Korea, North
Top Sights & Landmarks
Background
The first recorded kingdom (Choson) on the Korean Peninsula dates from approximately 2300 B.C. Over the subsequent centuries, three main kingdoms -- Kogoryo, Paekche, and Silla -- were established on the Peninsula. By the 5th century A.D., Kogoryo emerged as the most powerful, with control over much of the Peninsula and part of Manchuria (modern-day northeast China). However, Silla allied with the Chinese to create the first unified Korean state in 688. Following the collapse of Silla in the 9th century, Korea was unified under the Koryo (Goryeo; 918-1392) and the Chosen (Joseon; 1392-1910) dynasties. Korea became the object of intense imperialistic rivalry among the Chinese (its traditional benefactor), Japanese, and Russian empires in the latter half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the Sino-Japanese War (1894-95) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05), Korea was occupied by Imperial Japan. In 1910, Japan formally annexed the entire peninsula. After World War II, the northern half came under Soviet-sponsored communist control. In 1948, North Korea (formally known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea or DPRK) was founded under President KIM Il Sung, who consolidated power and cemented autocratic one-party rule under the Korean Worker's Party (KWP). North Korea failed to conquer UN-backed South Korea (formally the Republic of Korea or ROK) during the Korean War (1950-53), after which a demilitarized zone separated the two Koreas. KIM's authoritarian rule included tight control over North Korean citizens and the demonization of the US as the central threat to North Korea's political and social system. In addition, he molded the country's economic, military, and political policies around the core objective of unifying Korea under Pyongyang's control. North Korea also declared a central ideology of juche ("self-reliance") as a check against outside influence, while continuing to rely heavily on China and the Soviet Union for economic support. KIM Il Sung's son, KIM Jong Il, was officially designated as his father's successor in 1980, and he assumed a growing political and managerial role until the elder KIM's death in 1994. Under KIM Jong Il's reign, North Korea continued developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. KIM Jong Un was publicly unveiled as his father's successor in 2010. Following KIM Jong Il's death in 2011, KIM Jong Un quickly assumed power and has since occupied the regime's highest political and military posts. After the end of Soviet aid in 1991, North Korea faced serious economic setbacks that exacerbated decades of economic mismanagement and resource misallocation. Since the mid-1990s, North Korea has faced chronic food shortages and economic stagnation. In recent years, the North's domestic agricultural production has improved but still falls far short of producing sufficient food for its population. Starting in 2002, North Korea began to tolerate semi-private markets but has made few other efforts to meet its goal of improving the overall standard of living. New economic development plans in the 2010s failed to meet government-mandated goals for key industrial sectors, food production, or overall economic performance. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, North Korea instituted a nationwide lockdown that severely restricted its economy and international engagement. Since then, KIM has repeatedly expressed concerns with the regime's economic failures and food problems, but in 2021, he vowed to continue "self-reliant" policies and has reinvigorated his pursuit of greater regime control of the economy. As of 2024, despite slowly renewing cross-border trade with China, North Korea remained one of the world's most isolated countries and one of Asia's poorest. In 2024, Pyongyang announced it was ending all economic cooperation with South Korea. The move followed earlier proclamations that it was scrapping a 2018 military pact with South Korea to de-escalate tensions along their militarized border, abandoning the country’s decades-long pursuit of peaceful unification with South Korea, and designating the South as North Korea’s “principal enemy.”
Location
Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea
Area
Elevation
Detailed Geography Information
Coastline
2,495 km
Geography - note
strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated
Irrigated land
14,600 sq km (2012)
Land boundaries
Maritime claims
territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm note: military boundary line 50 nm in the Sea of Japan and the exclusive economic zone limit in the Yellow Sea where all foreign vessels and aircraft without permission are banned
Natural hazards
late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall volcanism: P'aektu-san (2,744 m) (also known as Baitoushan, Baegdu, or Changbaishan), on the Chinese border, is considered historically active
Natural resources
Terrain
mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; wide coastal plains in west, discontinuous in east
Population & Growth
Age Distribution
Demographic Longevity
Vital Dynamics
Detailed People & Society Information
Alcohol consumption per capita
3.61 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
9.3% (2017 est.)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
68.2% (2017 est.)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio: 45.6 (2025 est.) youth dependency ratio: 28.8 (2025 est.) elderly dependency ratio: 16.8 (2025 est.) potential support ratio: 6 (2025 est.)
Education expenditure
14.6% national budget (2025 est.)
Ethnic groups
Gross reproduction rate
0.87 (2025 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total: 14.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.) male: 16.9 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.8 deaths/1,000 live births
Languages
Major urban areas - population
3.158 million PYONGYANG (capital) (2023)
Maternal mortality ratio
67 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Nationality
noun: Korean(s) adjective: Korean
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
6.8% (2016)
Physician density
3.63 physicians/1,000 population (2017)
Population distribution
population concentrated in the plains and lowlands; least-populated regions are the mountainous provinces adjacent to the Chinese border; largest concentrations are in the western provinces, particularly the municipal district of Pyongyang, and around Hungnam and Wonsan in the east
Religions
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
total: 12 years (2018 est.) male: 12 years (2018 est.) female: 12 years (2018 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Tobacco use
total: 16% (2025 est.) male: 32.6% (2025 est.) female: 0% (2025 est.)
Climate & Issues
temperate, with rainfall concentrated in summer; long, bitter winters
Land Cover
Air & Carbon Emissions
Water Resources & Use
Detailed Environmental Information
Geoparks
total global geoparks and regional networks: 1 (2025) global geoparks and regional networks: Mt Paektu (2025)
International environmental agreements
Urbanization
urban population: 63.2% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 0.85% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Capital & State Profile
Executive Branch
Legislative Branch
National Identity & Symbols
three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple-width), and blue; the red band is edged in white; on the left side of the red band is a white disk with a red five-pointed star
Detailed Government Information
Administrative divisions
9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 4 special administration cities (si, singular and plural) provinces: Chagang, Hambuk (North Hamgyong), Hamnam (South Hamgyong), Hwangbuk (North Hwanghae), Hwangnam (South Hwanghae), Kangwon, P'yongbuk (North Pyongan), P'yongnam (South Pyongan), Ryanggang special administration cities: Kaesong, Nampo, P'yongyang, Rason note: P'yongyang is considered a directly controlled city; Kaesong, Nampo, and Rason are designated as special cities
Citizenship
citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of North Korea dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: unknown
Constitution
history: previous 1948, 1972; latest adopted 1998 amendment process: proposed by the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA); passage requires more than two-thirds majority vote of the total SPA membership
Country name
conventional long form: Democratic People's Republic of Korea conventional short form: North Korea local long form: Choson-minjujuui-inmin-konghwaguk local short form: Choson abbreviation: DPRK etymology: derived from the Chinese name for Goryeo, which was the Korean dynasty that united the peninsula in the 10th century A.D.; the North Korean name "Choson" means "[Land of the] Morning Calm"
International law organization participation
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
International organization participation
Judicial branch
highest court(s): Supreme Court or Central Court (consists of one judge and 2 "People's Assessors" or, for some cases, 3 judges) judge selection and term of office: judges elected by the Supreme People's Assembly for 5-year terms subordinate courts: lower provincial courts as determined by the Supreme People's Assembly
Legal system
civil law system based on the Prussian model; influenced by Japanese traditions and Communist legal theory
National heritage
total World Heritage Sites: 2 (both cultural, one mixed) selected World Heritage Site locales: Koguryo Tombs Complex; Historic Monuments and Sites in Kaesong; Mount Kumgang – Diamond Mountain from the Sea (m)
Political parties
major parties: Korean Workers' Party or KWP (formally known as Workers' Party of Korea) General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon; under KWP control) minor parties: Chondoist Chongu Party (under KWP control) Social Democratic Party or KSDP (under KWP control)
Suffrage
17 years of age; universal and compulsory
Economic Overview
one of the last centrally planned economies; hard hit by COVID-19, crop failures, international sanctions, and isolationist policies; declining growth and trade, and heavily reliant on China; poor exchange rate stability; economic data integrity issues
Size & Performance
GDP Sector Breakdown
Trade Balance
Budget Balance
Export Profile
Top Export Partners
Major Export Commodities
Labor & Employment
Income Inequality
Detailed Economic Data
Agricultural products
Exchange rates
North Korean won (KPW) per US dollar (average market rate) Exchange rates: 135 (2017 est.) 130 (2016 est.) 130 (2015 est.)
Industries
Grid Infrastructure
Generation Mix
Fossil Fuels Production
Intensity & Nuclear
Digital Access
Mobile Cellular
Broadcast Media
Aviation
Railways
Ports & Harbors
Merchant Marine
Military Expenditures
Active Duty Strengths
estimates vary; as many as 1.3 million active-duty Korean People's Army (2025)
Service & Defense Details
Korean People's Army (KPA): KPA Ground Forces, KPA Navy, KPA Air Force and Air Defense Forces, KPA Strategic Forces (missile forces), KPA Special Forces (special operations forces); Security Guard Command (aka Bodyguard Command); Military Security Command Ministry of Social Security (formerly Ministry of Public Security): Border Guard General Bureau, civil security forces; Ministry of State Security: internal security, investigations (2025) note 1: Kim Jong Un is the KPA supreme commander, while operational control of the armed forces resides in the General Staff Department (GSD), which reports directly to Kim; the GSD maintains overall control of all military forces and is charged with turning Kim’s directives into operational military orders; the Ministry of National Defense (MND) is responsible for administrative control of the military and external relations with foreign militaries note 2: the Security Guard Command protects the Kim family, other senior leadership figures, and government facilities note 4: the North also has a large paramilitary/militia force organized into the Worker Peasant Red Guard and Red Youth Guard; these organizations are present at all levels of government (province, county, ward) and are under the control of the Korean Workers' Party in peacetime, but revert to KPA control in crisis or war; they are often mobilized for domestic projects, such as road building and agricultural support
estimated 10-12,000 Russia (2025)
the KPA is equipped with older weapon systems acquired from China, Russia, and the former Soviet Union, as well as some domestically produced armaments; North Korea produces an array of military hardware, including armored vehicles, artillery, munitions, naval vessels, and some advanced weapons systems, such as cruise and ballistic missiles; most are copies or upgrades of older foreign supplied equipment (2025) note: since 2006, the UN Security Council has passed nearly a dozen resolutions sanctioning North Korea for developing nuclear weapons and related activities, starting with Resolution 1718, which condemned the North's first nuclear test and placed sanctions on the supply of heavy weaponry (including tanks, armored combat vehicles, large caliber artillery, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships, and missiles and missile launchers), missile technology and material, and select luxury goods; additional resolutions have expanded to include all arms, including small arms and light weapons; the US and other countries have also imposed unilateral sanctions
the Korean People's Army (KPA) is one of the World’s largest military forces; founded in 1948, the KPA’s primary responsibilities are national defense and protection of the Kim regime; it also provides support to domestic economic projects such as agriculture production and infrastructure construction; North Korea views South Korea and the US as its primary external threats and Russia as its closest security partner in addition to the invasion of South Korea and the subsequent Korean War (1950-53), North Korea from the 1960s to the 1980s launched a number of military and subversive actions against South Korea; including skirmishes along the DMZ, overt attempts to assassinate South Korean leaders, kidnappings, the bombing of an airliner, and a failed effort in 1968 to foment an insurrection and conduct a guerrilla war in the South with more than 100 seaborne commandos; from the 1990s until 2010, the North lost two submarines and a semi-submersible boat attempting to insert infiltrators into the South (1996, 1998) and provoked several engagements in the Northwest Islands area along the disputed Northern Limit Line (NLL), including naval skirmishes between patrol boats in 1999 and 2002, the torpedoing and sinking of a South Korean Navy corvette in 2010, and the bombardment of a South Korean military installation on Yeonpyeong Island, also in 2010; since 2010, further minor incidents continue to occur periodically along the DMZ, where both the KPA and the South Korean military maintain large numbers of troops North Korea also has a history of provocative regional military actions and posturing that are of major concern to the international community, including: proliferation of military-related items; ballistic and cruise missile development and testing; weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs including tests of nuclear devices in 2006, 2009, 2013, 2016, and 2017; and large conventional armed forces (2025)
compulsory military service for men (17-30 years of age) and women (17-23 years of age); service obligation is reportedly up to 10 years for men and up to 7 years for women (2025)
Space Agency
National Aerospace Technology Administration (NATA; established 2013; re-named in 2023 from the National Aerospace Development Administration or NADA); State Space Development Bureau; Academy of National Defense Science; Ministry of People’s Armed Forces (2025) note: the predecessor of NATA/NADA was the Korean Committee of Space Technology (KCST), which was established in the 1980s