point of view is that Kim Jong-il's cult of personality was solely out of respect for Kim Il-sung or out of fear of punishment for failure to pay homage,<ref name="Hermit">{{cite web|url=http://nautilus.org/publications/books/dprkbb/negotiating/dprk-briefing-book-korean-monarch-kim-jong-il-technocrat-ruler-of-the-hermit-kingdom-facing-the-challenge-of-modernity/ |title=Korean Monarch Kim Jong Il: Technocrat Ruler of the Hermit Kingdom Facing the Challenge of Modernity |publisher=[[Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability|The Nautilus Institute]] |access-date=18 December 2007 |last=Mansourov |first=Alexandre |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130922040313/http://nautilus.org/publications/books/dprkbb/negotiating/dprk-briefing-book-korean-monarch-kim-jong-il-technocrat-ruler-of-the-hermit-kingdom-facing-the-challenge-of-modernity/ |archive-date=22 September 2013 }}</ref> while North Korean government sources consider it genuine hero worship.<ref>Jason LaBouyer (May/June 2005) {{cite web|url=http://www.korea-dpr.com/lodestar0605v.pdf |title=When friends become enemies – Understanding left-wing hostility to the DPRK |access-date=3 July 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216051805/http://www.korea-dpr.com/lodestar0605v.pdf |archive-date=16 February 2008 }}, ''Lodestar'', pp. 7–9. Korea-DPR.com. Retrieved 18 December 2007.</ref>

On 10 January 2021, [[Kim Jong-un]] was formally elected as the [[General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea|General Secretary]] in [[8th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea|8th Congress]] of the ruling [[Workers' Party of Korea]], inheriting the title from his late father [[Kim Jong-il]], who [[Death and state funeral of Kim Jong-il|died]] in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-politics/north-korea-says-leader-kim-elected-as-general-secretary-of-ruling-party-kcna-idUSKBN29F0OD|title=Mixed signals for North Korean leader's sister as Kim seeks to cement power|publisher=Reuters|author=Hyonhee Shin|date=11 January 2021|access-date=11 January 2021}}</ref>

===Foreign relations===
{{Main|Foreign relations of North Korea}}
[[File:North Korea - China friendship (5578914865).jpg|thumb|left|The close [[China–North Korea relations|China-North Korea relationship]] is celebrated at the [[Arirang Festival|Arirang Mass Games]] in [[Pyongyang]].]]

As a result of its isolation, North Korea is sometimes known as the "[[hermit kingdom]]", a term that originally referred to the isolationism in the latter part of the [[Joseon Dynasty]].<ref name="alja_NKorLankov">{{cite web|title=N Korea: Tuning into the 'hermit kingdom' |last=Lankov |first=Andrei |work=[[Al Jazeera]] |date=10 June 2015 |access-date=20 February 2015 |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/05/north-korea-media-control-201452853742460657.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321155911/http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/05/north-korea-media-control-201452853742460657.html |archive-date=21 March 2015 }}</ref> Initially, North Korea had diplomatic ties only with other communist countries, and even today, most of the foreign embassies accredited to North Korea are located in [[Beijing]] rather than in [[Pyongyang]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://app.yonhapnews.co.kr/YNA/Basic/article/search/YIBW_showSearchArticle.aspx?searchpart=article&searchtext=%E5%8C%97%20%EC%88%98%EA%B5%90%EA%B5%AD%20%EC%83%81%EC%A3%BC%EA%B3%B5%EA%B4%80&contents_id=AKR20090302193700083 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429043944/http://app.yonhapnews.co.kr/YNA/Basic/article/search/YIBW_showSearchArticle.aspx?searchpart=article&searchtext=%E5%8C%97%20%EC%88%98%EA%B5%90%EA%B5%AD%20%EC%83%81%EC%A3%BC%EA%B3%B5%EA%B4%80&contents_id=AKR20090302193700083 |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 April 2011 |language=ko-kr |script-title=ko:北 수교국 상주공관, 평양보다 베이징에 많아 |access-date=13 December 2010 |date=2 March 2009 |work=[[Yonhap News]]}}</ref> In the 1960s and 1970s, it pursued an independent foreign policy, established relations with many developing countries, and joined the [[Non-Aligned Movement]]. In the late 1980s and the 1990s its foreign policy was thrown into turmoil with the collapse of the [[Soviet bloc]]. Suffering an economic crisis, it closed a number of its embassies. At the same time, North Korea sought to build relations with developed free market countries.<ref name="DPRK Diplomatic Relations">{{cite web|url=http://www.ncnk.org/resources/publications/NCNK_Issue_Brief_DPRK_Diplomatic_Relations.pdf |author1=Daniel Wertz |author2=JJ Oh |author3=Kim Insung |title=Issue Brief: DPRK Diplomatic Relations |access-date=17 April 2016 |date=August 2015 |publisher=The National Committee on North Korea |pages=1–7; n4 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304085503/http://www.ncnk.org/resources/publications/NCNK_Issue_Brief_DPRK_Diplomatic_Relations.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 }}</ref>

North Korea joined the [[United Nations]] in 1991 together with South Korea. North Korea is also a member of the [[Non-Aligned Movement]], [[Group of 77|G77]] and the [[ASEAN Regional Forum]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19910917&slug=1306025|title=A Single Flag – North And South Korea Join U.N. And The World|date=17 September 1991|newspaper=[[The Seattle Times]]|access-date=3 September 2017}}</ref>

North Korea enjoys a [[China–North Korea relations|close relationship with China]] which is often called North Korea's closest ally.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Nanto|first1=Dick K.|last2=Manyin|first2=Mark E.|date=2011|title=China-North Korea Relations|url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc227656/|journal=North Korean Review|volume=7|issue=2|pages=94–101|doi=10.3172/NKR.7.2.94|issn=1551-2789|jstor=43908855}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/chinas-xi-to-visit-north-korea-as-both-countries-lock-horns-with-united-states/2019/06/17/4777087c-90f5-11e9-b72d-d56510fa753e_story.html|title=China's Xi to visit North Korea as both countries lock horns with United States|last1=Shih|first1=Gerry|last2=Denyer|first2=Simon|date=17 June 2019|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=25 October 2019}}</ref> The relations were strained in the last few years because of China's concerns about North Korea's nuclear program. However, the relations have started to improve again and been increasingly close especially after [[Xi Jinping]], [[General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party]] visited North Korea in April 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2139178/rumours-china-and-north-korea-were-no-longer-allies-put|title=Kim's visit evidence China, North Korea remain allies, analysts say|last1=Shi|first1=Jiangtao|last2=Chan|first2=Minnie|date=27 March 2018|website=South China Morning Post|language=en|access-date=25 July 2019|last3=Zheng|first3=Sarah}}</ref>

{{As of|2015}}, North Korea had diplomatic relations with 166 countries and embassies in 47 countries.<ref name="DPRK Diplomatic Relations"/> North Korea does not have diplomatic relations with [[Argentina]], [[Botswana]],<ref name="suspension of diplomatic relations">{{cite web|url=http://www.gov.bw/en/Ministries--Authorities/Ministries/Ministry-of-Foreign-Affairs-and-International-Cooperation/News/BOTSWANA-CUT-TIES-WITH-NORTH-KOREA/ |title=Botswana Cuts Ties with North Korea |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=20 February 2014 |website=www.gov.bw |publisher=[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (Botswana)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation]] |access-date=5 January 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150106001946/http://www.gov.bw/en/Ministries--Authorities/Ministries/Ministry-of-Foreign-Affairs-and-International-Cooperation/News/BOTSWANA-CUT-TIES-WITH-NORTH-KOREA/ |archive-date=6 January 2015 }}</ref> [[Estonia]], [[France]],<ref name="France and Estonia">{{cite web|url=http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/13/cr-cdef/09-10/c0910024.asp|title=Audition de M. Jack Lang, envoyé spécial du Président de la République pour la Corée du Nord.|author=Commission de la défense nationale et des forces armées|date=30 March 2010|language=fr|access-date=2 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100421021201/http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/13/cr-cdef/09-10/c0910024.asp|url-status=live|archive-date=21 April 2010}}</ref> [[Iraq]], [[Israel]], [[Japan]], [[Taiwan]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.38north.org/2019/05/pkennedy051419/|title=Taiwan and North Korea: Star-Crossed Business Partners |last=Kennedy|first=Pamela|date=14 May 2019|website=38 North|language=en|access-date=18 November 2019}}</ref> and the [[United States]].{{efn|In spite of the United States' recognition of South Korea ''de jure'', [[Sweden]] acts as its [[protecting power]].}}<ref name="Haggard">{{cite journal|last=Haggard|first=M|year=1965|title=North Korea's International Position|journal=[[Asian Survey]]|volume=5|issue=8|pages=375–388|issn=0004-4687|oclc=48536955|doi=10.2307/2642410|jstor=2642410}}</ref><ref>Seung-Ho Joo, Tae-Hwan Kwak - [https://books.google.com/books?id=0QNyDUpXhA8C&pg=PA184&lpg=PA184&dq=us+recognize+south+korea+de+jure+sole+legitimate&source=bl&ots=e6vd7R9mxA&sig=7_Y0uBgbZAZkMTHcujATt4SJ4Rw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjTvfujwrvUAhVKdT4KHQd7DGYQ6AEIQDAE#v=onepage&q=us%20recognize%20south%20korea%20de%20jure%20sole%20legitimate&f=false Korea in the 21st Century]</ref> As of September 2017, France and Estonia are the last two European countries that do not have an official relationship with North Korea.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2017/09/06/01003-20170906ARTFIG00181-quelles-relations-la-france-entretient-elle-avec-la-coree-du-nord.php|title=Quelles relations la France entretient-elle avec la Corée du Nord ?|date=6 September 2017}}</ref> North Korea continues to have strong ties with its socialist southeast Asian allies in [[Vietnam]] and [[Laos]], as well as with [[Cambodia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www1.korea-np.co.jp/pk/165th_issue/2001072510.htm |title=Kim Yong Nam Visits 3 ASEAN Nations To Strengthen Traditional Ties |access-date=1 August 2007 |year=2001 |work=The People's Korea |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930152339/http://www1.korea-np.co.jp/pk/165th_issue/2001072510.htm |archive-date=30 September 2007 }}</ref>
[[File:Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin (2019-04-25) 05.jpg|thumb|North Korean leader Kim Jong-un meeting with Russian President [[Putin]], 25 April 2019]]
[[File:2018 North Korea-United States summit - Kim and Trump shake hands.jpg|thumb|Former U.S. President [[Donald Trump]] and North Korean Leader [[Kim Jong-un]] during the [[2018 North Korea-United States summit]] in Singapore, June 2018]]
North Korea was previously designated a [[State Sponsors of Terrorism|state sponsor of terrorism]]<ref>{{cite web| url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2007/103711.htm | title=Country Reports on Terrorism: Chapter 3 – State Sponsors of Terrorism Overview | author=Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism | date=30 April 2008 | access-date=26 June 2008}}</ref> because of its alleged involvement in the [[Rangoon bombing|1983 Rangoon bombing]] and the [[Korean Air Flight 858|1987 bombing of a South Korean airliner]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/countries/korea.html |title=Country Guide |access-date=26 June 2008 |newspaper=The Washington Post |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524123409/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/countries/korea.html |archive-date=24 May 2010 }}</ref> On 11 October 2008, the United States removed North Korea from its list of states that sponsor terrorism after Pyongyang agreed to cooperate on issues related to its nuclear program.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/10/11/us.north.korea/index.html |title=U.S. takes North Korea off terror list |publisher=CNN |date=11 October 2008 |access-date=11 October 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012063548/http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/10/11/us.north.korea/index.html |archive-date=12 October 2008 }}</ref> North Korea was re-designated a state sponsor of terrorism by the U.S. under the [[Trump administration]] on 20 November 2017.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42058686 |title=Trump declares North Korea 'sponsor of terror' |access-date=20 November 2017 |date=20 November 2017 |work=BBC News}}</ref> [[North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens|The kidnapping of at least 13 Japanese citizens]] by North Korean agents in the 1970s and the 1980s has had a detrimental effect on North Korea's relationship with Japan.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5074234.stm |title=N Korea to face Japan sanctions |access-date=26 June 2008 |date=13 June 2006 |work=BBC News |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115162059/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5074234.stm |archive-date=15 January 2009 }}</ref>

US President [[Donald Trump]] met with Kim in Singapore on 12 June 2018. An agreement was signed between the two countries endorsing the 2017 [[Panmunjom Declaration]] signed by North and South Korea, pledging to work towards denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/12/full-text-of-the-trump-kim-summit-agreement.html|title=Read the full text of the Trump-Kim agreement here|last=Rosenfeld|first=Everett|date=12 June 2018|work=CNBC|access-date=2 October 2018}}</ref> [[2019 North Korea–United States Hanoi Summit|They met in Hanoi]] from 27 to 28 February 2019, but failed to achieve an agreement.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/28/white-house-trump-kim-meetings-change-of-schedule.html|title=Trump-Kim summit was cut short after North Korea demanded an end to all sanctions|last=Rosenfeld|first=Everett|date=28 February 2019|publisher=CNBC|access-date=28 February 2019}}</ref> On 30 June 2019, Trump met with Kim along with [[Moon Jae-in]] at the Korean DMZ.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/06/29/donald-trump-looks-brief-handshake-meeting-kim-jong-un/1608092001/|title=Donald Trump meets Kim Jong Un in DMZ; steps onto North Korean soil|work=USA Today|date=30 June 2019}}</ref>

===Inter-Korean relations===
{{Main|Inter-Korean relations|Korean reunification}}
The [[Korean Demilitarized Zone]] with South Korea remains the most heavily fortified border in the world.<ref name=border>{{Cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/06/03/koreas.agree/index.html |title=Koreas agree to military hotline |publisher=Edition.cnn.com |date=4 June 2004 |access-date=22 April 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091130235815/http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/06/03/koreas.agree/index.html |archive-date=30 November 2009 }}</ref> Inter-Korean relations are at the core of North Korean diplomacy and have seen numerous shifts in the last few decades. North Korea's policy is to seek reunification without what it sees as outside interference, through a federal structure retaining each side's leadership and systems. In 1972, the two Koreas agreed in principle to achieve reunification through peaceful means and without foreign interference.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=218}} On 10 October 1980, then North Korean leader Kim Il-sung proposed a federation between North and South Korea named the [[Democratic Federal Republic of Korea]] in which the respective political systems would initially remain.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.songunpoliticsstudygroup.org/Oct102008/W-801010.HTM |title=REPORT TO THE SIXTH CONGRESS OF THE WORKERS' PARTY OF KOREA ON THE WORK OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE |last=Kim |first=Il Sung |date=10 October 1980 |publisher=Songun Politics Study Group (USA) |access-date=4 July 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090829094118/http://www.songunpoliticsstudygroup.org/Oct102008/W-801010.HTM |archive-date=29 August 2009 }}</ref> However, relations remained cool well until the early 1990s, with a brief period in the early 1980s when North Korea offered to provide flood relief to its southern neighbor.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/outofdate/bgn/northkorea/55938.htm|title=North Korea (11/05)|website=U.S. Department of State}}</ref> Although the offer was initially welcomed, talks over how to deliver the relief goods broke down and none of the promised aid ever crossed the border.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1984/09/19/world/koreans-disagree-on-aid-by-north.html Koreans disagree on aid by North] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170418083842/http://www.nytimes.com/1984/09/19/world/koreans-disagree-on-aid-by-north.html |date=18 April 2017 }} – NY Times</ref>
The two countries also organized a reunion of 92 separated families.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=220}}
[[File:2018 inter-Korean summit 01.jpg|thumb|left|Kim Jong-un and South Korean President [[Moon Jae-in]] shake hands during the [[April 2018 inter-Korean summit|inter-Korean Summit]], April 2018]]
[[File:501 cows sent to North Korea.jpg|thumb|upright|left|South Korean aid convoy entering North Korea through the Demilitarized Zone, 1998]]

The [[Sunshine Policy]] instituted by South Korean president [[Kim Dae-jung]] in 1998 was a watershed in inter-Korean relations. It encouraged other countries to engage with the North, which allowed Pyongyang to normalize relations with a number of European Union states and contributed to the establishment of joint North-South economic projects. The culmination of the Sunshine Policy was the [[2000 Inter-Korean summit]], when Kim Dae-jung visited Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=222}} Both North and South Korea signed the [[June 15th North–South Joint Declaration]], in which both sides promised to seek peaceful reunification.<ref name=joint>{{cite web |url=http://www.kcckp.net/en/one/nation.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113143537/http://www.kcckp.net/en/one/nation.php |archive-date=13 November 2007 |title=North-South Joint Declaration |access-date=1 August 2007 |date=15 June 2000 |work=[[Naenara]]}}</ref> On 4 October 2007, South Korean president [[Roh Moo-hyun]] and Kim Jong-il signed an eight-point peace agreement.<ref name=idUKSEO16392220071004>{{Cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKSEO16392220071004 |title=Factbox – North, South Korea pledge peace, prosperity |access-date=4 October 2007 |work=Reuters |date=4 October 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071223105941/http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKSEO16392220071004 |archive-date=23 December 2007 }}</ref>
However, relations worsened when South Korean president [[Lee Myung-bak]] adopted a more hard-line approach and suspended aid deliveries pending the de-nuclearization of the North. In 2009, North Korea responded by ending all of its previous agreements with the South.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7859671.stm |title=North Korea tears up agreements |work=BBC News |date=30 January 2009 |access-date=8 March 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090306071916/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7859671.stm |archive-date=6 March 2009 }}</ref> It deployed additional ballistic missiles<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7905361.stm |title=North Korea deploying more missiles |work=BBC News |date=23 February 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100824214110/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7905361.stm |archive-date=24 August 2010 }}</ref> and placed its military on full combat alert after South Korea, Japan and the United States threatened to intercept a [[Unha-2]] space launch vehicle.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7931670.stm |work=BBC News |date=3 March 2009 |access-date=8 March 2009 |title=North Korea warning over satellite |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090309171011/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7931670.stm |archive-date=9 March 2009 }}</ref> The next few years witnessed a string of hostilities, including the alleged North Korean involvement in the [[ROKS Cheonan sinking|sinking of South Korean warship ''Cheonan'']],<ref name="Anger at North Korea over sinking"/> mutual ending of diplomatic ties,<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64O3YU20100525 Text from North Korea statement] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100605153427/http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64O3YU20100525 |date=5 June 2010 }}, by Jonathan Thatcher, Reuters, 25 May 2010</ref> a North Korean artillery [[Bombardment of Yeonpyeong|attack on Yeonpyeong Island]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/23/north-south-korea-crisis-conflict |title=North Korea: a deadly attack, a counter-strike – now Koreans hold their breath |date=23 November 2010 |location=London |work=The Guardian |first1=Tania |last1=Branigan |first2=Ewen |last2=MacAskill |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227130702/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/23/north-south-korea-crisis-conflict |archive-date=27 December 2016 }}</ref> and growing international concern over North Korea's nuclear program.<ref>{{cite news|last=MacAskill |first=Ewen |title=US warns North Korea of increased isolation if threats escalate further |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/29/us-condemns-north-korea-threats |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=5 April 2013 |location=Washington, DC |date=29 March 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130925075410/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/29/us-condemns-north-korea-threats |archive-date=25 September 2013 }}</ref>

In May 2017, [[Moon Jae-in]] was elected President of South Korea with a promise to return to the Sunshine Policy.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/south-koreas-likely-next-president-warns-the-us-not-to-meddle-in-its-democracy/2017/05/02/2295255e-29c1-11e7-9081-f5405f56d3e4_story.html|title=South Korea's likely next president warns the U.S. not to meddle in its democracy|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=2 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170502160241/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/south-koreas-likely-next-president-warns-the-us-not-to-meddle-in-its-democracy/2017/05/02/2295255e-29c1-11e7-9081-f5405f56d3e4_story.html|archive-date=2 May 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> In February 2018, a détente developed at the Winter Olympics held in South Korea.<ref name="auto2"/> In April, South Korean President [[Moon Jae-in]] and Kim Jong-un met at the DMZ, and, in the [[Panmunjom Declaration]], pledged to work for peace and nuclear disarmament.<ref name="BBC_pledge">{{cite news|title=Koreas make nuclear pledge after summit|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-43921385|access-date=27 April 2018|work=BBC News|date=27 April 2018}}</ref> In September, at a joint news conference in Pyongyang, Moon and Kim agreed upon turning the [[Korean Peninsula]] into a "land of peace without nuclear weapons and nuclear threats".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-southkorea-summit/north-koreas-kim-says-to-scrap-missile-sites-visit-seoul-idUSKCN1LY30R|title=North Korea's Kim says to scrap missile sites, visit Seoul|work=Reuters|access-date=19 September 2018}}</ref>

===Law enforcement and internal security===
{{main|Law enforcement in North Korea}}
{{see also|Law of North Korea|Judiciary of North Korea}}
[[File:Police car outside Okryu Restaurant.jpg|thumb|A North Korean police car in 2017; the [[Chosŏn'gŭl]] lettering on the side translates to "Traffic safety".]]
North Korea has a [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law]] system based on the [[General state laws for the Prussian states|Prussian model]] and influenced by Japanese traditions and communist legal theory.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2100.html#kn |title=Legal System field listing |publisher=CIA The World Factbook |access-date=18 May 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518174611/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2100.html |archive-date=18 May 2014 }}</ref> [[Judiciary]] procedures are handled by the [[Supreme Court of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea|Supreme Court]] (the highest [[court of appeal]]), provincial or special city-level courts, people's courts, and special courts. People's courts are at the lowest level of the system and operate in cities, counties and urban districts, while different kinds of special courts handle cases related to military, railroad, or maritime matters.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=274}}

Judges are theoretically elected by their respective local people's assemblies, but in practice they are appointed by the Workers' Party of Korea. The [[penal code]] is based on the principle of ''[[Nullum crimen, nulla poena sine praevia lege poenali|nullum crimen sine lege]]'' (no crime without a law), but remains a tool for political control despite several amendments reducing ideological influence.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=274}} Courts carry out legal procedures related to not only criminal and civil matters, but also political cases as well.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=201}} Political prisoners are sent to [[labor camp]]s, while criminal offenders are incarcerated in a separate system.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/19/AR2009071902178.html |title=Outside World Turns Blind Eye to N. Korea's Hard-Labor Camps |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=20 July 2009 |access-date=19 May 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100919191331/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/19/AR2009071902178.html |archive-date=19 September 2010 }}</ref>

The [[Ministry of Social Security (North Korea)|Minsitry of Social Security]] (MSS) maintains most law enforcement activities. It is one of the most powerful state institutions in North Korea and oversees the national police force, investigates criminal cases and manages non-political correctional facilities.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=276}} It handles other aspects of domestic security like civil registration, traffic control, fire departments and railroad security.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=277}} The [[Ministry of State Security (North Korea)|State Security Department]] was separated from the MPS in 1973 to conduct domestic and foreign intelligence, counterintelligence and manage the political prison system. Political camps can be short-term reeducation zones or "[[kwalliso]]" (total control zones) for lifetime detention.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|pp=277–278}} [[Yodok concentration camp|Camp 15 in Yodok]]<ref name=csw >{{cite web|title=North Korea: A case to answer – a call to act|pages=25–26|work=Christian Solidarity Worldwide|date=20 June 2007|url=http://docs-eu.livesiteadmin.com/c8880e0f-f6ed-4585-8f09-4e4b6d11e698/north-korea-a-case-to-answer-a-call-to-act.pdf|access-date=10 April 2012|archive-date=21 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021204741/http://docs-eu.livesiteadmin.com/c8880e0f-f6ed-4585-8f09-4e4b6d11e698/north-korea-a-case-to-answer-a-call-to-act.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[Bukchang concentration camp|Camp 18 in Bukchang]]<ref name=sub_ihr>{{cite web|title=Subcommittee on International Human Rights, 40th Parliament, 3rd session, February 1, 2011: Testimony of Ms. Hye Sook Kim |work=Parliament of Canada |url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=4916717&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=40&Ses=3#Int-3706941 |access-date=22 April 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112012047/http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=4916717&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=40&Ses=3 |archive-date=12 November 2012 }}</ref> have been described in detailed testimonies.<ref name="hrnk2"/>

The security apparatus is extensive,{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=272}} exerting strict control over residence, travel, employment, clothing, food and family life.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=273}} Security forces employ [[Mass surveillance in North Korea|mass surveillance]]. It is believed they tightly monitor cellular and digital communications.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://uskoreainstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Kim-Yonho-Cell-Phones-in-North-Korea.pdf |title=Cell Phones in North Korea |author=Kim Yonho |pages=35–38 |year=2014 |access-date=3 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140607005720/http://uskoreainstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Kim-Yonho-Cell-Phones-in-North-Korea.pdf |archive-date=7 June 2014}}</ref>

===Human rights===
{{Main|Human rights in North Korea}}
{{see also|Prisons in North Korea}}

{{location map+|North Korea|caption = A map of political prison camps in North Korea. An estimated 40% of prisoners die of malnutrition.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/04/north.korea.amnesty/ |title=Report: Torture, starvation rife in North Korea political prisons |publisher=CNN |date=4 May 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141228194113/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/04/north.korea.amnesty/ |archive-date=28 December 2014 }}</ref>| float=right|width=|places=
{{location map~|North Korea|label=[[Pukchang concentration camp|Pukchang]]| position=bottom|lat=39.446164|long=126.163223 <!--exact position is lat=39.546164,long=126.063223, slightly shifted for better visibility --> |region=KP-02}}
{{location map~|North Korea|label=[[Chongjin concentration camp|Chongjin]]| position=left|lat=41.833486|long=129.725597|region=KP-09}}
{{location map~|North Korea|label=[[Hoeryong concentration camp|Hoeryong]]| position=left|lat=42.537967|long=129.935517|region=KP-09}}
{{location map~|North Korea|label=[[Hwasong concentration camp|Hwasong]]| position=left|lat=41.268505|long=129.391211|region=KP-09}}
{{location map~|North Korea|label=[[Kaechon internment camp|Kaechon]]| position=left|lat=39.571086|long=126.055466|region=KP-02}}
{{location map~|North Korea|label=[[Yodok concentration camp|Yodok]]|position=right|lat=39.674163|long=126.851406|region=KP-08}}}}
North Korea is widely accused of having perhaps the worst [[human rights]] record in the world.<ref name="Amnesty International 2007"/> A 2014 UN inquiry into [[human rights in North Korea]] concluded that, "The gravity, scale and nature of these violations reveal a state that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world".<ref name="ohchr.org"/> North Koreans have been referred to as "some of the world's most brutalized people" by [[Human Rights Watch]], because of the severe restrictions placed on their [[Freedom (political)|political]] and [[economic freedom]]s.<ref name="hrw1"/><ref name="hrw2"/> The North Korean population is strictly managed by the state and all aspects of daily life are subordinated to party and state planning. Employment is managed by the party on the basis of political reliability, and travel is tightly controlled by the Ministry of People's Security.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|pp=272–273}}

[[Amnesty International]] reports of severe restrictions on the freedom of association, expression, and movement, arbitrary detention, torture and other ill-treatment resulting in death, and executions.<ref name="ai1">{{cite web|title=Annual Report 2011: North Korea |work=Amnesty International |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/region/north-korea/report-2011 |access-date=20 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314232341/http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/north-korea/report-2011 |archive-date=14 March 2012 }}</ref>

The [[Ministry of State Security (North Korea)|State Security Department]] extrajudicially apprehends and imprisons those accused of political crimes without due process.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=278}} People perceived as hostile to the government, such as Christians or critics of the leadership,<ref name="ai_ppc"/> are deported to labor camps without trial,<ref>{{cite web
 |title=Concentrations of Inhumanity (p. 40–44)
 |work=Freedom House, May 2007
 |url=http://www.freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/ConcentrationsInhumanity.pdf
 |access-date=10 April 2012
|url-status=live
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121030153816/http://www.freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/ConcentrationsInhumanity.pdf
 |archive-date=30 October 2012
}}</ref> often with their whole family and mostly without any chance of being released.<ref>{{cite web|title=Survey Report on Political Prisoners' Camps in North Korea (p. 58–73) |work=National Human Rights Commission of Korea, December 2009 |url=http://nkdb.org/bbs1/data/publication/Survey_Report_on_Political_Prisoners_Camp_in_North_Korea_.pdf |access-date=10 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426032452/http://nkdb.org/bbs1/data/publication/Survey_Report_on_Political_Prisoners_Camp_in_North_Korea_.pdf |archive-date=26 April 2012 }}</ref>

Based on satellite images and defector testimonies, Amnesty International estimates that around 200,000 prisoners are held in six large political prison camps,<ref name=ai_ppc>{{cite web|title=North Korea: Political Prison Camps |work=Amnesty International |date=4 May 2011 |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa24/001/2011/en/ |access-date=10 April 2012 }}</ref><ref name="ai2">{{cite web|title=North Korea: Catastrophic human rights record overshadows 'Day of the Sun' |work=Amnesty International |date=12 April 2012 |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/news/north-korea-catastrophic-human-rights-record-overshadows-day-sun-2012-04-12 |access-date=10 April 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120413234435/http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/north-korea-catastrophic-human-rights-record-overshadows-day-sun-2012-04-12 |archive-date=13 April 2012 }}</ref> where they are forced to work in conditions approaching slavery.<ref>{{cite web|title=Images reveal scale of North Korean political prison camps |work=Amnesty International |date=3 May 2011 |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/images-reveal-scale-north-korean-political-prison-camps-2011-05-03 |access-date=10 April 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120407062241/http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/images-reveal-scale-north-korean-political-prison-camps-2011-05-03 |archive-date=7 April 2012 }}</ref> Supporters of the government who deviate from the government line are subject to [[reeducation through labor|reeducation]] in sections of [[labor camp]]s set aside for that purpose. Those who are deemed [[Political rehabilitation|politically rehabilitated]] may reassume responsible government positions on their release.<ref>[http://koreajoongangdaily.joinsmsn.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2952180 "Report on political prisoners in North soon"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523090447/http://koreajoongangdaily.joinsmsn.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2952180 |date=23 May 2013 }} article by Han Yeong-ik in Korea Joongang Daily 30 April 2012</ref>

[[North Korean defectors]]<ref>{{cite news|title=Torture in North Korea: Concentration Camps in the Spotlight |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/karin-badt/torture-in-north-korea-co_b_545254.html |last=Badt |first=Karin |access-date=8 October 2010 |date=21 April 2010 |work=Huffington Post |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100504070520/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karin-badt/torture-in-north-korea-co_b_545254.html |archive-date=4 May 2010 }}<!-- This looks awfully like an unreliable blog post, yanno --></ref> have provided detailed testimonies on the existence of the total control zones where abuses such as torture, starvation, rape, murder, [[North Korean human experimentation|medical experimentation]], forced labor, and forced abortions have been reported.<ref name=hrnk2>{{cite web|title=The Hidden Gulag – Exposing Crimes against Humanity in North Korea's Vast Prison System |work=The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea |url=http://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/HRNK_HiddenGulag2_Web_5-18.pdf |access-date=14 September 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150313045221/http://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/HRNK_HiddenGulag2_Web_5-18.pdf |archive-date=13 March 2015 }}</ref> On the basis of these abuses, as well as persecution on political, religious, racial, and gender grounds, forcible transfer of populations, enforced disappearance of persons, and forced starvation, the [[Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea|United Nations Commission of Inquiry]] has accused North Korea of [[crimes against humanity]].<ref>{{cite web|title=North Korea: UN Commission documents wide-ranging and ongoing crimes against humanity, urges referral to ICC |work=United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights |url=http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=14255&LangID=E |date=17 February 2014 |access-date=18 February 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140218020308/http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=14255&LangID=E |archive-date=18 February 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea |work=United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights |url=http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/CoIDPRK/Pages/ReportoftheCommissionofInquiryDPRK.aspx |first1=Michael |last1=Kirby |first2=Marzuki |last2=Darusman |first3=Sonja |last3=Biserko |date=17 February 2014 |access-date=18 February 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140217224637/http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/CoIDPRK/Pages/ReportoftheCommissionofInquiryDPRK.aspx |archive-date=17 February 2014 }}</ref><ref>Walker, Peter (17 February 2014). [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/17/north-korea-human-rights-abuses-united-nations North Korean human rights abuses recall Nazis, says UN inquiry chair] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140218020741/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/17/north-korea-human-rights-abuses-united-nations |date=18 February 2014 }}. ''[[The Guardian]]''. Retrieved 17 February 2014.</ref> The [[International Coalition to Stop Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea]] (ICNK) estimates that over 10,000 people die in North Korean prison camps every year.<ref>{{cite web|title=Human Rights Groups Call on UN Over N.Korea Gulag |work=The Chosunilbo |date=4 April 2012 |url=http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2012/04/04/2012040401146.html |access-date=10 April 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405230944/http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2012/04/04/2012040401146.html |archive-date=5 April 2012 }}</ref>

According to Human Rights Watch, which cites interviews with defectors, North Korean women are routinely subjected to sexual violence, unwanted sexual contact, and rape. Men in positions of power, including police, high-ranking officials, market supervisors, and guards can abuse women at will and are not prosecuted for it. It happens so often that it is accepted as a routine part of life. Women assume they can not do anything about it. The only ones with protection are those whose husbands or fathers are themselves in positions of power.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/north-korean-women-suffer-serious-sexual-violence-by-authorities-report-says|title=North Korean women suffer serious sexual violence by authorities, report says|author=Kathleen Joyce|work=Fox News|date=1 November 2018|access-date=1 November 2018}}</ref>

The North Korean government rejects the human rights abuse claims, calling them "a smear campaign" and a "human rights racket" aimed at government change.<ref name="human_rights1">[http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2005/200512/news12/23.htm#3 KCNA Assails Role Played by Japan for UN Passage of "Human Rights" Resolution against DPRK] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401222746/http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2005/200512/news12/23.htm |date= 1 April 2012 }}, ''KCNA'', 22 December 2005.</ref><ref name="human_rights2">[http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2005/200511/news11/09.htm#10 KCNA Refutes U.S. Anti-DPRK Human Rights Campaign] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401222752/http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2005/200511/news11/09.htm |date= 1 April 2012 }}, ''KCNA'', 8 November 2005.</ref><ref name="SCR212">{{cite web|title=February 2012 DPRK (North Korea)|url=http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/site/c.glKWLeMTIsG/b.7966259/k.D9BB/February_2012brDPRK_North_Korea.htm|publisher=United Nations Security Council|date=February 2012}}</ref> In a 2014 report to the UN, North Korea dismissed accusations of atrocities as "wild rumors".<ref name="human_rights4"/> The official state media, [[Korean Central News Agency|KCNA]], responded with an article that included homophobic insults against the author of the human rights report, [[Michael Kirby (judge)|Michael Kirby]], calling him "a disgusting old lecher with a 40-odd-year-long career of homosexuality ... This practice can never be found in the DPRK boasting of the sound mentality and good morals ... In fact, it is ridiculous for such gay {{sic}} to sponsor dealing with others' human rights issue."<ref name="Taylor"/><ref name="kcna.co.jp"/> The government, however, admitted some human rights issues related to living conditions and stated that it is working to improve them.<ref name="SCR212" />

According to Amnesty International, citizens in North Korea are denied [[freedom of movement]] including the right to leave the country<ref name=":0" /> at will and its government denies access to international human rights observers.<ref>{{Cite web|title=North Korea|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/asia-and-the-pacific/north-korea/|access-date=12 June 2020|website=www.amnesty.org|language=en}}</ref>

==Military==
{{Main|Korean People's Army}}
{{See also|North Korea and weapons of mass destruction|Songun}}
[[File:AIR KORYO IL76 P912 AT SONDOK HAMHUNG AIRPORT DPR KOREA OCT 2012 (8179381094).jpg|thumb|[[Ilyushin Il-76]] strategic military airlifter used by [[Air Koryo]]]]

The North Korean armed forces, or the [[Korean People's Army]] (KPA), is estimated to comprise 1,280,000 active and 6,300,000 reserve and paramilitary troops, making it one of the [[List of countries by number of troops|largest military institutions in the world]].<ref name="auto3">{{cite web|url=https://carnegieendowment.org/2020/03/18/state-of-north-korean-military-pub-81232 |title=The State of the North Korean Military|year=2020|publisher= [[Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]]}}</ref> With an active duty army consisting of {{Percentage|1280000|{{UN_Population|Dem. People's Republic of Korea}}|1}} of its population, the KPA is the fourth [[List of countries by number of military and paramilitary personnel|largest active military force]] in the world behind China, India and the United States.<ref name="bgn">{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2792.htm|title=Background Note: North Korea|author=Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs|author-link=Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs|date=April 2007|work=[[United States Department of State]]|access-date=1 August 2007}}</ref> About 20 percent of men aged 17–54 serve in the regular armed forces,<ref name="bgn"/> and approximately one in every 25 citizens is an enlisted soldier.<ref name="economist-armied">{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/07/armed-forces|title=Armed forces: Armied to the hilt|date=19 July 2011|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|access-date=28 July 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728030228/https://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/07/armed-forces|archive-date=28 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/mil_arm_per_percap-military-army-personnel-per-capita |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070217230331/http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/mil_arm_per_percap-military-army-personnel-per-capita |archive-date=17 February 2007 |title=Army personnel (per capita) by country |access-date=1 August 2007 |year=2007 |work=NationMaster}}</ref> 

UN sanctions on North Korea have made it difficult for the KPA to purchase or develop modern equipment and it remains largely reliant on outdated Cold War-era [[materiel|matériel]]. However, in part due to North Korea's ''Songun'', or "military first" policy, and the sheer number of personnel in its armed forces, the KPA is viewed as a formidable military force.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Force Index {{!}} National Rankings by Military Strength|url=https://militarywatchmagazine.com/forceapp/countries|access-date=28 July 2020|website=militarywatchmagazine.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=2021 Military Strength Ranking|url=https://www.globalfirepower.com/countries-listing.php|access-date=8 August 2021}}</ref>

The KPA is divided into five branches: [[Korean People's Army Ground Force|Ground Force]], [[Korean People's Navy|Navy]], [[Korean People's Air Force|Air Force]], [[North Korean Special Operation Force|Special Operations Force]], and [[Strategic Rocket Forces (North Korea)|Rocket Force]]. Command of the KPA lies in both the [[Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea]] and the independent State Affairs Commission, which controls the [[Ministry of People's Armed Forces]].{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=239}}

Of all the KPA's branches, the Ground Force is the largest, comprising approximately one million personnel divided into 80 infantry [[division (military)|divisions]], 30 artillery [[brigade (military)|brigades]], 25 special warfare brigades, 20 mechanized brigades, 10 tank brigades and seven tank [[regiment]]s.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=247}} It is equipped with 3,700 tanks, 2,100 [[armored personnel carrier]]s and [[infantry fighting vehicle]]s,{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=248}} 17,900 artillery pieces, 11,000 anti-aircraft guns{{Sfn|Country Profile|2007|p= 19 – Major Military Equipment}} and some 10,000 [[MANPADS]] and [[anti-tank guided missile]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.soldiering.ru/country/guide2003/army-09.php |title=Worls militaries: K |publisher=soldiering.ru |access-date=23 May 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006112837/http://www.soldiering.ru/country/guide2003/army-09.php |archive-date=6 October 2014 }}</ref> The Air Force is estimated to possess around 1,600 aircraft (with between 545 - 810 serving combat roles), while the Navy operates approximately 800 vessels, including the largest submarine fleet in the world.<ref name="auto3"/>{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|pp=288–293}} The KPA's Special Operation Force is also the world's largest special forces unit.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|pp=288–293}}

[[File:Mansudae Grand Monument 26.JPG|thumb|upright|The Memorial of Soldiers at the Mansudae Grand Monument]]
North Korea is a [[List of states with nuclear weapons|nuclear-armed state]],<ref name="economist-armied" /><ref>{{cite book|url=http://csis.org/files/publication/110712_Cordesman_KoreaMilBalance_WEB.pdf|title=The Korean Military Balance|author=Anthony H. Cordesman|year=2011|publisher=Center for Strategic & International Studies|isbn=978-0-89206-632-2|page=156|quote=The DPRK has [[Nuclear weapon design|implosion fission]] weapons.|access-date=28 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011185007/http://csis.org/files/publication/110712_Cordesman_KoreaMilBalance_WEB.pdf|archive-date=11 October 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> though the nature and strength of its arsenal is uncertain. In January 2018, estimates of North Korea's nuclear arsenal ranged between 15 and 60 bombs, probably including [[hydrogen bombs]].<ref name="auto"/> Delivery capabilities<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6155956.ece |title=North Korea is fully fledged nuclear power, experts agree |access-date=25 April 2009 |work=The Times |location=London |date=24 April 2009 |author=Deirdre Hipwell |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100525120848/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6155956.ece |archive-date=25 May 2010 }}</ref> are provided by the Rocket Force, which has some 1,000 [[ballistic missile]]s with a range of up to {{convert|7400|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ryall|first1=Julian|title=How far can North Korean missiles travel? Everything you need to know|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/0/far-can-north-korean-missiles-travel/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/0/far-can-north-korean-missiles-travel/ |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=9 August 2017|work=The Telegraph|date=9 August 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

According to a 2004 South Korean assessment, North Korea also possesses a stockpile of [[chemical weapons]] estimated to amount to between 2,500–5,000 tons, including nerve, blister, blood, and vomiting agents, as well as the ability to cultivate and produce [[biological weapons]] including [[anthrax]], [[smallpox]], and [[cholera]].{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=260}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/04/29/2010042901362.html |title=New Threat from N. Korea's 'Asymmetrical' Warfare |publisher=The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition) |work=English.chosun.com |date=29 April 2010 |access-date=13 December 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101224190403/http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/04/29/2010042901362.html |archive-date=24 December 2010 }}</ref> As a result of its nuclear and missile tests, North Korea has been [[List of United Nations Security Council resolutions concerning North Korea|sanctioned under United Nations Security Council resolutions]] [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1695|1695]] of July 2006, [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718|1718]] of October 2006, [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1874|1874]] of June 2009, [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 2087|2087]] of January 2013,<ref name="secu_UNDo">{{Cite web | title = UN Documents for DPRK (North Korea): Security Council Resolutions [View All Security Council Resolutions] | work = securitycouncilreport.org | access-date = 2 October 2015 | url = http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/un-documents/dprk-north-korea/}}</ref> and [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 2397|2397]] in December 2017.

The sale of weapons to North Korea by other states is prohibited by UN sanctions, and the KPA's conventional capabilities are limited by a number of factors including obsolete equipment, insufficient fuel supplies and a shortage of digital [[command and control]] assets. To compensate for these deficiencies, the KPA has deployed a wide range of [[asymmetric warfare]] technologies including anti-personnel blinding lasers,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/11/24/north.korea.capability/index.html |title=North Korea's military aging but sizable |publisher=CNN |date=25 November 2010 |access-date=23 May 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903021838/http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/11/24/north.korea.capability/index.html |archive-date=3 September 2014 }}</ref> [[GPS]] jammers,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/09/07/2011090700649.html |title=N.Korea Developing High-Powered GPS Jammer |newspaper=[[The Chosun Ilbo]] |date=7 September 2011 |access-date=8 September 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120924042157/http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/09/07/2011090700649.html |archive-date=24 September 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/dprk/2010/dprk-101007-voa01.htm |title=North Korea Appears Capable of Jamming GPS Receivers |publisher=globalsecurity.org |date=7 October 2010 |access-date=23 May 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140706230353/http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/dprk/2010/dprk-101007-voa01.htm |archive-date=6 July 2014 }}</ref> [[midget submarine]]s and [[human torpedo]]es,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk02500&num=6463 |title=North Korea's Human Torpedoes |publisher=DailyNK |date=6 May 2010 |access-date=23 May 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140830193719/http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk02500&num=6463 |archive-date=30 August 2014 }}</ref> [[stealth technology|stealth]] paint,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/7960218/North-Korea-develops-stealth-paint-to-camouflage-fighter-jets.html |title=North Korea 'develops stealth paint to camouflage fighter jets' |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=23 August 2010 |access-date=23 May 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140916214022/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/7960218/North-Korea-develops-stealth-paint-to-camouflage-fighter-jets.html |archive-date=16 September 2014 }}</ref> and [[cyberwarfare]] units.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2013/11/05/2013110501790.html |title=N.Korea Boosting Cyber Warfare Capabilities |newspaper=The Chosun Ilbo |date=5 November 2013 |access-date=23 May 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131210175415/http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2013/11/05/2013110501790.html |archive-date=10 December 2013 }}</ref> In 2015, North Korea was reported to employ 6,000 sophisticated computer security personnel in a cyberwarfare unit operating out of China.<ref name="auto1">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-32925495|title=North Korean hackers 'could kill'|first=Dave Lee and Nick|last=Kwek|work=BBC News|date=29 May 2015}}</ref> KPA units were blamed for the 2014 [[Sony Pictures hack]]<ref name="auto1"/> and have allegedly attempted to jam South Korean [[military satellite]]s.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=10043 |title=Satellite in Alleged NK Jamming Attack |newspaper=Daily NK |date=15 November 2012 |access-date=12 December 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006114925/http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=10043 |archive-date=6 October 2014 }}</ref>

Much of the equipment in use by the KPA is engineered and manufactured by [[Defense industry of North Korea|the domestic defense industry]]. Weapons are manufactured in roughly 1,800 underground defense industry plants scattered throughout the country, most of them located in [[Chagang Province]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fas.org/irp/world/rok/nis-docs/defense09.htm |title=Defense |publisher=Federation of American Scientists |access-date=11 October 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602012219/http://www.fas.org/irp/world/rok/nis-docs/defense09.htm |archive-date=2 June 2013 }}</ref> The defense industry is capable of producing a full range of individual and crew-operated weapons, artillery, armored vehicles, tanks, missiles, helicopters, submarines, landing and infiltration craft and [[Yak-18]] trainers, and may even have limited jet aircraft manufacturing capacity.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=272}} According to North Korean state media, military expenditure amounted to 15.8 percent of the state budget in 2010.<ref name="kcna2010budget">{{cite web|title=Report on Implementation of 2009 Budget and 2010 Budget |url=http://kcna.co.jp/item/2010/201004/news09/20100409-10ee.html |agency=[[Korean Central News Agency]] |date=9 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429044154/http://kcna.co.jp/item/2010/201004/news09/20100409-10ee.html |archive-date=29 April 2011 }}</ref> The U.S. State Department has estimated that North Korea's military spending averaged 23% of its GDP from 2004 to 2014, the highest level in the world.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2016/12/23/26/0301000000AEN20161223000200315F.html|title=N. Korea ranks No. 1 for military spending relative to GDP: State Department report|publisher=Yonhap|date=23 December 2016}}</ref> North Korea successfully tested a new type of submarine-launched ballistic missile on 19 October 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|date=20 October 2021|title=North Korea Confirms Test of New Type of Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile - October 20, 2021|url=https://dailynewsbrief.com/2021/10/20/north-korea-confirms-test-of-new-type-of-submarine-launched-ballistic-missile/|access-date=20 October 2021|website=Daily News Brief|language=en-US}}</ref>

North Korea is under U.S. sanctions for developing missile systems, although since 2019, there have been more than 25 tests targeting the Alsom Islands ("Alsom" meaning "no man's land") off North Korea's southeast coast. Eight of them were in January 2022 alone.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lee |first1=Jeong-ho |title=Kim Jong Un Keeps Aiming His Missiles at This 'Most Hated Rock' |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-07/one-barren-island-suffers-brunt-of-kim-jong-un-s-missile-tests |access-date=8 February 2022 |work=Bloomberg |date=6 February 2022}}</ref>

==Society==
===Demographics===
{{Main|Demographics of North Korea|Ethnic minorities in North Korea}}
{|class="wikitable" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px"
! colspan="4" style="text-align:center; background:#cfb;"|Population{{UN_Population|ref}}
|-
! style="background:#cfb;"|Year
! style="background:#cfb;"|Million
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|1950 ||style="text-align:right;"|10.5
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|2000 ||style="text-align:right;"|22.9
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|{{UN_Population|Year}} ||style="text-align:right;"|{{#expr:{{formatnum:{{UN_Population|Dem. People's Republic of Korea}}|R}}/1e6 round 1}}
|}
[[File:Bevölkerungspyramide Nordkorea 2016.png|thumb|Population pyramid in 2016]]
With the exception of a small [[Chinese people|Chinese]] community and a few ethnic [[Japanese people|Japanese]], North Korea's {{UN_Population|Dem. People's Republic of Korea}}{{UN_Population|ref}} people are ethnically homogeneous.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2075.html#kn |title=Field Listing: Ethnic Groups |publisher=[[CIA World Factbook]] |access-date=21 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625160623/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2075.html |archive-date=25 June 2014 }}</ref> Demographic experts in the 20th century estimated that the population would grow to 25.5 million by 2000 and 28 million by 2010, but this increase never occurred due to the [[North Korean famine]].{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=69}} It began in 1995, lasted for three years and resulted in the deaths of between 240,000 and 420,000 North Koreans.<ref name="Spoorenberg">{{cite journal|last1=Spoorenberg |first1=Thomas |last2=Schwekendiek |first2=Daniel |title=Demographic Changes in North Korea: 1993–2008 |journal=[[Population and Development Review]] |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=133–158 |doi=10.1111/j.1728-4457.2012.00475.x|year=2012 }}</ref>

International donors led by the United States initiated shipments of food through the [[World Food Program]] in 1997 to combat the famine.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R40095.pdf |title=Foreign Assistance to North Korea: Congressional Research Service Report for Congress |publisher=Federation of American Scientists |date=26 April 2012 |access-date=22 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628192457/http://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R40095.pdf |archive-date=28 June 2014 }}</ref> Despite a drastic reduction of aid under the [[Presidency of George W. Bush|George W. Bush administration]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalpolicy.org//socecon/hunger/relief/2005/0520nkorea.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070216001402/http://www.globalpolicy.org//socecon/hunger/relief/2005/0520nkorea.htm |archive-date=16 February 2007 |title=US Has Put Food Aid for North Korea on Hold |access-date=1 August 2007 |author= Jay Solomon|date=20 May 2005 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]}}</ref> the situation gradually improved: the number of malnourished children declined from 60% in 1998{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=xxii}} to 37% in 2006<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.amnesty.org/report2006/prk-summary-eng |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070529223004/http://web.amnesty.org/report2006/prk-summary-eng |archive-date=29 May 2007 |title=Asia-Pacific : North Korea |access-date=1 August 2007 |year=2007 |work=[[Amnesty International]]}}</ref> and 28% in 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kp.one.un.org/national-nutrition-survey-final-report/ |title=National Nutrition Survey final report |publisher=The United Nations Office in DPR Korea |date=19 March 2013 |access-date=22 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140729162119/http://kp.one.un.org/national-nutrition-survey-final-report/ |archive-date=29 July 2014}}</ref> Domestic food production almost recovered to the recommended annual level of 5.37 million tons of cereal equivalent in 2013,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://38north.org/2013/12/rireson121813/ |title=The State of North Korean Farming: New Information from the UN Crop Assessment Report |publisher=38North |date=18 December 2013 |access-date=22 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140710015244/http://38north.org/2013/12/rireson121813/ |archive-date=10 July 2014 }}</ref> but the World Food Program reported a continuing lack of dietary diversity and access to fats and proteins.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wfp.org/countries/korea-democratic-peoples-republic-dprk/overview |title=Korea, Democratic People's Republic (DPRK) | WFP | United Nations World Food Programme – Fighting Hunger Worldwide |publisher=WFP |access-date=22 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140514125155/http://www.wfp.org/countries/korea-democratic-peoples-republic-dprk/overview |archive-date=14 May 2014 }}</ref> By the mid-2010s national levels of severe wasting, an indication of famine-like conditions, were lower than in other low-income countries and about on par with developing nations in the Pacific and East Asia. Children’s health and nutrition is significantly better on a number of indicators than in many other Asian countries.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Smith|first=Hazel|title=Nutrition and Health in North Korea: What's New, What's Changed and Why It Matters|url=https://www.academia.edu/25554321|volume=12|number=1|year=2016|journal=North Korea Review|language=en|issn=1551-2789|pages=7–36}}</ref>

The famine had a significant impact on the population growth rate, which declined to 0.9% annually in 2002.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=69}} It was 0.5% in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2002.html#kn |title=Field Listing: Population Growth Rate |publisher=[[CIA World Factbook]] |access-date=22 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625150251/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2002.html |archive-date=25 June 2014 }}</ref> Late marriages after military service, limited housing space and long hours of work or political studies further exhaust the population and reduce growth.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=69}} The national birth rate is 14.5 births per year per 1,000 population.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2054rank.html?countryname=Korea,%20North&countrycode=kn&regionCode=eas&rank=138#kn |title=Country Comparison: Birth Rate |publisher=[[CIA World Factbook]] |access-date=22 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140804215458/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2054rank.html?countryname=Korea%2C%20North&countrycode=kn&regionCode=eas&rank=138 |archive-date=4 August 2014 }}</ref> Two-thirds of households consist of [[extended family|extended families]] mostly living in two-room units. [[Marriage]] is virtually universal and [[divorce]] is extremely rare.<ref name="PRB">{{cite web|url=http://www.prb.org/Publications/Articles/2010/northkorea-population.aspx |title=North Korea Census Reveals Poor Demographic and Health Conditions |publisher=Population Reference Bureau |date=December 2010 |access-date=22 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006100634/http://www.prb.org/Publications/Articles/2010/northkorea-population.aspx |archive-date=6 October 2014 }}</ref>

=== Health ===
{{main|Health in North Korea}}
[[File:North Korea-Pyongyang Maternity Hospital-04.jpg|thumb|A dental clinic at [[Pyongyang Maternity Hospital]]]]

North Korea has a life expectancy of 72.3 years in 2019, according to HDR 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/hdr2020.pdf|title=UN HDR 2020 PDF}}</ref> While North Korea is classified as a low-income country, the structure of North Korea's causes of death (2013) is unlike that of other low-income countries.<ref name="Overview of the Burden of Diseases">{{cite journal|last1=Lee|first1=Yo Han|last2=Yoon|first2=Seok-Jun|last3=Kim|first3=Young Ae|last4=Yeom|first4=Ji Won|last5=Oh|first5=In-Hwan|date=1 May 2013|title=Overview of the Burden of Diseases in North Korea|journal=Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health|volume=46|issue=3|pages=111–117|doi=10.3961/jpmph.2013.46.3.111|pmc=3677063|pmid=23766868}}</ref> Instead, it is closer to worldwide averages, with non-communicable diseases—such as cardiovascular disease and cancers—accounting for 84 percent of the total deaths in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cause of death, by non-communicable diseases (% of total) – Korea, Dem. People's Rep. {{!}} Data|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.DTH.NCOM.ZS?locations=KP&most_recent_value_desc=true&view=chart|access-date=11 July 2020|website=data.worldbank.org}}</ref>

According to the World Bank report of 2016 (based on [[World Health Organization|WHO]]'s estimate), only 9.5% of the total deaths recorded in North Korea are attributed to communicable diseases and maternal, prenatal and nutrition conditions, a figure which is slightly lower than that of South Korea (10.1%) and one fifth of other low-income countries (50.1%) but higher than that of high income countries (6.7%).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cause of death, by communicable diseases and maternal, prenatal and nutrition conditions (% of total) – Korea, Dem. People's Rep., Korea, Rep., Low income, High income {{!}} Data|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.DTH.COMM.ZS?locations=KP-KR-XM-XD&most_recent_value_desc=true&view=chart|access-date=11 July 2020|website=data.worldbank.org}}</ref> Only one out of ten leading causes of overall deaths in North Korea is attributed to communicable diseases ([[Lower respiratory tract infection|lower respiratory infection]]), a disease which is reported to have declined by six percent since 2007.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|date=9 September 2015|title=North Korea|url=http://www.healthdata.org/north-korea|access-date=11 July 2020|website=Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation|language=en}}</ref>

In 2013, [[cardiovascular disease]] as a single disease group was reported as the largest cause of death in North Korea.<ref name="Overview of the Burden of Diseases"/> The three major causes of death in North Korea are [[stroke]], [[Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease|COPD]] and [[Coronary artery disease|Ischaemic heart disease]].<ref name=":2" /> Non-communicable diseases risk factors in North Korea include high rates of urbanization, an aging society, and high rates of [[Smoking in North Korea|smoking]] and [[Alcoholic beverage|alcohol]] consumption amongst men.<ref name="Overview of the Burden of Diseases"/>

Maternal mortality is lower than other low-income countries, but significantly higher than South Korea and other high income countries, at 89 per 100,000 live births.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Maternal mortality ratio (modeled estimate, per 100,000 live births) – Korea, Dem. People's Rep., Low income, Middle income {{!}} Data|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.MMRT?locations=KP-XM-XP&view=chart|access-date=11 July 2020|website=data.worldbank.org}}</ref> In 2008 child mortality was estimated to be 45 per 1,000, which is much better than other economically comparable countries. [[Chad]] for example had a child mortality rate of 120 per 1,000, despite the fact that Chad was most likely wealthier than North Korea at the time.<ref name=":3" />

Healthcare Access and Quality Index, as calculated by [[Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation|IHME]], was reported to stand at 62.3, much lower than that of South Korea.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Healthcare Access and Quality Index|url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/healthcare-access-and-quality-index|access-date=11 July 2020|website=Our World in Data}}</ref>

According to a 2003 report by the [[United States Department of State]], almost 100% of the population has access to water and sanitation.<ref name="Life Inside North Korea">{{cite web|title=Life Inside North Korea|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/p/eap/rls/rm/2003/21269.htm|access-date=18 November 2008|work=U.S. Department of State}}</ref> 80% of the population had access to [[improved sanitation]] facilities in 2015.<ref>{{cite web|title=Democratic People's Republic of Korea: WHO statistical profile |publisher=[[World Health Organization]] |url=https://www.who.int/gho/countries/prk.pdf }}</ref>

North Korea has the highest number of doctors per capita amongst low-income countries, with 3.7 physicians per 1,000 people, a figure which is also significantly higher than that of South Korea, according to [[World Health Organization|WHO]]'s data.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Physicians (per 1,000 people) – Low income, Korea, Dem. People's Rep., Korea, Rep. {{!}} Data|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.MED.PHYS.ZS?locations=XM-KP-KR&most_recent_value_desc=true|access-date=12 July 2020|website=data.worldbank.org}}</ref>

Conflicting reports between Amnesty and WHO have emerged where the Amnesty report claimed that North Korea had an inadequate health care system. On the contrary, the Director of the World Health Organization claimed that North Korea's healthcare system was considered the envy of the developing world and had "no lack of doctors and nurses".<ref>{{Cite news|date=16 July 2010|title=Aid agencies row over North Korea health care system|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-10665964|access-date=11 January 2021}}</ref>

A free universal insurance system is in place.{{Sfn|Country Profile|2007|pp=7–8}} Quality of medical care varies significantly by region{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=127}} and is often low, with severe shortages of equipment, drugs and anesthetics.<ref name="cha" /> According to WHO, expenditure on health per capita is one of the lowest in the world.<ref name="cha" /> [[Preventive healthcare|Preventive medicine]] is emphasized through physical exercise and sports, nationwide monthly checkups and routine spraying of public places against disease. Every individual has a lifetime health card which contains a full medical record.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=126}}

=== Education ===
{{main|Education in North Korea}}
[[File:Laika ac Grand People's Study House (7968604172).jpg|thumb|English lecture at the [[Grand People's Study House]] in [[Pyongyang]]]]
The [[2008 North Korea census|2008 census]] listed the entire population as literate.<ref name="PRB"/> An 11-year free, compulsory cycle of primary and secondary education is provided in more than 27,000 [[nursery school]]s, 14,000 [[kindergarten]]s, 4,800 four-year primary and 4,700 six-year secondary schools.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=xxii}} 77% of males and 79% of females aged 30–34 have finished secondary school.<ref name="PRB"/> An additional 300 universities and colleges offer [[higher education]].{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=xxii}}

Most graduates from the compulsory program do not attend university but begin their obligatory military service or proceed to work in farms or factories instead. The main deficiencies of higher education are the heavy presence of ideological subjects, which comprise 50% of courses in social studies and 20% in sciences,{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=122}} and the imbalances in curriculum. The study of natural sciences is greatly emphasized while social sciences are neglected.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=123}} [[Heuristics]] is actively applied to develop the independence and creativity of students throughout the system.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+kp0056) |title=Educational themes and methods |publisher=Lcweb2.loc.gov |access-date=23 June 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121212124233/lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+kp0056) |archive-date=12 December 2012 }}</ref> The study of [[Russian language|Russian]] and [[English language|English]] was made compulsory in upper middle schools in 1978.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=124}}

=== Language ===
{{Further|North–South differences in the Korean language}}

North Korea shares the [[Korean language]] with South Korea, although some [[North–South differences in the Korean language|dialectal differences]] exist within both Koreas.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=xxii}} North Koreans refer to their [[Pyongyang dialect]] as ''[[munhwaŏ]]'' ("cultured language") as opposed to the dialects of South Korea, especially the [[Seoul dialect]] or ''p'yojun'ŏ'' ("standard language"), which are viewed as decadent because of its use of loanwords from [[Chinese language|Chinese]] and [[European languages]] (particularly [[English language|English]]).<ref name="Language">{{cite web|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+kp0054)|title=The Korean Language|publisher=[[Library of Congress Country Studies]]|date=June 1993|access-date=25 July 2014}}</ref> Words of Chinese, Manchu or Western origin have been eliminated from ''munhwa'' along with the usage of Chinese [[hancha]] characters.<ref name="Language"/> Written language uses only the [[chosŏn'gŭl]] (Hangul) phonetic alphabet, developed under [[Sejong the Great]] (1418–1450).{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=18}}

=== Religion ===
{{Further|Religion in North Korea}}
[[File:Chilgol Church (15545529301).jpg|thumb|[[Chilgol Church]] in Pyongyang, where [[Kang Pan-sok]]—the mother of the late supreme leader [[Kim Il-sung]]—served as a [[Presbyterian]] [[deaconess]].]]

Officially, North Korea is an [[atheist state]].<ref name="Cavendish2007">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YG2AFyFppJQC&pg=PA933 |year=2007|title =World and Its Peoples: Eastern and Southern Asia|publisher=[[Marshall Cavendish]]|quote=North Korea is officially an atheist state in which almost the entire population is nonreligious.|access-date = 20 May 2019|isbn=9780761476313}}</ref><ref name="PalmerOBrien1993">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/stateofreligiona00obri|url-access=registration|title =The State of Religion Atlas|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]|quote=Atheism continues to be the official position of the governments of China, North Korea and Cuba.|access-date = 20 May 2019|author=Joanne O'Brien, Martin Palmer|date =December 1993|isbn=9780671793760}}</ref> There are no known official statistics of religions in North Korea. According to Religious Intelligence in 2007, 64% of the population are [[irreligion|irreligious]], 16% practice [[Korean shamanism]], 14% practice [[Cheondoism|Chondoism]], 4% are [[Korean Buddhism|Buddhist]], and 2% are [[Christianity in Korea|Christian]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/country/?CountryID=37|title=Religious Intelligence UK report|work=Religious Intelligence|publisher=Religious Intelligence|access-date=4 July 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071013201130/http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/country/?CountryID=37 |archive-date = 13 October 2007}}</ref> [[Freedom of religion in North Korea|Freedom of religion]] and the right to religious ceremonies are constitutionally guaranteed,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea|url=https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Peoples_Republic_of_Korea_1998.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> but religions are restricted by the government, according to [[Human Rights Watch]].{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=115}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/07/08/nkorea9040.htm |title=Human Rights in North Korea |access-date=2 August 2007 |date=July 2004 |work=[[Human Rights Watch]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061201160439/http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/07/08/nkorea9040.htm |archive-date=1 December 2006 }}</ref> Amnesty International has expressed concerns about religious persecution in North Korea.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa24/002/2009/en/ |title=North Korea: Freedom of Movement, Opinion and Expression |access-date=4 March 2014 |year=2009 |work=[[Amnesty International]] }}</ref> Pro-North groups such as the [[Paektu Solidarity Alliance]] deny these claims, saying that multiple religious facilities exist across the nation.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Freedom of Ideas and Religious Belief in DPRK|date=19 February 2020|url=https://defendkorea.com/2020/02/19/freedom-of-ideas-and-religious-belief-in-dprk/|url-status=live}}</ref> Some religious places of worship are located in foreign embassies in the capital city of Pyongyang.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Inside North Korea's only Mosque During Eid al-Fitr|date=18 May 2021|url=https://www.nknews.org/2021/05/inside-north-koreas-only-mosque-during-eid-al-fitr/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Buddhism and [[Korean Confucianism|Confucianism]] still influence spirituality.{{sfn|Country Study|2009|p=14}} Chondoism ("Heavenly Way") is an indigenous [[syncretism|syncretic belief]] combining elements of Korean shamanism, Buddhism, [[Taoism in Korea|Taoism]] and [[Catholicism]] that is officially represented by the WPK-controlled [[Chondoist Chongu Party]].{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=120}}

The [[Open Doors]] mission, a Protestant-group based in the United States and founded during the Cold War-era, claims the most severe [[persecution of Christians]] in the world occurs in North Korea.<ref name="opendoors">{{cite web|url=http://sb.od.org/index.php?supp_page=wwl_top_ten&supp_lang=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070622111852/http://sb.od.org/index.php?supp_page=wwl_top_ten&supp_lang=en|archive-date=22 June 2007|title=Open Doors International : WWL: Focus on the Top Ten|work=Open Doors International|publisher=Open Doors (International)|access-date=4 July 2009}}</ref> Four state-sanctioned churches exist, but critics claim these are showcases for foreigners.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nautilus.org/fora/security/0434A_ReligionI.html |title=Annual Report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom |access-date=2 August 2007 |author=United States Commission on International Religious Freedom |date=21 September 2004 |work=[[Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability|Nautilus Institute]] | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070311032937/http://www.nautilus.org/fora/security/0434A_ReligionI.html| archive-date = 11 March 2007 |author-link=United States Commission on International Religious Freedom}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4431321.stm |title=N Korea stages Mass for Pope |access-date=2 August 2007 |date=10 April 2005 |work=[[BBC News]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307074443/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4431321.stm |archive-date=7 March 2008 }}</ref>

=== Formal ranking of citizens' loyalty ===
{{Further|Songbun}}
According to North Korean documents and refugee testimonies,<ref name=HRNKSongbun>{{cite book|title=Marked for Life: Songbun, North Korea's Social Classification System |publisher=Committee for Human Rights in North Korea |url=http://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/HRNK_Songbun_Web.pdf |author=Robert Collins |access-date=8 June 2012 |date=6 June 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921212402/http://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/HRNK_Songbun_Web.pdf |archive-date=21 September 2013 }}</ref> all North Koreans are sorted into groups according to their [[Songbun]], an [[ascribed status]] system based on a citizen's assessed loyalty to the government. Based on their own behavior and the political, social, and economic background of their family for three generations as well as behavior by relatives within that range, Songbun is allegedly used to determine whether an individual is trusted with responsibility, given opportunities,<ref name=NKSongbun>{{cite news|title=Marked for Life: Songbun, North Korea's Social Classification System |url=http://www.nknews.org/2012/06/marked-for-life-songbun-north-koreas-social-classification-system/ |access-date=8 June 2012 |newspaper=NK News |date=7 June 2012 |author=Matthew McGrath |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130318004158/http://www.nknews.org/2012/06/marked-for-life-songbun-north-koreas-social-classification-system/ |archive-date=18 March 2013 }}</ref> or even receives adequate food.<ref name=HRNKSongbun/><ref name=H-LH>{{cite book|title=Kim Il-song's North Korea|year=1999|publisher=Praeger|location=Westport, Connecticut, London|isbn=978-0-275-96296-8|pages=3–11, 31–33|author=Helen-Louise Hunter|others=Foreword by Stephen J. Solarz}}</ref>

Songbun allegedly affects access to educational and employment opportunities and particularly whether a person is eligible to join North Korea's ruling party.<ref name=NKSongbun/> There are 3 main classifications and about 50 sub-classifications. According to Kim Il-sung, speaking in 1958, the loyal "core class" constituted 25% of the North Korean population, the "wavering class" 55%, and the "hostile class" 20%.<ref name=HRNKSongbun/> The highest status is accorded to individuals descended from those who participated with Kim Il-sung in the resistance against Japanese occupation before and during World War II and to those who were factory workers, laborers, or peasants in 1950.<ref name=BRHLH>{{cite web|title=A Look at North Korean Society|url=http://www.winzigconsultingservices.com/files/samples/kq/Helen_Hunter.html|publisher=winzigconsultingservices.com|access-date=8 June 2011|author=Jerry Winzig|format=book review of 'Kim Il-song's North Korea' by Helen-Louise Hunter|quote=In North Korea, one's songbun, or socio-economic and class background, is extremely important and is primarily determined at birth. People with the best songbun are descendants of the anti-Japanese guerrillas who fought with Kim Il-sung, followed by people whose parents or grandparents were factory workers, laborers, or poor, small farmers in 1950. "Ranked below them in descending order are forty-seven distinct groups in what must be the most class-differentiated society in the world today." Anyone with a father, uncle, or grandfather who owned land or was a doctor, Christian minister, merchant, or lawyer has low songbun.}}</ref>

While some analysts believe private commerce recently changed the Songbun system to some extent,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/29/north-korea-songbun-caste-system_n_2380799.html|title=North Korea's Songbun Caste System Faces Power Of Wealth|author=Tim Sullivan|date=29 December 2012|work=[[The Huffington Post]]|access-date=28 February 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130128184102/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/29/north-korea-songbun-caste-system_n_2380799.html|archive-date=28 January 2013}}</ref> most North Korean refugees say it remains a commanding presence in everyday life.<ref name=HRNKSongbun/> The North Korean government claims all citizens are equal and denies any discrimination on the basis of family background.<ref>[http://www.kinu.or.kr/eng/pub/pub_04_01.jsp?bid=DATA04&page=1&num=32&mode=view KINU White Paper on Human Rights in North Korea 2011, pp. 216, 225]. Kinu.or.kr (30 August 2011). Retrieved on 6 April 2013.</ref>

==Economy==
{{Main|Economy of North Korea}}
[[File:North Korea Product Exports (2019).svg|thumb|right|A proportional representation of North Korea exports, 2019]]
[[File:Mirae Scientists Street - Nordkorea 2015 - Pjöngjang (22971791331).jpg|thumb|Apartments along [[Pyongyang]]]]
North Korea has maintained one of the most closed and centralized economies in the world since the 1940s.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p = 135}} For several decades, it followed the Soviet pattern of five-year plans with the ultimate goal of achieving self-sufficiency. Extensive Soviet and Chinese support allowed North Korea to rapidly 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 growth|extensive]] to the [[intensive growth|intensive development]] stage. The shortage of skilled labor, energy, arable land and transportation significantly impeded long-term growth and resulted in consistent failure to meet planning objectives.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p = 138}} The major slowdown of the economy contrasted with South Korea, which surpassed the North in terms of absolute [[Gross domestic product|GDP]] and per capita income by the 1980s.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p = 142}} North Korea declared the last seven-year plan unsuccessful in December 1993 and thereafter stopped announcing plans.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p = 140}}

[[File:Industry Hamhung, North Korea.jpg|thumb|An industrial plant in [[Hamhung]]]]

The loss of [[Eastern Bloc]] trading partners and a series of natural disasters throughout the 1990s caused severe hardships, including widespread [[famine]]. By 2000, the situation improved owing to a massive international food assistance effort, but the economy continues to suffer from food shortages, dilapidated infrastructure and a critically low energy supply.<ref name="EB Economy" /> In an attempt to recover from the collapse, the government began structural reforms in 1998 that formally legalized [[private property|private ownership]] of assets and decentralized control over production.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|pp = 143, 145}} A second round of reforms in 2002 led to an expansion of market activities, partial [[monetization]], flexible prices and salaries, and the introduction of incentives and accountability techniques.{{Sfn|Country Profile|2007|p = 9}} Despite these changes, North Korea remains a [[command economy]] where the state owns almost all means of production and development priorities are defined by the government.<ref name="EB Economy">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/322222/North-Korea/34929/Economy |title=Economy |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica Online |access-date=31 May 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140706041908/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/322222/North-Korea/34929/Economy |archive-date=6 July 2014 }}</ref>

North Korea has the structural profile of a relatively industrialized country{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p = 145}} where nearly half of the [[Gross Domestic Product]] is generated by [[Industrial sector|industry]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2012.html#kn |title=GDP Composition by sectory field listing |publisher=CIA The World Factbook |access-date=31 May 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522215220/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2012.html |archive-date=22 May 2014 }}</ref> and [[Human Development Index|human development]] is at medium levels.<ref name="HDI">{{cite web|url=http://www.unescap.org/pdd/publications/workingpaper/wp_09_02.pdf |title=Filling Gaps in the Human Development Index |publisher=United Nations ESCAP |date=February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005100501/http://www.unescap.org/pdd/publications/workingpaper/wp_09_02.pdf |archive-date= 5 October 2011 }}</ref> [[Purchasing power parity]] (PPP) GDP is estimated at $40 billion,<ref name="CIAGDP(PPP)">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2001.html#kn |title=GDP (PPP) Field listing |publisher=[[CIA World Factbook]] |access-date=31 May 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625150555/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2001.html |archive-date=25 June 2014 }}</ref> with a very low per capita value of $1,800.<ref name="CIAGDP(PPP)Capita">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2004.html#kn |title=GDP (PPP) per capita Field listing |publisher=[[CIA World Factbook]] |access-date=31 May 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625151025/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2004.html |archive-date=25 June 2014 }}</ref> In 2012, [[Gross national income]] per capita was $1,523, compared to $28,430 in South Korea.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ifes.kyungnam.ac.kr/eng/FRM/FRM_0101V.aspx?code=FRM130717_0001 |title=North Korean Economy Records Positive Growth for Two Consecutive Years |publisher=The Institute for Far Eastern Studies |date=17 July 2013 |access-date=15 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423225351/http://ifes.kyungnam.ac.kr/eng/FRM/FRM_0101V.aspx?code=FRM130717_0001 |archive-date=23 April 2015 }}</ref> The [[North Korean won]] is the national currency, issued by the [[Central Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea]].{{sfn|North Korea Handbook|2003|p=931}} The economy has been developing dramatically in recent years despite sanctions. According to the [[Sejong Institute]] these changes have been "astonishing".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Report: North Korea economy developing dramatically despite sanctions|url=https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2019/12/04/Report-North-Korea-economy-developing-dramatically-despite-sanctions/3431575452381/|access-date=14 January 2021|website=UPI|language=en}}</ref>

The economy is heavily nationalized.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p = xxiii}} Food and housing are extensively subsidized by the state; education and healthcare are free;{{Sfn|Country Profile|2007|pp=7–8}} and the payment of taxes was officially abolished in 1974.<ref name="taxfree">{{cite web|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/dprk/2006/dprk-060321-kcna03.htm |title=DPRK – Only Tax-free Country |access-date=19 June 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091009171206/http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/dprk/2006/dprk-060321-kcna03.htm |archive-date=9 October 2009 }}</ref> A variety of goods are available in department stores and supermarkets in Pyongyang,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.msn.com/world/pyongyang-glitters-but-most-of-north-korea-still-dark |title=Pyongyang glitters but most of North Korea still dark |publisher=AP through MSN News |date=28 April 2013 |access-date=15 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140707152256/http://news.msn.com/world/pyongyang-glitters-but-most-of-north-korea-still-dark |archive-date=7 July 2014 }}</ref> though most of the population relies on small-scale ''[[jangmadang]]'' markets.<ref>[http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00400&num=2828 Jangmadang Will Prevent "Second Food Crisis" from Developing] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222171547/http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00400&num=2828 |date=22 December 2010 }}, DailyNK, 26 October 2007</ref><ref>[http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=4409 2008 Top Items in the Jangmadang] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923212529/http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=4409 |date=23 September 2015 }}, The DailyNK, 1 January 2009</ref> In 2009, the government attempted to stem the expanding free market by banning jangmadang and the use of foreign currency,<ref name="EB Economy" /> heavily devaluing the won and restricting the convertibility of savings in the old currency,<ref name=cha>{{cite book|last1=Cha|first1=Victor|title=The Impossible State|date=2012|publisher=Ecco}}</ref> but the resulting [[inflation]] spike and rare public protests caused a reversal of these policies.<ref>[http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00400&num=7084 Kim Jong Eun's Long-lasting Pain in the Neck] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203000655/http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00400&num=7084 |date=3 December 2010 }}, TheDailyNK, 30 November 2010</ref> Private trade is dominated by women because most men are required to be present at their workplace, even though many state-owned enterprises are non-operational.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/10/304_96327.html |title=NK is no Stalinist country |work=The Korea Times |date=9 October 2011 |access-date=9 October 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016015038/https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/10/304_96327.html |archive-date=16 October 2015 }}</ref>

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

Industry and services employ 65%<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2048.html#kn |title=Labor Force by occupation field listing |publisher=CIA The World Factbook |access-date=7 June 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522214333/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2048.html |archive-date=22 May 2014 }}</ref> of North Korea's 12.6 million labor force.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2095.html#kn |title=Labor Force field listing |publisher=CIA The World Factbook |access-date=7 June 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625143033/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2095.html |archive-date=25 June 2014 }}</ref> Major industries include machine building, military equipment, chemicals, mining, metallurgy, textiles, food processing and tourism.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2090.html#kn |title=Major Industries field listing |publisher=CIA The World Factbook |access-date=7 June 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625140807/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2090.html |archive-date=25 June 2014 }}</ref> [[Iron ore]] and [[coal]] production are among the few sectors where North Korea performs significantly better than its [[South Korea|southern neighbor]]—it produces about 10 times more of each resource.<ref>[http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_northkorea/457520.html In limited N.Korean market, furor for S.Korean products] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110109002743/http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_northkorea/457520.html |date=9 January 2011 }}, The Hankyoreh, 6 January 2011</ref> Using ex-Romanian drilling rigs, several oil exploration companies have confirmed significant oil reserves in the North Korean shelf of the Sea of Japan, and in areas south of Pyongyang.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} The agricultural sector was shattered by the natural disasters of the 1990s.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=154}} Its 3,500 [[agricultural cooperative|cooperatives]] and state farms{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=143}} were moderately successful until the mid-1990s{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=47}} but now experience chronic [[fertilizer]] and equipment shortages. Rice, corn, soybeans and [[Potato production in North Korea|potatoes]] are some of the primary crops.<ref name="EB Economy" /> A significant contribution to the food supply comes from commercial fishing and [[aquaculture]].<ref name="EB Economy" /> [[Tourism in North Korea|Tourism]] has been a growing sector for the past decade.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/9882594/North-Korea-welcomes-increase-in-tourism.html |title=North Korea welcomes increase in tourism |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=20 February 2013 |access-date=15 June 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903124330/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/9882594/North-Korea-welcomes-increase-in-tourism.html |archive-date=3 September 2014 }}</ref> North Korea has been aiming to increase the number of foreign visitors through projects like the [[Masikryong Ski Resort]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2014/02/skiing-north-korea |title=Skiing in North Korea: Mounting Problems |newspaper=The Economist |date=14 February 2014 |access-date=15 June 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140609161710/https://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2014/02/skiing-north-korea |archive-date=9 June 2014 }}</ref>

Foreign trade surpassed pre-crisis levels in 2005 and continues to expand.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=173}}<ref>{{Cite web | title = North Korea's Trade and the KOTRA Report | last = Boydston | first = Kent | publisher = Peterson Institute for International Economics | date = 1 August 2017 | access-date = 22 May 2018 | url = https://piie.com/blogs/north-korea-witness-transformation/north-koreas-trade-and-kotra-report }}</ref> North Korea has a number of special economic zones (SEZs) and [[Special cities of North Korea|Special Administrative Regions]] where foreign companies can operate with tax and tariff incentives while North Korean establishments gain access to improved technology.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=165}} Initially four such zones existed, but they yielded little overall success.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nknews.org/2013/12/north-koreas-crusade-for-more-special-economic-zones/ |title=North Korea's crusade for more special economic zones |publisher=NKNews |date=1 December 2013 |access-date=15 June 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140706120448/http://www.nknews.org/2013/12/north-koreas-crusade-for-more-special-economic-zones/ |archive-date=6 July 2014 }}</ref> The SEZ system was overhauled in 2013 when 14 new zones were opened and the [[Rason Special Economic Zone]] was reformed as a joint Chinese-North Korean project.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/16/north-korea_n_4108265.html |title=North Korea Plans To Expand Special Economic Zones |work=The Huffington Post |date=16 November 2013 |access-date=15 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140412081837/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/16/north-korea_n_4108265.html |archive-date=12 April 2014 }}</ref> The [[Kaesong Industrial Region]] is a special economic zone where more than 100 South Korean companies employ some 52,000 North Korean workers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/northkorea/2014/06/12/14/0401000000AEN20140612007800315F.html |title=Cumulative output of Kaesong park reaches US$2.3 bln |publisher=Yonhap News |date=12 June 2014 |access-date=15 June 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812123537/http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/northkorea/2014/06/12/14/0401000000AEN20140612007800315F.html |archive-date=12 August 2014 }}</ref> {{as of|2017|August}}, China is the biggest trading partner of North Korea outside inter-Korean trade, accounting for more than 84% of the total external trade ($5.3 billion) followed by [[India]] at 3.3% share ($205 million).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/economy/data-story-india-is-north-koreas-second-biggest-trade-partner-after-china-2360981.html|title=India is North Korea's second biggest trading partner after China|publisher=Moneycontrol|access-date=16 August 2017}}</ref> In 2014, Russia wrote off 90% of North Korea's debt and the two countries agreed to conduct all transactions in [[Russian ruble|rubles]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.ria.ru/business/20140328/188842736/Russia-North-Korea-Agree-to-Settle-Payments-in-Rubles-in-Trade.html |title=Russia, North Korea Agree to Settle Payments in Rubles in Trade Pact |publisher=RIA Novosti |date=28 March 2014 |access-date=15 June 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140603184150/http://en.ria.ru/business/20140328/188842736/Russia-North-Korea-Agree-to-Settle-Payments-in-Rubles-in-Trade.html |archive-date=3 June 2014 }}</ref> Overall, external trade in 2013 reached a total of $7.3 billion (the highest amount since 1990<ref name="IFES1">{{cite web |url=http://ifes.kyungnam.ac.kr/eng/FRM/FRM_0101V.aspx?code=FRM140528_0001 |title=North Korean Foreign Trade Volume Posts Record High of USD 7.3 Billion in 2013 |publisher=The Institute for Far Eastern Studies |date=28 May 2014 |access-date=15 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904004823/http://ifes.kyungnam.ac.kr/eng/FRM/FRM_0101V.aspx?code=FRM140528_0001 |archive-date=4 September 2015 }}</ref>), while inter-Korean trade dropped to an eight-year low of $1.1 billion.<ref name=ft-20140220>{{cite news|url=http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/f8fca490-9a23-11e3-a407-00144feab7de.html#axzz34ikn6f8D|title=South Korea has lost the North to China|work=Financial Times|date=20 February 2014|access-date=15 June 2014}}</ref>

=== Infrastructure and transport ===
{{further|Energy in North Korea|Transport in North Korea}}
[[File:Korean Peninsula at night from space.jpg|thumb|left|Satellite image of the [[Korean Peninsula]] at night, contrasting use of night-time lighting in North and South Korea.<ref>Schielke, Thomas (17 April 2018). [https://www.archdaily.com/892730/how-satellite-images-of-the-earth-at-night-help-us-understand-our-world-and-make-better-cities "How Satellite Images of the Earth at Night Help Us Understand Our World and Make Better Cities".] ArchDaily. Retrieved 15 September 2020.</ref>]]
North Korea's energy infrastructure is obsolete and in disrepair. Power shortages are chronic and would not be alleviated even by electricity imports because the poorly maintained grid causes significant losses during transmission.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=146}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/11/kim-jong-un-pursues-this-energy-strategy-to-keep-north-korea-afloat.html|title=Kim Jong Un is skirting sanctions and pursuing this energy strategy to keep North Korea afloat|last=Wee|first=Heesun|date=11 April 2019|work=CNBC|access-date=9 January 2020}}</ref> [[Coal]] accounts for 70% of primary energy production, followed by [[hydroelectric power]] with 17%.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=147}} The government under Kim Jong-un has increased emphasis on renewable energy projects like wind farms, solar parks, solar heating and [[biomass]].<ref name="IFES2">{{cite web |url=http://ifes.kyungnam.ac.kr/eng/FRM/FRM_0101V.aspx?code=FRM140403_0001 |title=North Korea to Utilize Science and Technology to Overcome Its Energy Crisis |publisher=The Institute of Far Eastern Studies |date=3 April 2014 |access-date=15 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423164029/http://ifes.kyungnam.ac.kr/eng/FRM/FRM_0101V.aspx?code=FRM140403_0001 |archive-date=23 April 2015 }}</ref> A set of legal regulations adopted in 2014 stressed the development of geothermal, wind and solar energy along with [[recycling]] and environmental conservation.<ref name="IFES2"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ifes.kyungnam.ac.kr/eng/FRM/FRM_0101V.aspx?code=FRM130917_0001 |title=North Korea Adopts Renewable Energy Law |publisher=The Institute for Far Eastern Studies |date=17 September 2013 |access-date=15 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423171303/http://ifes.kyungnam.ac.kr/eng/FRM/FRM_0101V.aspx?code=FRM130917_0001 |archive-date=23 April 2015 }}</ref> North Korea's long-term objective is to curb fossil fuel usage and reach an output of 5 million [[kilowatt]]s from renewable sources by 2044, up from its current total of 430,000 kilowatts from all sources. Wind power is projected to satisfy 15% of the country's total energy demand under this strategy.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ifes.kyungnam.ac.kr/eng/FRM/FRM_0101V.aspx?code=FRM160302_0001 |title=Progress in North Korea's Renewable Energy Production |work=NK Briefs |publisher=The Institute for Far Eastern Studies |date=2 March 2016 |access-date=18 December 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220224751/http://ifes.kyungnam.ac.kr/eng/FRM/FRM_0101V.aspx?code=FRM160302_0001 |archive-date=20 December 2016 }}</ref>

North Korea also strives to develop its own civilian nuclear program. These efforts are under much international dispute due to their military applications and concerns about safety.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/25/world/asia/experts-say-north-korea-may-be-producing-fuel-for-nuclear-reactor.html?_r=0 |title=Activity Seen at North Korean Nuclear Plant |newspaper=The New York Times |date=24 December 2013 |access-date=15 June 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726144101/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/25/world/asia/experts-say-north-korea-may-be-producing-fuel-for-nuclear-reactor.html?_r=0 |archive-date=26 July 2014 }}</ref>

[[File:DPRK M62 Naeyeon 706.jpg|thumb|A Soviet-built [[M62 locomotive|M62]] diesel unit at [[Pyongyang Station]]]]
[[File:Tupolev Tu-204-300 of Air Koryo at Vladivostok Airport (1).jpg|thumb|[[Tupolev Tu-204]] of Air Koryo over Vladivostok Airport]]

Transport infrastructure includes railways, highways, water and air routes, but rail transport is by far the most widespread. North Korea has some {{convert|5200|km|mi|sp=us}} of railways mostly in [[standard gauge]] which carry 80% of annual passenger traffic and 86% of freight, but electricity shortages undermine their efficiency.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=147}} Construction of a [[high-speed rail]]way connecting Kaesong, Pyongyang and [[Sinuiju]] with speeds exceeding {{convert|200|km/h|mi/h|sp=us}} was approved in 2013.<ref name=NKT>{{cite web |url=http://ifes.kyungnam.ac.kr/eng/FRM/FRM_0101V.aspx?code=FRM131220_0001 |title=High Speed Rail and Road Connecting Kaesong-Pyongyang-Sinuiju to be Built |publisher=The Institute for Far Eastern Studies |date=20 December 2013 |access-date=15 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423171449/http://ifes.kyungnam.ac.kr/eng/FRM/FRM_0101V.aspx?code=FRM131220_0001 |archive-date=23 April 2015 }}</ref>{{Needs update|date=October 2021|reason=Has the railroad been completed?}} North Korea connects with the [[Trans-Siberian Railway]] through [[Rajin station|Rajin]].

Road transport is very limited—only {{convert|724|km|mi|sp=us}} of the {{convert|25554|km|mi|sp=us}} road network are paved,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2085.html#kn |title=Roadways field listing |publisher=CIA The World Factbook |access-date=16 June 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522232116/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2085.html |archive-date=22 May 2014 }}</ref> and maintenance on most roads is poor.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=150}} Only 2% of the freight capacity is supported by river and sea transport, and air traffic is negligible.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=147}} All port facilities are ice-free and host a merchant fleet of 158 vessels.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2108.html#kn |title=Merchant marine field listing |publisher=CIA The World Factbook |access-date=16 June 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625145330/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2108.html |archive-date=25 June 2014 }}</ref> Eighty-two airports<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2053.html#kn |title=Airports field listing |publisher=CIA The World Factbook |access-date=16 June 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625161845/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2053.html |archive-date=25 June 2014 }}</ref> and 23 helipads<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2019.html#kn |title=Helipads field listing |publisher=CIA The World Factbook |access-date=16 June 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604005151/http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2007/06/12/afx3810988.html |archive-date=4 June 2011 }}</ref> are operational and the largest serve the state-run airline, [[Air Koryo]].{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=147}} Cars are relatively rare,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ejinsight.com/20180523-cars-on-pyongyang-streets-can-tell-us-a-lot-about-the-country/|title=Cars on Pyongyang streets can tell us a lot about the country|date=23 May 2018|website=EJ Insight|language=en-US|access-date=25 October 2019}}</ref> but bicycles are common.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=4230 |title=70% of Households Use Bikes |newspaper=The Daily NK |date=30 October 2008 |access-date=16 June 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140706144543/http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=4230 |archive-date=6 July 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nknews.org/2016/03/north-koreas-bike-path/|title=North Korea's bike path |date=21 March 2016|website= North Korea News|language=en-US|access-date=25 October 2019}}</ref> There is only one [[international airport]]—[[Pyongyang International Airport]]—serviced by Russia and China (see [[List of airports in North Korea#Public airports|List of public airports in North Korea]])

=== Science and technology ===
{{further|Korean Committee of Space Technology|Telecommunications in North Korea|National Aerospace Development Administration}}

R&D efforts are concentrated at the State Academy of Sciences, which runs 40 research institutes, 200 smaller research centers, a scientific equipment factory and six publishing houses.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nkeconwatch.com/2007/04/01/academies/ |title=Academies |author=Andrei Lankov |newspaper=The Korea Times |date=1 April 2007 |access-date=16 June 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725163956/http://www.nkeconwatch.com/2007/04/01/academies/ |archive-date=25 July 2014 }}</ref> The government considers science and technology to be directly linked to economic development.<ref name="IFES3"/><ref>[http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/northkorea/2013/08/02/15/0401000000AEN20130802005500315F.html N. Korea moves to develop cutting-edge nanotech industry] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407002220/http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/northkorea/2013/08/02/15/0401000000AEN20130802005500315F.html |date=7 April 2014 }} Yonhap News – 2 August 2013 (access date: 17 June 2014)</ref> A five-year scientific plan emphasizing IT, biotechnology, nanotechnology, marine technology, and laser and plasma research was carried out in the early 2000s.<ref name="IFES3">{{cite web |url=http://ifes.kyungnam.ac.kr/eng/FRM/FRM_0101V.aspx?code=FRM121221_0001 |title=North Korea to Become Strong in Science and Technology by Year 2022 |publisher=The International Institute for Far Eastern Studies |date=21 December 2012 |access-date=17 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904004823/http://ifes.kyungnam.ac.kr/eng/FRM/FRM_0101V.aspx?code=FRM121221_0001 |archive-date=4 September 2015 }}</ref> A 2010 report by the South Korean Science and Technology Policy Institute identified [[polymer chemistry]], single carbon materials, [[nanoscience]], mathematics, software, nuclear technology and rocketry as potential areas of inter-Korean scientific cooperation. North Korean institutes are strong in these fields of research, although their engineers require additional training, and laboratories need equipment upgrades.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/northkorea/2010/01/06/25/0401000000AEN20100106002500320F.HTML |title=Two Koreas can cooperate in chemistry, biotech and nano science: report |publisher=Yonhap News |date=6 January 2010 |access-date=17 June 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203005331/http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/northkorea/2010/01/06/25/0401000000AEN20100106002500320F.HTML |archive-date=3 December 2013 }}</ref>

[[File:North Korean Unha-3 rocket at launch pad.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Unha-3]] space launch vehicle at Sohae Satellite Launching Station]]

Under its "constructing a powerful [[knowledge economy]]" slogan, the state has launched a project to concentrate education, scientific research and production into a number of "high-tech development zones". International sanctions remain a significant obstacle to their development.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ifes.kyungnam.ac.kr/eng/FRM/FRM_0101V.aspx?code=FRM140605_0001 |title=High-Tech Development Zones: The Core of Building a Powerful Knowledge Economy Nation |publisher=The International Institute for Far Eastern Studies |date=5 June 2014 |access-date=17 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423175731/http://ifes.kyungnam.ac.kr/eng/FRM/FRM_0101V.aspx?code=FRM140605_0001 |archive-date=23 April 2015 }}</ref> The ''Miraewon'' network of [[electronic library|electronic libraries]] was established in 2014 under similar slogans.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ifes.kyungnam.ac.kr/eng/FRM/FRM_0101V.aspx?code=FRM140522_0001 |title=. 'Miraewon' Electronic Libraries to be Constructed Across North Korea |publisher=The International Institute for Far Eastern Studies |date=22 May 2014 |access-date=17 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904004823/http://ifes.kyungnam.ac.kr/eng/FRM/FRM_0101V.aspx?code=FRM140522_0001 |archive-date=4 September 2015 }}</ref>

Significant resources have been allocated to the national space program, which is managed by the [[National Aerospace Development Administration]] (formerly managed by the [[Korean Committee of Space Technology]] until April 2013)<ref>{{Cite web|last=Pearlman |first=Robert |url=http://www.space.com/25337-north-korea-nada-space-agency-logo.html |website=Space.com |title=North Korea's 'NADA' Space Agency, Logo Are Anything But 'Nothing' |date=2 April 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160514022729/http://www.space.com/25337-north-korea-nada-space-agency-logo.html |archive-date=14 May 2016 }}</ref><ref name="Spacerace">{{cite book|last=Lele|first=Ajey|title=Asian Space Race: Rhetoric Or Reality |year=2013|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-81-322-0732-0|pages=70–72|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b5niU_drLaAC&q=korean+committee+of+space+technology&pg=PA275}}</ref> Domestically produced [[space launch vehicle|launch vehicles]] and the [[Kwangmyŏngsŏng program|Kwangmyŏngsŏng satellite class]] are launched from two [[spaceport]]s, the [[Tonghae Satellite Launching Ground]] and the [[Sohae Satellite Launching Station]]. After four failed attempts, North Korea became the [[Timeline of first orbital launches by country|tenth spacefaring nation]] with the launch of [[Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 Unit 2]] in December 2012, which successfully reached orbit but was believed to be crippled and non-operational.<ref name=ap20121218>{{cite news|last=Talmadge |first=Eric |title=Crippled NKorean probe could orbit for years |url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/crippled-nkorean-probe-could-orbit-years?goback=.gde_3433693_member_197139555 |access-date=18 December 2012 |newspaper=AP |date=18 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029210856/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/crippled-nkorean-probe-could-orbit-years?goback=.gde_3433693_member_197139555 |archive-date=29 October 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-01/23/japan-satellite-north-korea |title=Japan to launch spy satellite to keep an eye on North Korea |magazine=Wired |date=23 January 2013 |access-date=17 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140709164631/http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-01/23/japan-satellite-north-korea |archive-date= 9 July 2014 }}</ref> It joined the [[Outer Space Treaty]] in 2009<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/KC19Dg01.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090323041853/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/KC19Dg01.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=23 March 2009|title=High five: Messages from North Korea|publisher=The Asia Times|date=19 March 2009|access-date=17 June 2014}}</ref> and has stated its intentions to undertake [[human spaceflight|crewed]] and [[Exploration of the Moon|Moon missions]].<ref name="Spacerace"/> The government insists the space program is for peaceful purposes, but the United States, Japan, South Korea and other countries maintain that it serves to advance military ballistic missile programs.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/01/north-korea-nasa-space-agency-logo |title=North Korea appears to ape Nasa with space agency logo |newspaper=The Guardian |date=1 April 2014 |access-date=17 June 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704230113/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/01/north-korea-nasa-space-agency-logo |archive-date=4 July 2014 }}</ref>

On 7 February 2016, North Korea successfully launched a long-range rocket, supposedly to place a [[satellite]] into orbit. Critics believe that the real purpose of the launch was to test a [[ballistic missile]]. The launch was strongly condemned by the [[United Nations Security Council|UN Security Council]].<ref name="UNSecurityCouncilVows">{{cite web|title=UN Security Council vows new sanctions after N Korea's rocket launch |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-35518058 |website=BBC News |access-date=7 February 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160207185320/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-35518058 |archive-date=7 February 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=U.N. Security Council condemns North Korea launch |url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/07/asia/north-korea-rocket-launch-window/index.html |website=CNN.com |access-date=7 February 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160207110440/http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/07/asia/north-korea-rocket-launch-window/index.html |archive-date=7 February 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=North Korea rocket launch: UN security council condemns latest violation |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/07/north-korea-launches-long-range-rocket-it-claims-is-carrying-a-satellite |newspaper=The Guardian |date=7 February 2016 |access-date=7 February 2016 |issn=0261-3077 |language=en-GB |first1=Justin McCurry Damien |last1=Gayle |last2=agencies |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160207023209/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/07/north-korea-launches-long-range-rocket-it-claims-is-carrying-a-satellite |archive-date=7 February 2016 }}</ref> A statement broadcast on Korean Central Television said that a new Earth observation satellite, [[Kwangmyŏngsŏng-4|Kwangmyongsong-4]], had successfully been put into orbit less than 10 minutes after lift-off from the [[Sohae Satellite Launching Station|Sohae space center]] in [[North Pyongan Province|North Phyongan province]].<ref name="UNSecurityCouncilVows"/>

Usage of communication technology is controlled by the [[Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (North Korea)|Ministry of Post and Telecommunications]]. An adequate nationwide [[fiber-optic communication|fiber-optic]] [[telephony|telephone system]] with 1.18 million fixed lines<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2150rank.html?countryName=Korea,North&countryCode=kn&regionCode=eas&rank=70#kn |title=Country Comparison: Telephones – main lines in use |publisher=CIA |work=The World Factbook |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227235715/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2150rank.html?countryName=Korea%2CNorth&countryCode=kn&regionCode=eas&rank=70 |archive-date=27 December 2016 }}</ref> and expanding mobile coverage is in place.<ref name="CIATelephone">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2124.html#kn |title=Telephone System Field Listing |publisher=CIA The World Factbook |access-date=17 June 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625143457/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2124.html |archive-date=25 June 2014 }}</ref> Most phones are installed for senior government officials and installation requires written explanation why the user needs a telephone and how it will be paid for.{{sfn|French|2007|p=22}} Cellular coverage is available with a [[3G]] network operated by [[Koryolink]], a joint venture with [[Orascom Telecom Holding]].<ref name=bbc-20130426>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22308353 |title=North Korea embraces 3G service |publisher=BBC |date=26 April 2013 |access-date=17 June 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140528235049/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22308353 |archive-date=28 May 2014 }}</ref> The number of subscribers has increased from 3,000 in 2002<ref>{{cite web|url=http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/chinese-cell-phone-breaches-north-korean-hermit-kingdom |title=Chinese Cell Phone Breaches North Korean Hermit Kingdom |access-date=2 August 2007 |author=Rebecca MacKinnon |date=17 January 2005 |work=Yale Global Online |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091009211306/http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/chinese-cell-phone-breaches-north-korean-hermit-kingdom |archive-date=9 October 2009 }}</ref> to almost two million in 2013.<ref name=bbc-20130426/> International calls through either fixed or cellular service are restricted, and [[Mobile Web|mobile Internet]] is not available.<ref name=bbc-20130426/>

Internet access itself is limited to a handful of elite users and scientists. Instead, North Korea has a [[Closed platform|walled garden]] [[intranet]] system called [[Kwangmyong (network)|Kwangmyong]],<ref name="bbc-20121210">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-20445632 |title=North Korea: On the net in world's most secretive nation |publisher=BBC |date=10 December 2012 |access-date=17 June 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708064750/http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-20445632 |archive-date=8 July 2014 }}</ref> which is maintained and monitored by the [[Korea Computer Center]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=North Korea's IT revolution
| author=Bertil Lintner|date=24 April 2007|access-date=11 May 2007|publisher=Asia Times|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/ID24Dg01.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070427072538/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/ID24Dg01.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=27 April 2007}}</ref> Its content is limited to state media, chat services, message boards,<ref name="bbc-20121210"/> an e-mail service and an estimated 1,000–5,500 websites.<ref name="Bright">{{cite news|url=http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/north-korea-has-bright-idea-for-internet/story-fnjwmwrh-1226817110549 |title=North Korea has 'Bright' idea for internet |work=News.com.au |date=4 February 2014 |access-date=17 June 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718042530/http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/north-korea-has-bright-idea-for-internet/story-fnjwmwrh-1226817110549 |archive-date=18 July 2014 }}</ref> Computers employ the [[Red Star OS]], an operating system derived from [[Linux]], with a [[Shell (computing)|user shell]] visually similar to that of [[OS X]].<ref name="Bright"/> On 19 September 2016, a TLDR project noticed the North Korean Internet DNS data and top-level domain was left open which allowed global DNS zone transfers. A dump of the data discovered was shared on [[GitHub]].<ref name="Hersher2016">{{cite news|last1=Hersher |first1=Rebecca |title=North Korea Accidentally Reveals It Only Has 28 Websites |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/09/21/494902997/north-korea-accidentally-reveals-it-only-has-28-websites |access-date=22 September 2016 |agency=NPR |date=21 September 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160922004655/http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/09/21/494902997/north-korea-accidentally-reveals-it-only-has-28-websites |archive-date=22 September 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Bryant |first1=Matthew |title=North Korea DNS Leak |url=https://github.com/mandatoryprogrammer/NorthKoreaDNSLeak |access-date=22 September 2016 |date=19 September 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160921171448/https://github.com/mandatoryprogrammer/NorthKoreaDNSLeak |archive-date=21 September 2016 }}</ref>

On 8 July 2020, the [[CNN]] reported that satellite imagery showed activity at a North Korean facility, which was suspected by researchers of being utilized for building nuclear warheads. The images were captured by Planet Labs and analyzed by experts at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://us.cnn.com/2020/07/08/politics/north-korea-nuclear-facility-wollo-ri-satellite-images/index.html|title=New satellite imagery shows activity at suspected North Korean nuclear facility|access-date=8 July 2020|publisher=CNN}}</ref>

===Room 39 and the "Royal Court" economy===
{{main|Room 39}}

According to high-level North Korean defectors, since the 1970s, revenue accumulated through foreign currency, revenue which is wholly separate from the official economic organs of the state, is of economic significance. The scale of its significance remains unknown and is a closely guarded secret, however. More recently, this foreign currency is said to have been also derived from the over 100,000 North Korean migrant workers sent around the world, and who contribute the lionshare of their income to [[Room 39|this "Royal Court" fund]]. Other banking, trade, and financial ventures (many of which are illicit) are also said to be significant contributors. The fund is reported to be primarily tasked with providing the capital needed to develop the country's military technology (above all else, its [[Timeline of the North Korean nuclear program|nuclear weapons program]]), as well as contributing to a system of "gift giving" for the country's political, military and business elite.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmqV2vIXpUY "North Korea: All the dictator's men,"] ''[[Deutsche Welle]]'', 30 March 2019.</ref>

==Culture==
{{Main|Culture of North Korea}}
{{see also|Culture of Korea}}
[[File:Pyohunsa Temple - Mount Kumgang North Korea (10449400303).jpg|thumb|[[Pyohunsa]] Buddhist Temple, a [[National Treasures of North Korea|National Treasure of North Korea]]]]

Despite a historically strong Chinese influence, Korean culture has shaped its own unique identity.<ref name="Fairbank et al.">{{Cite book|author=John K. Fairbank, Edwin O. Reischauer & Albert M. Craig|title=East Asia: Tradition & Transformation|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company|location=Boston|year=1978|isbn=978-0-395-25812-5}}</ref> It came under attack during the [[Korea under Japanese rule|Japanese rule]] from 1910 to 1945, when Japan enforced a [[cultural assimilation]] policy. Koreans were forced to learn and speak Japanese, adopt the Japanese family name system and [[Shinto]] religion, and were forbidden to write or speak the Korean language in schools, businesses, or public places.<ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url=http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/kptoc.html |chapter=The Rise of Korean Nationalism and Communism |author=Bruce G. Cumings |title=A Country Study: North Korea |publisher=Library of Congress |id=Call number DS932 .N662 1994 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070410092404/http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/kptoc.html |archive-date=10 April 2007 }}</ref>

After the peninsula was divided in 1945, two distinct cultures formed out of the common Korean heritage. North Koreans have little exposure to foreign influence.<ref name="LCCS Culture" /> The revolutionary struggle and the brilliance of the leadership are some of the main themes in art. "Reactionary" elements from traditional culture have been discarded and cultural forms with a "folk" spirit have been reintroduced.<ref name="LCCS Culture">{{cite web|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+kp0051) |title=Contemporary Cultural Expression |publisher=[[Library of Congress Country Studies]] |date=1993 |access-date=3 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121213083249/lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+kp0051) |archive-date=13 December 2012 }}</ref>

Korean heritage is protected and maintained by the state.{{sfn|North Korea Handbook|2003|pp=496–497}} Over 190 historical sites and objects of national significance are cataloged as [[National Treasures of North Korea]], while some 1,800 less valuable artifacts are included in a list of [[Cultural assets of North Korea|Cultural Assets]]. The Historic Sites and Monuments in [[Kaesong]] and the [[Complex of Koguryo Tombs]] are [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/KP/ |title=Democratic People's Republic of Korea |publisher=[[UNESCO]] |access-date=6 June 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701105958/https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/kp |archive-date=1 July 2014 }}</ref>

===Art===
{{further|Korean art|Korean architecture}}

Visual arts are generally produced in the esthetic of [[Socialist realism]].<ref name="Socialist realism"/> North Korean painting combines the influence of Soviet and Japanese visual expression to instill a sentimental loyalty to the system.<ref name="Art world">{{cite web|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/NF16Dg02.html|title=A window into North Korea's art world|last=Rank|first=Michael|date=16 June 2012|website=Asia Times|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130326075320/https://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/NF16Dg02.html|archive-date=26 March 2013|access-date=14 July 2014}}</ref> All artists in North Korea are required to join the Artists' Union, and the best among them can receive an official license to portray the leaders. Portraits and sculptures depicting Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un are classed as "Number One works".<ref name="Socialist realism">{{cite news|url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2011/02/137_81303.html |title=Socialist realism |author=Andrei Lankov |newspaper=The Korea Times |date=13 February 2011 |access-date=6 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726132136/http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2011/02/137_81303.html |archive-date=26 July 2014 }}</ref>

Most aspects of art have been dominated by [[Mansudae Art Studio]] since its establishment in 1959. It employs around 1,000 artists in what is likely the biggest art factory in the world where paintings, [[mural]]s, [[poster]]s and monuments are designed and produced.<ref name="BussinessWeek">{{cite web|url=http://www.businessweek.com/printer/articles/123404-mansudae-art-studio-north-koreas-colossal-monument-factory |title=Mansudae Art Studio, North Korea's Colossal Monument Factory |publisher=Bloomberg Business Week |date=6 June 2013 |access-date=14 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224013706/http://www.businessweek.com/printer/articles/123404-mansudae-art-studio-north-koreas-colossal-monument-factory |archive-date=24 February 2015 }}</ref> The studio has commercialized its activity and sells its works to collectors in a variety of countries including China, where it is in high demand.<ref name="Art world"/> [[Mansudae Overseas Projects]] is a subdivision of Mansudae Art Studio that carries out construction of large-scale monuments for international customers.<ref name="BussinessWeek"/> Some of the projects include the [[African Renaissance Monument]] in [[Senegal]],<ref>{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8435805.stm |title=Senegal President Wade apologises for Christ comments |work=[[BBC News]]|date=31 December 2009 |publisher=[[British Broadcasting Corporation|BBC]] |location=[[London]] |access-date=14 July 2014}}</ref> and the [[Heroes' Acre (Namibia)|Heroes' Acre]] in [[Namibia]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.namibian.com.na/indexx.php?archive_id=16089&page_type=archive_story_detail&page=5874 |title=Heroes' monument losing battle |newspaper=The Namibian |date=5 June 2005 |access-date=14 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140724234853/http://www.namibian.com.na/indexx.php?archive_id=16089&page_type=archive_story_detail&page=5874 |archive-date=24 July 2014}}</ref>

=== World Heritage ===

In the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the [[Goguryeo tombs|Goguryeo tumulus]] is registered on the [[World Heritage]] list of [[UNESCO]]. These remains were registered as the first World Heritage property of North Korea in the UNESCO [[World Heritage Committee]] (WHC) in July 2004. There are 63 burial mounds in the tomb group, with clear murals preserved. The burial customs of the Goguryeo culture have influenced Asian civilizations beyond Korea, including Japan.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1091 |title=Complex of Koguryo Tombs |publisher=unesco.org |access-date=1 September 2017}}</ref>

===Music===
{{main|Music of North Korea}}
{{Listen
| filename     = Song of Comradeship excerpt.ogg
| title        = "Song of Comradeship"
| alt          = 
| description  = performed by the [[KPA State Chorus]]
| filename2    = Moranbong Band excerpt.ogg
| title2       = "Let us Dash towards the Future"
| alt2         = 
| description2 = performed by [[Moranbong Band]]
}}

The government emphasized optimistic folk-based tunes and revolutionary music throughout most of the 20th century.<ref name="LCCS Culture"/> Ideological messages are conveyed through massive orchestral pieces like the "[[Korean revolutionary opera|Five Great Revolutionary Operas]]" based on traditional Korean ''[[Changgeuk|ch'angguk]]''.<ref name="LCCS Lit">{{cite web|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+kp0052)|title=Literature, Music, and Film|publisher=[[Library of Congress Country Studies]]|date=1993|access-date=14 July 2014}}</ref> Revolutionary operas differ from their Western counterparts by adding traditional instruments to the orchestra and avoiding [[recitative]] segments.<ref name="Sea of Blood">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/29/arts/29iht-sea.html?pagewanted=all |title=North Korean Opera Draws Acclaim in China |newspaper=The New York Times |date=28 July 2010 |access-date=14 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726145257/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/29/arts/29iht-sea.html?pagewanted=all |archive-date=26 July 2014 }}</ref> ''[[Sea of Blood]]'' is the most widely performed of the Five Great Operas: since its premiere in 1971, it has been played over 1,500 times,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2001/200108/news08/24.htm |title=Revolutionary opera 'Sea of Blood' 30 years old |agency=[[Korean Central News Agency|KCNA]] |date=August 2001 |access-date=14 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141012063118/http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2001/200108/news08/24.htm |archive-date=12 October 2014 }}</ref> and its 2010 tour in China was a major success.<ref name="Sea of Blood"/> Western [[classical music]] by [[Johannes Brahms|Brahms]], [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Tchaikovsky]], [[Igor Stravinsky|Stravinsky]] and other composers is performed both by the [[State Symphony Orchestra of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea|State Symphony Orchestra]] and student orchestras.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-20773542 |title=North Korea: Bringing modern music to Pyongyang |work=BBC News |date=3 January 2013 |access-date=14 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140709045714/http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-20773542 |archive-date=9 July 2014 }}</ref>

[[Pop music]] appeared in the 1980s with the [[Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble]] and [[Wangjaesan Light Music Band]].<ref name="Moranbong">{{cite news|url=http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/timstanley/100219118/meet-north-koreas-new-girl-band-five-girls-who-just-wanna-have-state-sanctioned-fun/ |title=Meet North Korea's new girl band: five girls who just wanna have state-sanctioned fun |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=29 May 2013 |access-date=14 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701064439/http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/timstanley/100219118/meet-north-koreas-new-girl-band-five-girls-who-just-wanna-have-state-sanctioned-fun/ |archive-date=1 July 2014 }}</ref> Improved relations with South Korea following the [[2000 inter-Korean summit]] caused a decline in direct ideological messages in pop songs, but themes like comradeship, nostalgia and the construction of a powerful country remained.{{sfn|North Korea Handbook|2003|p=478}} In 2014, the [[All-female band|all-girl]] [[Moranbong Band]] was described as the most popular group in the country.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/24/north-korea-kim-jong-un-favourite-moranbong-band-stage-a-comeback |title=Moranbong: Kim Jong-un's favourite band stage a comeback |newspaper=The Guardian |date=24 April 2014 |access-date=14 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826180941/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/24/north-korea-kim-jong-un-favourite-moranbong-band-stage-a-comeback |archive-date=26 August 2014 }}</ref> North Koreans also listen to [[K-pop]] which spreads through illegal markets.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2011/feb/01/pyongyang-north-korea-michael-jackson |title=Pyongyang goes pop: How North Korea discovered Michael Jackson |newspaper=The Guardian |date=1 February 2011 |access-date=14 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725210826/http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2011/feb/01/pyongyang-north-korea-michael-jackson |archive-date=25 July 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Youna Kim|title=South Korean Popular Culture and North Korea|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9kOEDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT155|year=2019|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=978-1-351-10410-4|pages=155–156}}</ref>

===Literature===
{{main|North Korean literature}}
[[File:North Korea (5015250703).jpg|thumb|left|A North Korean bookstore with works of [[Kim Il-sung]] and [[Kim Jong-il]]]]

All publishing houses are owned by the government or the WPK because they are considered an important tool for [[agitprop]].{{sfn|North Korea Handbook|2003|pp=423–424}} The [[Workers' Party of Korea Publishing House]] is the most authoritative among them and publishes all [[Kim Il-sung bibliography|works of Kim Il-sung]], ideological education materials and party policy documents.{{sfn|North Korea Handbook|2003|p=424}} The availability of foreign literature is limited, examples being North Korean editions of Indian, German, Chinese and Russian fairy tales, ''[[Tales from Shakespeare]]'', some works of [[Bertolt Brecht]] and [[Erich Kästner]],<ref name="Art world"/> and the [[Harry Potter series|''Harry Potter'' series]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20200624000694|title=North Korea lauds Harry Potter|first=Han-na|last=Park|publisher=The Korea Herald|date=24 June 2020}}</ref>

Kim Il-sung's personal works are considered "classical masterpieces" while the ones created under his instruction are labeled "models of ''Juche'' literature". These include ''The Fate of a Self-Defense Corps Man'', ''The Song of Korea'' and ''Immortal History'', a series of historical novels depicting the suffering of Koreans under Japanese occupation.<ref name="LCCS Culture"/><ref name="LCCS Lit"/> More than four million literary works were published between the 1980s and the early 2000s, but almost all of them belong to a narrow variety of political genres like "army-first revolutionary literature".{{sfn|North Korea Handbook|2003|p=475}}

[[Science fiction]] is considered a secondary genre because it somewhat departs from the traditional standards of detailed descriptions and metaphors of the leader. The exotic settings of the stories give authors more freedom to depict [[cyberwarfare]], [[violence]], [[sexual abuse]], and [[crime]], which are absent in other genres. Sci-fi works glorify technology and promote the ''Juche'' concept of [[Anthropocentrism|anthropocentric existence]] through depictions of [[robotics]], [[space exploration]], and [[immortality]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sinonk.com/2013/09/25/from-pyongyang-to-mars-sci-fi-genre-and-literary-value-in-north-korea/ |title=Benoit Symposium: From Pyongyang to Mars: Sci-fi, Genre, and Literary Value in North Korea |publisher=SinoNK |date=25 September 2013 |access-date=14 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140613021918/http://sinonk.com/2013/09/25/from-pyongyang-to-mars-sci-fi-genre-and-literary-value-in-north-korea/ |archive-date=13 June 2014 }}</ref>

===Media===
{{Main|Media of North Korea}}
[[File:Pyongyang TV Tower 01.JPG|thumb|Pyongyang TV Tower]]
Government policies towards [[film]] are no different from those applied to other arts—motion pictures serve to fulfill the targets of "social education". Some of the most influential films are based on historic events (''An Jung-geun shoots Itō Hirobumi'') or folk tales (''[[Hong Gildong jeon|Hong Gildong]]'').<ref name="LCCS Lit"/> Most movies have predictable propaganda story lines which make cinema an unpopular entertainment; viewers only see films that feature their favorite actors.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=114}} Western productions are only available at private showings to high-ranking Party members,{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=94}} although the 1997 film ''[[Titanic (1997 film)|Titanic]]'' is frequently shown to university students as an example of Western culture.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/feb/21/pyongyang-goes-pop-north-korea-indie|title=Pyongyang goes pop: Inside North Korea's first indie disco|last=Hoban|first=Alex|date=22 February 2011|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=14 July 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140720051523/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/feb/21/pyongyang-goes-pop-north-korea-indie|archive-date=20 July 2014}}</ref> Access to foreign media products is available through smuggled [[DVD]]s and television or radio broadcasts in border areas.<ref name="intermedia">{{cite web |title=A Quiet Opening: North Koreans in a Changing Media Environment |url=http://audiencescapes.org/sites/default/files/A_Quiet_Opening_FINAL_InterMedia.pdf |publisher=InterMedia |access-date=19 January 2013 |first1=Nat |last1=Kretchun |first2=Jane |last2=Kim |date=10 May 2012 |quote=The primary focus of the study was on the ability of North Koreans to access outside information from foreign sources through a variety of media, communication technologies and personal sources. The relationship between information exposure on North Koreans’ perceptions of the outside world and their own country was also analyzed. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130114225639/http://audiencescapes.org/sites/default/files/A_Quiet_Opening_FINAL_InterMedia.pdf |archive-date=14 January 2013}}</ref> Western films like ''[[The Interview]]'', ''[[Titanic (1997 film)|Titanic]]'', and ''[[Charlie's Angels (2000 film)|Charlie's Angels]]'' are just a few films that have been smuggled across the borders of North Korea, allowing for access to the North Korean citizens.<ref>''Harvard International Review''. Winter 2016, Vol. 37 Issue 2, pp. 46–50.</ref><ref>Crocker, L. (22 December 2014). North Korea's Secret Movie Bootleggers: How Western Films Make It Into the Hermit Kingdom.</ref>

North Korean media are under some of the strictest government control in the world. The [[censorship in North Korea]] encompasses all the information produced by the media. Monitored heavily by government officials, the media is strictly used to reinforce ideals approved by the government.<ref name=":1">Journalists, C. T. (25 April 2017). "North Korean censorship".</ref> There is no freedom of press in North Korea as all the media is controlled and filtered through governmental censors.<ref name=":1" /> Freedom of the press in 2017 was 180th out of 180 countries in [[Reporters Without Borders]]' annual [[Press Freedom Index]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=North Korea |publisher=Reporters Without Borders |date=2017 |access-date=28 April 2017 |url=https://rsf.org/en/north-korea |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170426113250/https://rsf.org/en/north-korea |archive-date=26 April 2017 }}</ref> According to [[Freedom House]], all media outlets serve as government mouthpieces, all journalists are party members and listening to foreign broadcasts carries the threat of the death penalty.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2013/north-korea#.U8Q34ZSSySo |title=Freedom of the Press: North Korea |publisher=Freedom House |access-date=14 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140707210657/http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2013/north-korea |archive-date=7 July 2014 }}</ref> The main news provider is the [[Korean Central News Agency]]. All 12 major [[Newspapers in North Korea|newspapers]] and 20 periodicals, including ''[[Rodong Sinmun]]'', are published in the capital.<ref>{{cite book|last=Pervis|first=Larinda B.|title=North Korea Issues: Nuclear Posturing, Saber Rattling, and International Mischief|publisher=Nova Science Publishers|year=2007|page=22|isbn=978-1-60021-655-8}}</ref>

There are three state-owned TV stations. Two of them broadcast only on weekends and the [[Korean Central Television]] is on air every day in the evenings.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6037715.stm |title=Meagre media for North Koreans |work=BBC News |date=10 October 2006 |access-date=14 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140820085153/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6037715.stm |archive-date=20 August 2014 }}</ref> [[Uriminzokkiri]] and its associated [[YouTube]] and [[Twitter]] accounts distribute imagery, news and video issued by government media.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/16/north-korea-twitter-propa_n_682920.html |title=North Korea Uses Twitter, YouTube For Propaganda Offensive |work=The Huffington post |date=17 August 2010 |access-date=14 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141007062045/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/16/north-korea-twitter-propa_n_682920.html |archive-date=7 October 2014 }}</ref> The [[Associated Press]] opened the first Western all-format, full-time bureau in Pyongyang in 2012.<ref>{{cite news|last=Calderone |first=Michael |title=Associated Press North Korea Bureau Opens As First All-Format News Office In Pyongyang |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/16/associated-press-north-korea-bureau-pyongyang_n_1208159.html |access-date=26 March 2012 |newspaper=The Huffington Post |date=14 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120416013204/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/16/associated-press-north-korea-bureau-pyongyang_n_1208159.html |archive-date=16 April 2012 }}</ref>

[[Media coverage of North Korea]] has often been inadequate as a result of the country's isolation. Stories like Kim Jong-un undergoing surgery to look like his grandfather, executing his ex-girlfriend or feeding his uncle to a pack of hungry dogs have been circulated by foreign media as truth despite the lack of a credible source.<ref name="transfixed">{{cite news|first=Chad |last=O'Carroll |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/10554198/North-Koreas-invisible-phone-killer-dogs-and-other-such-stories-why-the-world-is-transfixed.html |title=North Korea's invisible phone, killer dogs and other such stories – why the world is transfixed |work=The Telegraph |date=6 January 2014 |access-date=14 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008074624/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/10554198/North-Koreas-invisible-phone-killer-dogs-and-other-such-stories-why-the-world-is-transfixed.html |archive-date=8 October 2014 }}</ref> Many of the claims originate from the South Korean [[right-wing]] newspaper ''[[The Chosun Ilbo]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/did-kim-jong-un-execute-his-ex-girlfriend-2013-8 |title=Why You Shouldn't Necessarily Trust Those Reports Of Kim Jong-un Executing His Ex-Girlfriend |last1=Taylor |first1=Adam |date=29 August 2013 |website=businessinsider.com |publisher=Business Insider |access-date=19 January 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140119050406/http://www.businessinsider.com/did-kim-jong-un-execute-his-ex-girlfriend-2013-8 |archive-date=19 January 2014 }}</ref> Max Fisher of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' has written that "almost any story [on North Korea] is treated as broadly credible, no matter how outlandish or thinly sourced".<ref>{{cite news|last=Fisher |first=Max |date=3 January 2014 |title=No, Kim Jong Un probably didn't feed his uncle to 120 hungry dogs |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/01/03/no-kim-jong-un-probably-didnt-feed-his-uncle-to-120-hungry-dogs/ |newspaper=Washington Post |location=Washington, DC |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726032316/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/01/03/no-kim-jong-un-probably-didnt-feed-his-uncle-to-120-hungry-dogs/ |archive-date=26 July 2014 }}</ref> Occasional deliberate disinformation on the part of North Korean establishments further complicates the issue.<ref name="transfixed"/>

===Cuisine===
{{main|North Korean cuisine}}
[[File:North Korean Bibimbap 비빔밥 (12330376074).jpg|thumb|North Korean ''[[bibimbap|pibimbap]]'']]

Korean cuisine has evolved through centuries of social and political change. Originating from ancient [[Prehistoric Korea|agricultural and nomadic traditions]] in southern [[Manchuria]] and the [[Korean Peninsula]], it has gone through a complex interaction of the natural environment and different cultural trends.<ref name="Korean Cuisine">{{cite web|url=http://100.naver.com/100.nhn?docid=186015 |script-title=ko:Korean Cuisine (한국요리 韓國料理)|publisher=[[Naver]] / [[Doosan Encyclopedia]]|language=ko|access-date=15 July 2014}}</ref> [[Rice]] dishes and [[kimchi]] are staple Korean food. In a traditional meal, they accompany both side dishes (''[[Banchan|panch'an]]'') and main courses like ''[[Juk (food)|juk]]'', ''[[Bulgogi|pulgogi]]'' or [[noodles]]. ''[[Soju]]'' liquor is the best-known traditional Korean spirit.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.korea.net/AboutKorea/Korean-Life/Food |title=Food |publisher=Korean Culture and Information Service |access-date=15 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140703005649/http://www.korea.net/AboutKorea/Korean-Life/Food |archive-date=3 July 2014 }}</ref>

North Korea's most famous restaurant, [[Okryu-gwan]], located in Pyongyang, is known for its ''[[Naengmyeon|raengmyeon]]'' cold noodles.<ref name="Okryu">{{citation|last=Lankov|first=Andrei|author-link=Andrei Lankov|title=North of the DMZ: Essays on daily life in North Korea|publisher=McFarland|year=2007|isbn=978-0-7864-2839-7|pages=90–91}}</ref> Other dishes served there include [[Mullet (fish)|gray mullet]] soup with boiled rice, [[Galbitang|beef rib soup]], green bean pancake, ''[[sinseollo|sinsollo]]'' and dishes made from [[diamondback terrapin|terrapin]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2010/201005/news26/20100526-11ee.html |title=Okryu Restaurant Becomes More Popular for Terrapin Dishes |publisher=Korean Central News Agency |date=26 May 2010 |access-date=15 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609184806/http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2010/201005/news26/20100526-11ee.html |archive-date= 9 June 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/1998/9808/news08/31.htm |title=Okryu restaurant |publisher=Korean Central News Agency |date=31 August 1998 |access-date=15 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110108053355/http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/1998/9808/news08/31.htm |archive-date= 8 January 2011 }}</ref> Okryu-gwan sends research teams into the countryside to collect data on [[Korean cuisine]] and introduce new recipes.<ref name="Okryu"/> Some Asian cities host branches of the [[Pyongyang (restaurant chain)|Pyongyang restaurant chain]] where waitresses perform music and dance.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27439119 |title=The mystery of North Korea's virtuoso waitresses |work=BBC News |date=8 June 2014 |access-date=15 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725174209/http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27439119 |archive-date=25 July 2014 }}</ref>

===Sports===
{{main|Sport in North Korea}}
[[File:FIFA World Cup 2010 Brazil North Korea 7.jpg|thumb|North Korea (in red) against Brazil at the 2010 FIFA World Cup]]
[[File:Laika ac Arirang Mass Games (7934639696).jpg|thumb|left|A scene from the 2012 [[Arirang Festival]]]]

Most schools have daily practice in [[association football]], [[basketball]], [[table tennis]], [[gymnastics]], [[boxing]] and others. The [[DPR Korea League]] is popular inside the country and its games are often televised.{{Sfn|Country Study|2009|p=114}} The national football team, ''[[Korea DPR national football team|Chollima]]'', competed in the [[FIFA World Cup]] in [[2010 FIFA World Cup|2010]], when it lost all three matches against [[Brazil national football team|Brazil]], [[Portugal national football team|Portugal]] and [[Ivory Coast national football team|Ivory Coast]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10935521 |title=Fifa investigates North Korea World Cup abuse claims |work=BBC News |date=11 August 2010 |access-date=15 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140829064334/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10935521 |archive-date=29 August 2014 }}</ref> Its [[1966 FIFA World Cup|1966 appearance]] was much more successful, seeing a surprise 1–0 victory over [[Italy national football team|Italy]] and a quarter final loss to Portugal by 3–5.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/tees/hi/people_and_places/newsid_8739000/8739539.stm |title=When Middlesbrough hosted the 1966 World Cup Koreans |work=BBC News |date=15 June 2010 |access-date=15 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518020901/http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/tees/hi/people_and_places/newsid_8739000/8739539.stm |archive-date=18 May 2014 }}</ref> A [[North Korea national basketball team|national team]] represents the nation in international basketball competitions as well. In December 2013, former American basketball professional [[Dennis Rodman]] visited North Korea to help train the national team after he developed a friendship with Kim Jong-un.<ref>{{cite news|title=Rodman returns to North Korea amid political unrest |url=http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/12/19/rodman-returns-to-north-korea-amid-political-unrest/ |access-date=20 December 2013 |work=Fox News |date=19 December 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219150415/http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/12/19/rodman-returns-to-north-korea-amid-political-unrest/ |archive-date=19 December 2013 }}</ref>

North Korea's [[North Korea at the Olympics|first appearance]] in the [[Olympics]] came [[1964 Winter Olympics|in 1964]]. The [[1972 Summer Olympics|1972 Olympics]] saw its summer games debut and five medals, including one gold. With the exception of the boycotted [[1984 Summer Olympics|Los Angeles]] and [[1988 Summer Olympics|Seoul Olympics]], North Korean athletes have won medals in all summer games since then.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.olympic.org/democratic-people-s-republic-of-korea |title=Democratic People's Republic of Korea |publisher=[[International Olympic Committee]] |access-date=15 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702235346/http://www.olympic.org/democratic-people-s-republic-of-korea |archive-date=2 July 2014 }}</ref> [[Weightlifter]] [[Kim Un-guk]] broke the [[world record]] of the [[Weightlifting at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's 62 kg|Men's 62 kg]] category at the [[2012 Summer Olympics]] in [[London]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/18906742 |title=North Korea's Kim Un Guk wins 62kg weightlifting Olympic gold |work=BBC News |date=30 July 2012 |access-date=15 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016015037/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/18906742 |archive-date=16 October 2015}}</ref> Successful Olympians receive luxury apartments from the state in recognition for their achievements.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-northkorea-idUSBRE99401E20131005 |title=North Korea rewards athletes with luxury apartments |work=Reuters |date=4 October 2013 |access-date=20 December 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220091444/http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/05/us-olympics-northkorea-idUSBRE99401E20131005 |archive-date=20 December 2013 }}</ref>

The [[Arirang Festival]] has been recognized by the [[Guinness World Records]] as the biggest choreographic event in the world.<ref name="reuters2007">{{cite web|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKSEO29172020070827 |title=North Korea halts showcase mass games due to flood |publisher=Reuters |date=27 August 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210113435/http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKSEO29172020070827 |archive-date=10 February 2009 }}</ref> Some 100,000 athletes perform [[rhythmic gymnastics]] and dances while 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 Il-sung]] and [[Kim Jong-il]].<ref name="reuters2007"/><ref name="arirang">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/may/17/northkorea |title=Despair, hunger and defiance at the heart of the greatest show on earth |newspaper=The Guardian |date=17 May 2002 |access-date=15 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140909142757/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/may/17/northkorea |archive-date=9 September 2014 }}</ref> [[Rungrado 1st of May Stadium]], the [[List of stadiums by capacity|largest stadium in the world]] with its capacity of 150,000, hosts the Festival.<ref name="arirang"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/10335601/Kim-Jong-un-orders-spruce-up-of-worlds-biggest-stadium-as-millions-starve.html |title=Kim Jong-un orders spruce up of world's biggest stadium as 'millions starve' |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=26 September 2013 |access-date=15 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140612004916/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/10335601/Kim-Jong-un-orders-spruce-up-of-worlds-biggest-stadium-as-millions-starve.html |archive-date=12 June 2014 }}</ref> The [[Pyongyang Marathon]] is another notable sports event. It is an [[IAAF Road Race Label Events|IAAF Bronze Label Race]] where amateur runners from around the world can participate.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/10742812/North-Korea-allows-tourists-to-run-in-Pyongyang-marathon-for-the-first-time.html |title=North Korea allows tourists to run in Pyongyang marathon for the first time |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=3 April 2014 |access-date=15 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140801114007/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/10742812/North-Korea-allows-tourists-to-run-in-Pyongyang-marathon-for-the-first-time.html |archive-date=1 August 2014 }}</ref>

Between 2010 and 2019, North Korea has imported 138 purebred horses from Russia at cost of over $584,000.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/02/19/how-north-koreas-leader-buys-purebred-white-horses-from-russias-stud-farms-a69317|title=How North Korea's Leader Buys Purebred White Horses From Russia's Stud Farms|last=Sauer|first=Pjotr|date=19 February 2020|website=The Moscow Times|language=en|access-date=19 February 2020}}</ref>

==See also==
{{stack|{{Portal|North Korea|Asia}}}}
*[[Index of North Korea–related articles]]
*[[Outline of North Korea]]
*[[Bibliography of North Korea]]
{{-}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/cs/profiles/North_Korea-new.pdf|title=Country Profile: North Korea |date=July 2007|publisher=Library of Congress – Federal Research Division|access-date=4 July 2009|ref={{SfnRef|Country Profile|2007}}}}
* Armstrong, Charles K. "North Korea in 2016." ''Asian Survey'' 57.1 (2017): 119–27. [http://as.ucpress.edu/content/57/1/119 abstract]
* {{cite book|last=French|first=Paul|date=2007|title=North Korea: The Paranoid Peninsula: A Modern History|edition=Second|publisher=Zed Books|location=London|isbn=978-1-84277-905-7}}
* Hayes, Peter, and Roger Cavazos. "North Korea in 2015." ''Asian Survey'' 56.1 (2016): 68–77. [http://as.ucpress.edu/content/56/1/68.abstract abstract]
* Hayes, Peter, and Roger Cavazos. "North Korea in 2014." ''Asian Survey'' 55.1 (2015): 119–31. [http://as.ucpress.edu/content/55/1/119.abstract abstract]; also [http://nautilus.org/napsnet/napsnet-special-reports/north-korea-in-2014-a-fresh-leap-forward-into-thin-air/ full text online]
* {{cite book |last=Jackson |first=Van |title=Rival Reputations: Coercion and Credibility in US–North Korea Relations |year=2016 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-1-107-13331-0}}, covers 1960s to 2010.
* Jackson, Van. "Deterring a Nuclear-Armed Adversary in a Contested Regional Order: The 'Trilemma' of US–North Korea Relations." ''Asia Policy'' 23.1 (2017): 97–103. [https://muse.jhu.edu/article/647791/summary online]
* Lee, Hong Yung. "North Korea in 2013: Economy, Executions, and Nuclear Brinksmanship." ''Asian Survey'' 54.1 (2014): 89–100. [http://home.sogang.ac.kr/sites/jaechun/courses/Lists/b7/Attachments/21/as.2014.54.1.89.pdf online]
* {{Cite book | last=Martin | first=Bradley K.| title=Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty| publisher=Thomas Dunne Books| year=2004| location=New York| isbn=978-0-312-32322-6}}
* {{cite book|last=Myers|first=Brian Reynolds|author-link=Brian Reynolds Myers|year=2011|title=The Cleanest Race: How North Koreans See Themselves and Why It Matters|publisher= Melville House|isbn= 978-1933633916|title-link=The Cleanest Race}}
* {{cite web|url=http://cdn.loc.gov/master/frd/frdcstdy/no/northkoreacountr00word/northkoreacountr00word.pdf |title=North Korea – A Country Study|year=2009|publisher= [[Library of Congress Country Studies]]|ref={{SfnRef|Country Study|2009}}}}
* {{cite book|last=Ryang|first=Sonia|editor-last=Ryang|editor-first=Sonia|title=Koreans in Japan: Critical Voices from the Margin|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OXBHAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA32|year=2013|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=978-1-136-35305-5|chapter=The North Korean Homeland of Koreans in Japan|pages=32–54}}
* {{cite book|editor=Yonhap News Agency|title=North Korea Handbook|publisher=Yonhap T'ongsin|year=2003|isbn=978-0-7656-1004-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JIlh9nNeadMC|ref={{SfnRef|North Korea Handbook|2003}}}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|voy=North Korea|wikt=no}}

=== Government websites ===
*[http://kcna.kp/kcna.user.home.retrieveHomeInfoList.kcmsf?lang=eng KCNA] – website of the [[Korean Central News Agency]]
*[http://naenara.com.kp/main/index/en/first Naenara] – the official North Korean governmental portal [[Naenara]]
*[http://www.mfa.gov.kp/en/ DPRK Foreign Ministry] – official north Korean foreign ministry website
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20171130171957/http://www.pyongyangtimes.com.kp/ The Pyongyang Times] – official foreign language newspaper of the DPRK

=== General websites ===
*{{curlie|Regional/Asia/North_Korea}}
*[http://www.korea-dpr.com/ Official website of the DPR of Korea] – Administered by the Korean Friendship Association
*[http://38north.org/ 38North]
*[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15256929 North Korea profile] at [[BBC News]]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090612212909/http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/nkorea.htm North Korea] – link collection ([[University of Colorado at Boulder]] Libraries GovPubs)
*[https://www.nknews.org/ NKnews] – a news agency covering North Korean topics.
*[http://www.friend.com.kp/index.php?module=home&current_language=en Friend.com.kp] – website of the [[Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries]]
*[http://www.koredufund.org.kp/ Korea Education Fund]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20150702044729/http://www.rodong.rep.kp/en/ ''Rodong Sinmun''] – the newspaper of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea ''[[Rodong Sinmun]]''
*[http://www.uriminzokkiri.com/ Uriminzokkiri]
*[http://www.dprkportal.kp/ DPRK Portal]
*[http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/CoIDPRK/Pages/ReportoftheCommissionofInquiryDPRK.aspx United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights] – [[Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea]]

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