KOREA, NORTH
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 120,540 km2; land area: 120,410 km2
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Mississippi
Land boundaries: 1,671 km total; China 1,416 km, South Korea 238
km, USSR 17 km
Coastline: 2,495 km
Maritime claims:
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm;
Military boundary line: 50 nm in the Sea of Japan and the
exclusive economic zone limit in the Yellow Sea (all foreign vessels and
aircraft without permission are banned)
Disputes: short section of boundary with China is indefinite;
Demarcation Line with South Korea
Climate: temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer
Terrain: mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow
valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east
Natural resources: coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite,
iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower
Land use: arable land 18%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures
NEGL%; forest and woodland 74%; other 7%; includes irrigated 9%
Environment: mountainous interior is isolated, nearly inaccessible,
and sparsely populated; late spring droughts often followed by severe
flooding
Note: strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and USSR
PEOPLE
Population: 21,814,656 (July 1991), growth rate 1.9% (1991)
Birth rate: 24 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 30 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 66 years male, 72 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 2.5 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Korean(s); adjective--Korean
Ethnic divisions: racially homogeneous
Religion: Buddhism and Confucianism; religious activities now
almost nonexistent
Language: Korean
Literacy: NA% (male NA%, female NA%)
Labor force: 9,615,000; agricultural 36%, nonagricultural 64%;
shortage of skilled and unskilled labor (mid-1987 est.)
Organized labor: 1,600,000 members; single-trade union system
coordinated by the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea under the
Central Committee
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: Democratic People's Republic of Korea; abbreviated
DPRK
Type: Communist state; dictatorship
Capital: P'yongyang
Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and
3 special cities* (jikhalsi, singular and plural); Chagang-do,
Hamgyong-namdo, Hamgyong-bukto, Hwanghae-namdo, Hwanghae-bukto,
Kaesong-si*, Kangwon-do, Namp'o-si*, P'yongan-bukto,
P'yongan-namdo, P'yongyang-si*, Yanggang-do
Independence: 9 September 1948
Constitution: adopted 1948, revised 27 December 1972
Legal system: based on German civil law system with Japanese
influences and Communist legal theory; no judicial review of legislative
acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: Independence Day, 9 September (1948)
Executive branch: president, two vice presidents, premier, eleven
vice premiers, State Administration Council (cabinet)
Legislative branch: unicameral Supreme People's Assembly (Ch'oego
Inmin Hoeui)
Judicial branch: Central Court
Leaders:
Chief of State--President KIM Il-song (since 28 December 1972);
Designated Successor KIM Chong-il (son of President, born 16 February
1942);
Head of Government--Premier YON Hyong-muk (since NA December 1988)
Political parties and leaders: major party--Korean Workers' Party
(KWP), KIM Il-song, general secretary, and his son, KIM Chong-il,
secretary, Central Committee;
Korean Social Democratic Party, YI Kye-paek, chairman;
Chondoist Chongu Party, CHONG Sin-hyok, chairman
Suffrage: universal at age 17
Elections:
President--last held 24 May 1990 (next to be held 1994);
results--President KIM Il-song was reelected without opposition;
Supreme People's Assembly--last held on 24 May 1990 (next
to be held 1994);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(687 total) the KWP approves a single list of candidates
who are elected without opposition; minor parties hold a few seats
Communists: KWP claims membership of about 3 million
Member of: FAO, G-77, IAEA, ICAO, IFAD, IMF (observer), IMO, IOC,
ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: none
Flag: three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and
blue; the red band is edged in white; on the hoist side of the red band
is a white disk with a red five-pointed star
ECONOMY
Overview: More than 90% of this command economy is socialized;
agricultural land is collectivized; and state-owned industry produces 95%
of manufactured goods. State control of economic affairs is unusually
tight even for a Communist country because of the small size and
homogeneity of the society and the strict one-man rule of Kim. Economic
growth during the period 1984-90 averaged approximately 3%. Abundant
natural resources and hydropower form the basis of industrial
development. Output of the extractive industries includes coal, iron ore,
magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals.
Manufacturing emphasis is centered on heavy industry, with light industry
lagging far behind. Despite the use of high-yielding seed varieties,
expansion of irrigation, and the heavy use of fertilizers, North Korea
has not yet become self-sufficient in food production. Four consecutive
years of poor harvests, coupled with distribution problems, have led to
chronic food shortages. North Korea remains far behind South Korea in
economic development and living standards.
GNP: $29.7 billion, per capita $1,390; real growth rate 2%
(1990 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment rate: officially none
Budget: revenues $15.6 billion; expenditures $15.6 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA (1989)
Exports: $1.95 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--minerals, metallurgical products, agricultural
products, manufactures;
partners--USSR, China, Japan, Hong Kong, FRG, Singapore
Imports: $2.85 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--petroleum, machinery and equipment, coking coal,
grain;
partners--USSR, Japan, China, Hong Kong, FRG, Singapore
External debt: $7 billion (1991)
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: 6,440,000 kW capacity; 40,250 million kWh produced,
1,890 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries: machine building, military products, electric power,
chemicals, mining, metallurgy, textiles, food processing
Agriculture: accounts for about 25% of GNP and 36% of work force;
principal crops--rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; livestock and
livestock products--cattle, hogs, pork, eggs; not self-sufficient in
grain; fish catch estimated at 1.7 million metric tons in 1987
Economic aid: Communist countries, $1.4 billion a year in the 1980s
Currency: North Korean won (plural--won);
1 North Korean won (Wn) = 100 chon
Exchange rates: North Korean won (Wn) per US$1--2.2 (March 1991),
2.1 (January 1990), 2.3 (December 1989), 2.13 (December 1988), 0.94
(March 1987), NA (1986), NA (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
Railroads: 4,535 km total; 3,870 km 1.435-meter standard gauge,
665 km 0.762-meter narrow gauge; 159 km double track;
3,175 km electrified; government owned (1989)
Highways: about 30,000 km (1989); 98.5% gravel, crushed stone, or
earth surface; 1.5% concrete or bituminous
Inland waterways: 2,253 km; mostly navigable by small craft only
Pipelines: crude oil, 37 km
Ports: Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam, Namp'o, Wonsan, Songnim,
Najin, Sonbong
Merchant marine: 68 ships (1,000 GRT and over) totaling 465,801
GRT/709,442 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 1 short-sea passenger,
1 passenger-cargo, 58 cargo, 2 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL)
tanker, 4 bulk, 1 combination bulk
Airports: 55 total, 55 usable (est.); about 30 with
permanent-surface runways; fewer than 5 with runways over 3,659 m; 20
with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 30 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: stations--18 AM, no FM, 11 TV; 200,000 TV sets;
3,500,000 radio receivers; 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Korean People's Army (includes of the Army, Navy,
Air Force), Civil Security Forces
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 6,381,859; 3,899,606 fit for
military service; 214,690 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: $NA, 20-25% of GNP (1991 est.);
note--the officially announced but suspect figure is $1.7 billion,
6% of GNP (1991 est.)