North Korea
North Korea, country in East Asia. It occupies the northern portion of the Korean peninsula, which juts out from the Asian mainland between the East Sea (Sea of Japan) and the Yellow Sea; North Korea covers about 55 percent of the peninsula’s land area. The country is bordered by China and Russia to the north and by the Republic of Korea (South Korea) to the south. The national capital, P’yŏngyang, is a major industrial and transport centre near the west coast.
North Korea faces South Korea across a demilitarized zone (DMZ) 2.5 miles (4 km) wide that was established by the terms of the 1953 armistice that ended fighting in the Korean War (1950–53). The DMZ, which runs for about 150 miles (240 km), constitutes the 1953 military cease-fire line and roughly follows latitude 38° N (the 38th parallel) from the mouth of the Han River on the west coast of the Korean peninsula to a little south of the North Korean town of Kosŏng on the east coast.
Land
Relief
Mountains and valleys characterize most of North Korea. The Kaema Highlands in the northeast have an average elevation of 3,300 feet (1,000 metres) above sea level and form the topographic roof of the entire Korean peninsula. Mount Paektu (9,022 feet [2,750 metres]), the highest mountain in North Korea and on the peninsula, rises at the northern edge of this plateau in the Changbaek (Changbai) Mountains along the Sino-Korean border; it is an extinct volcano topped by a large crater lake. The Nangnim Mountains run from north to south through the middle of the country, forming a divide between the eastern and western slopes of the peninsula. The Kangnam and Myohyang ranges and Mounts Ŏnjin and Myŏrak, all structural extensions of the Nangnim Mountains, extend parallel to each other toward the southwest. Large river-valley plains have developed between the western mountains; they merge along the narrow, irregular coastal plain on the west coast. The Hamgyŏng Mountains, extending from the Nangnim Mountains to the northeast, form a steep slope between the Kaema Highlands and the East Sea. The T’aebaek Mountains extend from southeastern North Korea into South Korea along the eastern coast; one peak, Mount Kŭmgang (5,374 feet [1,638 metres]), is renowned for its scenic beauty.
Drainage and soils
The longest river of North Korea is the Yalu, in Korean called the Amnok. It rises on the southern slope of Mount Paektu and flows southwestward for some 500 miles (800 km) to its mouth on Korea Bay. The Tumen (Tuman) River also begins at Mount Paektu but runs northeastward for about 325 miles (520 km) to the East Sea. There are no large streams along the east coast except for the Tumen River, and all the significant rivers, such as the Yalu, Ch’ŏngch’ŏn, Taedong, Chaeryŏng, and Yesŏng, drain to the Yellow Sea. The relatively large valley plains of the western rivers are major agricultural regions.
More than three-fifths of the soils are locally derived from the weathering of granitic rocks or various kinds of schists (crystalline rocks). The soils are generally brownish, abundant in sandy materials, and low in fertility. Well-developed reddish brown soils derived from limestone are found in North Hwanghae province and the southern part of South P’yŏngan province. Podzols (ash-gray forest soil) have developed in the Kaema Highlands as a result of the cold climate and coniferous forest cover there. Although most of the soils are infertile and lack organic content, the valleys and coastal plains have relatively rich alluvial soils.
Climate
North Korea has a generally cool continental climate. The winter season, from December to March, is long and cold; mean temperatures in January range between about 20 °F (−7 °C) in the south and −10 °F (−23 °C) in the northern interior. The summer, from June to September, is warm, with mean July temperatures above the upper 60s F (about 20 °C) in most places. Accordingly, the annual range of temperatures is large—about 54 °F (30 °C) at P’yŏngyang and about 77 °F (43 °C) at Chunggang (Chunggangjin), where the lowest temperature in the Korean peninsula, −46.5 °F (−43.6 °C), has been recorded. Because of ocean currents and the mountain ranges bordering the narrow coastal lowlands, winter temperatures on the east coast are some 5 to 7 °F (3 to 4 °C) higher than those of the west coast.
Most of the country receives about 40 inches (1,000 mm) of precipitation annually. The northern inland plateau, however, receives only about 24 inches (610 mm) and the lower reaches of the Taedong River valley 32 inches (810 mm), while the upper Ch’ŏngch’ŏn River area averages between about 48 and 52 inches (1,220 and 1,320 mm) yearly. Some three-fifths of the annual precipitation falls in the four months from June to September; this heavy concentration of rainfall is related to the humid summer monsoon from the Pacific Ocean, which also produces occasional typhoons (tropical cyclones). Only a small portion of the total precipitation occurs in winter, generally as snow; snowfall can be locally heavy, as in the T’aebaek Mountains. There are about 200 frost-free days along the coast but fewer than 120 in the northern Kaema Highlands.
People of North Korea
Ethnic groups and languages
North Korea: Ethnic composition
The Korean peninsula is one of the most ethnically homogeneous regions in the world. The North Korean population, which has been largely isolated since 1945, is almost entirely Korean; a tiny number of Chinese constitute the only other significant ethnic group. All Koreans speak the Korean language, whose relationship to other languages is disputed; it may be related to Japanese or languages of the Altaic group, and it contains many Chinese loanwords. The Korean script, known in North Korea as Chosŏn muntcha and in South Korea as han’gŭl (Hangul), is composed of phonetic symbols for the 10 vowels and 14 consonants. In North Korea a systematic effort has been made to eliminate Chinese and Western loanwords, as well as any vestiges of the Japanese imposed during the colonial period, and Chosŏn muntcha has been used exclusively without Chinese characters in newspapers and other publications since 1945.
Religion
Historically, the way of life and the value system of Koreans were based fundamentally on Confucian thought. To a lesser extent, Buddhism was also important. Roman Catholic and Protestant missionaries arrived in the 18th and 19th centuries, respectively; Sunch’ŏn and P’yŏngyang were major centres of Christian activities. The Japanese occupation beginning in the early 20th century brought increasing repression of Christianity, and by the end of World War II there were no foreign missionaries left in the country.
The monotheistic religion of Ch’ŏndogyo (“Teaching of the Heavenly Way”), originally known as Tonghak (“Eastern Learning”), was founded by the Confucian teacher Ch’oe Che-u in 1860. A combination largely of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Christianity, Ch’ŏndogyo played a leading role in the March 1st Movement of 1919. Shamanism—the religious belief in gods, demons, and ancestral spirits responsive to a priest, or shaman—existed in Korea before the introduction of Buddhism and Confucianism; its practice has nearly died out in North Korea.
The communist regime has constitutionally confirmed freedom of religion but does not practice it. Ch’ŏndogyo, however, has been used for propaganda purposes, and from the late 20th century Christianity was sometimes used as a means for contact with South Korea and the West. After the Korean War, churches and Buddhist temples were confiscated and looted, and many were converted to other purposes. Religious activity generally has remained under state control, although in the late 20th and early 21st centuries there was some increase in independent practices.
Settlement patterns
Close examination reveals numerous distinct settlement regions, each with a different natural environment and historical background. North Korea now has nine provinces, but during the Chosŏn (Yi) dynasty (1392–1910) the unified country had eight. Of those, North Korea contains what were the three provinces of P’yŏngan, Hwanghae, and Hamgyŏng and the northern parts of Kangwŏn and Kyŏnggi provinces. Each province not only was a political unit but also had characteristics of a cultural region in terms of dialect, customs, and way of life. North Korea may also be divided into the two larger traditional regions: Kwansŏ to the west and Kwanbuk to the east, roughly divided by the Nangnim Mountains. Kwansŏ comprises the current provinces of North P’yŏngan, South P’yŏngan, North Hwanghae, South Hwanghae, and Chagang, while Kwanbuk includes North Hamgyŏng, South Hamgyŏng, Yanggang, and Kangwŏn provinces.
Most of the rural population inhabits the eastern and western coastal lowlands and river-valley plains. The inland areas of Chagang and Yanggang provinces are sparsely settled because of the lack of arable land and the cold climate, which does not permit the cultivation of rice. Villages in the lowlands and valley plains usually are clustered together at the bases of the southern slopes of hills, which offer protection against the cold northwesterly winter wind. Scattered fields are tilled by a small number of shifting cultivators in the Kaema Highlands, especially in Yanggang province. The upper Yalu and Tumen river valleys contain settlements associated with lumbering, and fishing villages are numerous along the coasts, especially on the east side of the peninsula.
Cities that developed during the Japanese occupation (1910–45) were largely associated with the exploitation of natural resources, industry, and transportation. The communist regime’s heavy emphasis on manufacturing resulted in the continuous expansion of the early industrial centres and caused a population flow into the urban areas from the countryside. Most of the cities were destroyed during the Korean War (1950–53) and have since been rebuilt. Urbanization increased rapidly after the war, especially in the period 1953–60. P’yŏngyang is by far North Korea’s largest city, its population greatly outnumbering Namp’o, the second largest city. Other major cities include Hamhŭng, Ch’ŏngjin, and Kaesŏng.
Demographic trends
North Korea’s population grew fairly rapidly after the Korean War, more than doubling in size between 1953 and 1993. Although the rate of population increase began slowing in the late 20th century, it is nearly twice that of South Korea. North Korea, however, can be considered underpopulated by East Asian standards, with an overall density of only about two-fifths that in the South. The infant mortality rate is considerably higher than in the South.
The population of North Korea is unevenly distributed, with heavy concentrations along the coastlines and only sparse settlement in the interior. This imbalance has been exacerbated by the government’s emphasis on industrialization since 1945, which has promoted migration to the cities and, conversely, has produced a severe farm labour shortage. Large numbers of Koreans emigrated from the peninsula during the first half of the 20th century, mainly to China, Siberia, Japan, and the United States. In the 1960s and ’70s North Korea conducted a campaign to repatriate Koreans living in Japan; more than 90,000 people took part in the program. North Korea’s recurrent food crises—compounded by the government’s reported practice of political persecution, including the denial of food to certain groups of people for political reasons—have caused many people to escape to China. Estimates of the number of North Korean refugees in China in the early 21st century ranged from 10,000 to 300,000.
The arts
The government is heavily involved with maintaining and advancing the traditional fine arts and other cultural features as an expression of nationalism. Statues of Kim Il-sung and public art commemorating the revolution are ubiquitous. The selection of cultural items is based on communist ideology, and writers and artists attempt to enhance class consciousness and propagate the superiority and independence of Korean culture. All North Korean writers, artists, dancers, and musicians are assigned to government institutions such as the National Theatre for the Arts and the State Symphony Orchestra in P’yŏngyang and provincial organizations of music, ballet, and drama. The P’yŏngyang University of Music and Dance provides arts education. Museums have been well supported by the government, and many archaeological sites have been excavated to promote the growth of a strong nationalistic feeling. Among the country’s most notable museums are the Korean Revolution Museum and the Korean Fine Arts Museum in the capital. Archaeological sites include those located in the Nangnang district of P’yŏngyang and at Kungsan, near Yonggang.
The following is a treatment of North Korea since the Korean War. For a discussion of the earlier history of the peninsula, see Korea.
In 1948, when the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was established, Kim Il-Sung became the first premier of the North Korean communist regime. In 1949 he became chairman of the Korean Workers’ Party (KWP), created from communist parties founded earlier. Until his death in 1994, Kim ruled the country with an iron hand by promoting a personality cult centred on himself as the “Great Leader” of the Korean people.
The 1950s and ’60s
In the aftermath of the Korean War, Kim purged the so-called “domestic faction”—an indigenous communist group that had remained in Korea during the colonial period—amid much scapegoating for the disastrous war. After 1956, as the Sino-Soviet conflict intensified, Kim shifted his positions vis-à-vis Moscow and Beijing no fewer than three times: from pro-Soviet to neutral, to pro-Chinese, and finally to independent. During 1956–58, he carried out a purge against the pro-Chinese group known as the Yenan faction and eliminated a pro-Soviet faction from the KWP Central Committee.
In 1966, after a visit to P’yŏngyang by Soviet Premier Aleksey N. Kosygin, Kim announced what became known as the independent party line in North Korea, which stressed the principles of “complete equality, sovereignty, mutual respect, and noninterference among the communist and workers’ parties.” From this party line, KWP theoreticians developed four self-reliance (juche) principles: “autonomy in ideology, independence in politics, self-sufficiency in economy, and self-reliance in defense.”
In the late 1960s the regime implemented a program for strengthening the armed forces. As part of the effort to fortify the entire country, more military airfields were constructed and large underground aircraft hangars were built. In addition, a large standing army and a strong militia were maintained.
North Korea’s emphasis on strengthening its military forces proceeded hand in hand with its continued focus on the development of a self-reliant economy. With aid from the Soviet Union, China, and the countries of eastern Europe, North Korea implemented a series of economic development plans and made significant gains. But as external aid declined sharply—first from the Soviet Union beginning in the late 1950s and then from China at the start of the Cultural Revolution in the mid-1960s—the seven-year plan of 1961–67 was seriously affected, as indicated by the extension of the plan for another three years.
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North Korea: Facts & Stats
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Facts
Also Known As
Chosŏn Minjujuŭi In’min Konghwaguk • Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
Head Of State And Government
Supreme Leader1/Chairman of the State Affairs Commission: Kim Jong-Un
Capital
Population
(2023 est.) 26,161,000
Form Of Government
unitary single-party republic with one legislative house (Supreme People’s Assembly [687])
Official Language
Korean
Official Religion
none
Official Name
Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea)
Total Area (Sq Km)
123,214
Total Area (Sq Mi)
47,573
Monetary Unit
([new] North Korean) won (W)
Population Rank
(2023) 56
Population Projection 2030
26,701,000
Density: Persons Per Sq Mi
(2023) 549.9
Density: Persons Per Sq Km
(2023) 212.3
Urban-Rural Population
Urban: (2020) 62.4% • Rural: (2020) 37.6%
Life Expectancy At Birth
Male: (2022) 67.9 years • Female: (2022) 75.9 years
Literacy: Percentage Of Population Age 15 And Over Literate
Male: not available • Female: not available
Gni (U.S.$ ’000,000)
(2018) 17,517
Gni Per Capita (U.S.$)
(2018) 684
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
By 1958 all privately owned farms were incorporated into more than 3,000 cooperatives; each cooperative comprises about 300 families on about 1,200 acres (500 hectares). The farm units are controlled by management committees, which issue orders to the work teams, set the type and amount of seed and fertilizer to be used, and establish production quotas. Produce is delivered to the government, which controls distribution through state stores. There are also state and provincial model farms for research and development.
Agriculture contributes a decreasing proportion to the national economy, but there has been an overall increase in cultivated land, irrigation projects, the use of chemical fertilizers, and mechanization. Nonetheless, since the early 1990s, North Korea has had a chronic shortage of chemical fertilizers, seed grains, and farming equipment. Farmers are paid for their labour in money or in kind and are allowed to keep chickens, bees, fruit trees, and gardens. In theory, farmers can sell surplus produce at local markets that are held periodically, but with the food crisis that began in the mid-1990s, any surplus above the subsistence level disappeared. Although farmers fared relatively better than most urban workers during the lean years, even they struggled for survival.
The main food crops are grains—notably rice, corn (maize), wheat, and barley. The country formerly produced enough rice for domestic consumption, but some is now imported. Wheat had to be imported even before the period of food shortages, although wheat productivity increased after the mid-1950s. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, soybeans and other beans, vegetables, and tree fruits are raised extensively. Industrial crops include tobacco, cotton, flax, and rape (an herb grown for its oilseeds). Livestock raising is concentrated in areas poorly suited for crop raising. Livestock production has increased steadily, especially poultry production, over the country’s history. However, all sectors of agricultural production were drastically affected during the food crisis.
The northern interior contains large forest reserves of larch, spruce, and pine trees. Most of the coastal slopes have been extensively deforested, however, much of this having been done by the Japanese during World War II; reforestation programs have stressed economic forestry. Forestry production, after having declined following the war, has not grown substantially. Much of the wood cut is used as firewood. During the severe fuel shortage that accompanied the years of economic crisis, North Koreans indiscriminately—and often illegally—cut down trees for firewood. Many hillsides in the country are now barren; the loss of forest cover contributes to massive flooding in the monsoon season, which in turn leads to poor harvests and further economic hardships.
The sea is the main source of protein for North Koreans, and the government has continually expanded commercial fishing. Most fishing activity centres on the coastal areas on each side of the peninsula, although there was an increase in deep-sea fishing beginning in the late 20th century. The main species caught include pollack, sardines, mackerel, herring, pike, yellowtail, and shellfish. Aquaculture represents about one-fourth of the country’s fish production.
Resources and power
North Korea contains the great bulk of all known mineral deposits on the peninsula. It is estimated that some 200 minerals are of economic value. Most important are iron ore and coal, although greater emphasis has been given to the extraction of gold, magnesite (magnesium carbonate), lead, and zinc. Other abundant minerals include tungsten, graphite, barite (barium sulfate), and molybdenum.
Large, high-grade iron ore reserves are mined in North and South Hwanghae, South P’yŏngan, and South Hamgyŏng provinces, while deposits at Musan, North Hamgyŏng province, are of lower quality. Rich deposits of anthracite (hard coal) occur along the Taedong River—notably at Anju, north of P’yŏngyang—and near Paegam in Yanggang province. There also are lesser amounts of lignite (brown coal) in the far northeast and at Anju. North Korea’s magnesite deposits, the largest in the world, are centred on Tanch’ŏn, in South Hamgyŏng province.
Industrial development is related to the country’s large supply of electric power. During the Japanese regime hydroelectric power resources were heavily developed along the Yalu River and its upper tributaries. Power production is still based mainly on hydroelectricity, but thermal electricity is becoming important because of lower construction costs and the unreliability of hydroelectric power during the dry season. However, since the 1990s the production of electricity has declined to a critical level because of the general failure of the national economy.
Manufacturing
The industrial sector is organized into state-owned enterprises and production cooperatives, the latter being confined largely to handicrafts, marine processing, and other small-scale operations. The most important industries are iron and steel, machinery, chemicals, and textiles. Iron and steel production initially was centred at Songnim and Ch’ŏngjin but has been expanded to include the large integrated mill at Kimch’aek. Industrial and agricultural machinery is manufactured at Kangsŏn, near P’yŏngyang, and several other cities, including Hŭich’ŏn. The production of chemicals is focused on fertilizers and petrochemicals, much of the latter being manufactured in the Anju area north of P’yŏngyang. The textile industry is centred at P’yŏngyang, Sinŭiju, and Sunch’ŏn. Other products include cement, armaments, vehicles, glass, ceramics, and some consumer goods (mainly clothing and processed food).
Domestic priorities and international cooperation
Kim Il-Sung died on July 8, 1994, and his son Kim Jong Il succeeded him. However, he did not assume the posts of secretary-general of the KWP or president of North Korea. Instead, he consolidated his power over several years. In 1997 he officially became head of the KWP, and in 1998 the post of president was written out of North Korea’s constitution—Kim Il-Sung was given the posthumous title “eternal president”—and Kim Jong Il was reelected chairman of the National Defense Commission, which became the country’s highest office. (A further revision of the constitution in April 2009 added the title “supreme leader” to the description of Kim Jong Il’s position.) His regime adopted the basic guideline of “military first politics” (sŏngun chŏngch’i) to safeguard it from any unforeseen adverse impact resulting from such events as the collapse of the Soviet Union and eastern European communist regimes in the late 1980s and early 1990s and the persistent economic hardships at home.
The death of Kim Il-Sung had come at a critical time for North Korea. The country had been locked in a dispute over nuclear issues with the United States and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which had been denied access by the North Koreans to an experimental facility at Yŏngbyŏn, where it was suspected that North Korea was diverting plutonium to build nuclear weapons. In the summer of 1994 the North had been preoccupied with the transfer of power to Kim Jong Il; however, by October the United States and North Korea had signed a nuclear accord (the “Agreed Framework”). Under the terms of this agreement, the North renounced efforts to develop nuclear weapons and pledged to abide by the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (Non-proliferation Treaty; NPT), in exchange for which the United States arranged for the financing and construction of two light-water reactors (LWRs) capable of producing electric power. The agreement restored hope for North-South reconciliation and a peaceful reunification of the divided peninsula.
The United States, South Korea, and Japan formed an international consortium known as the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) for the construction of the LWRs in North Korea; South Korea was the main contractor. More than two dozen countries eventually signed onto the project, supplying material and financial help, and construction work progressed slowly but steadily for a time.
Acceleration of North Korea’s nuclear program
North Korean and U.S. officials met in Beijing in late February 2012 for talks that resulted in a pledge from North Korea to cease nuclear and missile testing and the enrichment of uranium at the Yŏngbyŏn nuclear facility in exchange for food aid from the United States. In mid-April, however, North Korea test-fired a rocket. Although the rocket broke up shortly after launch, the test garnered international disapproval and led to cancellation of the February agreement. Then in mid-December 2012 the country successfully launched southward over Japanese airspace a long-range rocket that placed a satellite in Earth orbit; debris from the launch fell into the sea east of the Philippines. The UN Security Council condemned the launch and called it a threat to regional security.
In February 2013 North Korea conducted its third successful underground nuclear test. The action was greeted with strong condemnation by the UN and governments around the world, and the country’s major ally, China, lodged a formal diplomatic protest. The expansion of North Korea’s nuclear program cast into relief the growing distance between Beijing and P’yŏngyang. Chinese Pres. Xi Jinping had expressly warned against the December 2012 missile launch, and the rejection of that advice precipitated a sharp curtailment of high-level contacts between the countries. The execution of Jang Song-Thaek, the most prominent pro-China voice in the upper echelons of North Korean politics, signaled an additional chilling of the relationship. Henceforth, any North Korean official who counseled rapprochement with Beijing risked association with the purged Jang.
While ties with China showed signs of strain, relations with South Korea remained typically uneven. Family reunions between relatives who had been separated since the Korean War took place in February 2014 in the Mount Kumgang resort area. South Korean Pres. Park Geun-Hye had suggested making the reunions a regularly scheduled event, but North Korea rejected the proposal. The following month the two countries traded artillery barrages in the Yellow Sea.