KOREA, DEMOCRATIC
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF (DPRK)

Democratic People's Republic of Korea

Choson Minjujuui Inmin Konghwa-guk

CAPITAL: P'yŏngyang

FLAG: A wide horizontal red stripe is bordered on top and bottom by narrow blue stripes, separated from the red by thin white stripes. The left half of the red stripe contains a red five-pointed star on a circular white field.

ANTHEM: The Song of General Kim Il Sung.

MONETARY UNIT: The won (w) of 100 ch'on (or jeon) is the national currency. There are coins of 1, 5, 10, and 50 ch'on, and 1 won, and notes of 1, 5, 10, 50, and 100 won. w1 = $0.00588 (or $1 = w170) as of 2004.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: The metric system and native Korean units of measurement are used.

HOLIDAYS: New Year's Day, 1 January; Kim Jong Il's Birthday, 16 February; International Women's Day, 8 March; Kim Il Sung's Birthday, 15 April; May Day, 1 May; Liberation Day, 15 August; National Foundation Day, 9 September; Founding of the Korean Workers' Party, 10 October; Anniversary of the Constitution, 27 December.

TIME: 9 pm = noon GMT.

LOCATION, SIZE, AND EXTENT

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), often called North Korea, occupies the northern 55% of the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. It has an area of 120,540 sq km (46,541 sq mi), extending 719 km (447 mi) nne–ssw and 371 km (231 mi) ese–wnw. Comparatively, the area occupied by the DPRK is slightly smaller than the state of Mississippi. It is bordered on the n by China; on the ne by the Russia; on the e by the Sea of Japan (including East Korea Bay), known in Korea as the East Sea; on the s by the Republic of Korea (ROK); and on the s and w by the Yellow Sea and Korea Bay, with a total land boundary length of 1,673 km (1,040 mi) and a coastline of 2,495 km (1,550 mi). A demilitarized zone (DMZ), 4,000 m (13,100 ft) wide, covering 1,262 sq km (487 sq mi), and located north and south of the 38th parallel, separates the DPRK from the ROK, which occupies the southern part of the Korean Peninsula.

The DPRK's capital city, P'yŏngyang, is located in the southwestern part of the country.

TOPOGRAPHY

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is mostly mountainous. Mt. Paektu (2,744 m/9,003 ft), an extinct volcano with a scenic crater lake, is the highest point; it is located on the border with China and forms part of the Mach'ol Range. Other peaks of note include Mt. Kwanmo (2,541 m/8,337 ft), in the Hamgyong Range; Mt. Myohyang (1,909 m/6,263 ft), in the Myohyang Range, north of P'yŏngyang; and Mt. Kumgang ("Diamond Mountain," 1,638 m/5,374 ft), in the Taebaek Range in the southeast. Only about 20% of the country consists of lowlands and plains, but it is in these areas that the population is concentrated. The principal lowlands are the Unjon, P'yŏngyang, Chaeryong, Anju, and Yonbaek plains, extending from north to south along the west coast; and the Susong, Yongchon, Kilchu, Hamhung, and Yonghung plains, along the eastern shore.

The principal rivers are the Tumen and Yalu along the northern border of the peninsula, both of which rise in Mt. Paektu, and the Taedong, which flows past P'yŏngyang. The Imjin rises in the DPRK near the 38th parallel in the west and crosses into the ROK before entering the Yellow Sea. Yellow Sea tides on the west coast rise to over 9 m (30 ft) in some places; Sea of Japan tides on the east rise to only about 1 m (3 ft).

CLIMATE

The climatic range is greater than the limited size of the peninsula would suggest. The average January temperature is -17°c (1°f) at Chunggang on the north-central border and -8°c (18°f) at P'yŏngyang. In the hottest part of the summer, however, the variation is not nearly so marked, average temperatures ranging from 24°c (75°f) in P'yŏngyang to 21°c (70°f) along the relatively cool northeast coast. Spring and fall are unusually pleasant, but winters are colder than average for the latitude, and summers are hot and humid.

Precipitation is around 50 cm (20 in) along the upper reaches of the Tumen, but more than half of the peninsula receives 75–100 cm (30–40 in) per year. Nearly all the rainfall occurs in the April–September period, especially during the rainy season, from late June to early August. Typhoons occur occasionally in the early fall. Days without frost number about 180 in the northern part of the peninsula and increase toward the south.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Cold temperate vegetation, including firs, spruces, and other needled evergreens, predominate in mountainous areas of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), with alpine varieties flourishing at the higher altitudes. There are over 2,800 species of plants. The hilly terrain of Mt. Paektu is believed to be the peninsula's last remaining habitat for Siberian tigers and is also, along with other alpine areas, the home of bears, wild boar, deer, snow leopards, and lynx. Common at lower elevations are the roe deer, Amur goral, wolf, water shrew, and muskrat. The more than 150 birds species seen in the DPRK include the black Manchurian ring-necked pheasant, black grouse, and three-toed woodpecker; the hawk owl, lesser-spotted woodpecker, and willow tit are indigenous to Mt. Paektu.

ENVIRONMENT

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has environmental problems in the area of water pollution from agricultural and industrial sources. The nation has 67 cu km of renewable water resources, with 73% used for farming activity and 16% used for industrial purposes. In 1992, the DPRK was among the 20 countries with the world's highest levels of industrial carbon dioxide emissions, which totaled 253.7 million metric tons, a per capita level of 11.21 metric tons. In 1996, the total rose to 254.3 million metric tons. In 2000, the total of carbon dioxide emissions dropped to 188.9 million metric tons.

The Korean government has established 220 facilities to regulate environmental conditions, industrial areas, protected land, and water reserves. The government also created the Law of Environmental Protection. In 2003, about 2.6% of the total land area was protected. According to a 2006 report issued by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), threatened species included 12 types of mammals, 22 species of birds, 1 species of amphibian, 5 species of fish, 1 species of invertebrate, and 3 species of plants. Endangered species in the DPRK included the tiger (particularly the Siberian tiger), Amur leopard, Oriental white stork, Japanese crested ibis, and Tristram's woodpecker. The Japanese sea lion has become extinct.

POPULATION

The population of North Korea in 2005 was estimated by the United Nations (UN) at 22,912,000, which placed it at number 47 in population among the 193 nations of the world. In 2005, approximately 8% of the population was over 65 years of age, with another 27% of the population under 15 years of age. There were 100 males for every 100 females in the country. According to the UN, the annual population rate of change for 2005–10 was expected to be 0.9%, a rate the government viewed as satisfactory. The projected population for the year 2025 was 25,755,000. The population density was 190 per sq km (492 per sq mi), with the majority of the population residing in the southern regions and the mountainous northern border being the most sparsely populated.

The UN estimated that 60% of the population lived in urban areas in 2005, and that urban areas were growing at an annual rate of 0.93%. The capital city, P'yŏngyang, had a population of 3,228,000 in that year. Other large cities and their estimated populations include Hamhung, with 848,000 inhabitants; Ch'ŏngjin, 600,000; Sinúiju, 349,500; and Kaesŏng, 334,433.

MIGRATION

During the generation of Japanese occupation (1910–45), some 3 million Koreans, mainly from the northern provinces, emigrated to Manchuria and parts of China, 700,000 to Siberia, some 3 million to Japan, and about 7,000 to the United States (mostly to Hawaii). From the end of World War II in 1945 through 1950, at least 1.2 million Koreans crossed the 38th parallel into the South Korea (Republic of Korea—ROK), refugees either from Communism or from the Korean War. Repatriation of overseas Koreans is actively encouraged in an attempt to ameliorate the nation's chronic labor shortages. Between 1945 and 1950, an estimated 300,000 Koreans were repatriated from Manchuria and Siberia; over 93,000 of about 600,000 Koreans in Japan were repatriated to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) between December 1959 and the end of 1974. The General Association of Korean Residents in Japan actively promotes DPRK cause, and the P'yŏngyang government subsidizes some Korean schools on Japanese soil. Some 250,000 people of Korean origin in Japan have links to the DPRK, providing $600–$1,800 million in annual remittances to relatives.

Under a 1986 treaty with China, North Koreans apprehended as illegal immigrants in China are quickly returned to the DPRK and executed. Between 1992 and 1996, about 1,000 North Koreans fled to China, where refugees can avoid detection within large ethnic Korean communities. Both China and South Korea have begun to construct refugee camps in anticipation of a mass exodus of the population should the North Korean government collapse. According to Migration News, in 2003 an estimated 150,000 North Koreans living in northern China's Primorye region bordering North Korea and China were made an offer allowing them to settle there. About 2,500 North Koreans worked in Primorye in 2003; the number was estimated at 5,000 in 2004; some 40,000 ethnic Korean Russians live in Primorye and another 40,000 on the neighboring island of Sakhalin. In 2005, the net migration rate was zero migrants per 1,000 population.

ETHNIC GROUPS

The Koreans are believed to be descended primarily from Tungusic peoples of the Mongoloid race, who originated in the cold northern regions of Central Asia. There is scant evidence of non-Mongoloid admixture. There is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese; however, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has no sizable ethnic minority.

LANGUAGES

The Korean language is usually acknowledged as a member of the Altaic family and is clearly related to other agglutinative tongues such as Turkish, Mongolian, and Japanese. Linguistic unification of the Korean Peninsula apparently followed political unification in the 7th century ad, and today the dialect differences are comparatively slight.

Korean is written with a largely phonetic alphabet called Han'gul. Created in 1443 under the great King Sejong, the Korean alphabet originally consisted of 14 consonants and 10 vowels; since then, 5 consonants and 11 vowels have been added. Han'gul letters are combined into syllables by clustering, in imitation of Chinese characters. Before the invention of Han'gul, Koreans wrote in Chinese, which continued to be both the official language and the language of most literature until the beginning of the 20th century. With the beginning of the Japanese colonial administration in 1910, Japanese became the official language, and the use of Korean was restricted.

Since 1949, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has used only Han'gul (calling it Choson Muntcha) for writing. North Korean linguists have studied Han'gul extensively, publishing comprehensive dictionaries in 1963 and 1969. In 1964, Kim Il Sung called for purification of Korean by replacing borrowings from English and Japanese with native Korean or familiar Chinese terms. The traditional honorifics of polite language remain in use, though in simplified forms, and have been sanctioned by the government.

Some Chinese (Mandarin dialect) and Russian are spoken in border areas.

RELIGIONS

The constitution provides for freedom of religious belief, but in practice the government discourages all organized religious activity except that which serves the interests of the state. Real religious freedom does not exist. The constitution also states that "no one can use religion as a means to drag in foreign powers" or to disrupt the social order.

According to current government estimates, a majority of the population professed no religion or were avowed atheists. However, foreign observers indicate that religious activity within the country is much greater than the government suggests. Indigenous shamanism, notable for its emphasis on exorcising evil spirits, is practiced by a small percentage of the population, mostly in rural areas. The government reports that about 40,000 people are followers of the Ch'ondogyo Young Friends Party, a government-approved group based on the earlier religious movement that was forced underground in 1948. Ch'ondogyo offers an eclectic blend of both Christian and Buddhist elements. The government also estimates that 10,000 Buddhists remain active despite the conversion of many Buddhist temples to secular uses.

Up to the mid-1940s, P'yŏngyang was an important center of Korean Christianity. Most of the nation's Christians, predominantly Protestants, fled to the Republic of Korea—ROK (South Korea) to escape persecution between 1945 and 1953. Christians make up less than 1% of the population, or about 14,000 people, according to the government. A number of Christian churches are overseen by lay leaders, since there are very few ordained priests and ministers. House churches may be more common among Christians; however, since these meetings are generally kept secret, there was no exact data concerning membership or participation. Those caught proselytizing may be arrested and are subject to harsh penalties.

The constitution provides for freedom of religious beliefs, but in practice the government strongly discourages any religious activities that are not under official control. The principles of Juche, the government ideology of self-reliance, and the personality cult surrounding the "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-Il, have taken on the form of civil religion used by the government for the basis of its rule.

TRANSPORTATION

The rail network, which has been rebuilt and extended following its almost complete destruction during the Korean War, is the principal means of transportation, carrying nearly all of the nation's freight and most of its passenger traffic. In 2004, railways in use comprised 5,214 km (3,243 mi) of standard gauge track, of which 3,500 km (2,177 mi) have been electrified. The principal lines run along the west coast from P'yŏngyang to Sinúiju and across the peninsula from P'yongyang to Wonsan, Hamhung, and Ch'ŏngjin. A northern line, completed in the early 1980s, links P'yŏngyang to Hyesan and Musan. The major trunk routes are electrified. A subway system opened in P'yŏngyang in 1973 and was expanded under the 1978–84 development plan. There are also train services to Moscow and Beijing.

Road transportation is of secondary importance. In 2002, highways totaled an estimated 31,200 km (19,388 mi), of which only 1,997 km (1,241 mi) were paved. The exceptions are a superhighway connecting P'yŏngyang with Kaesŏng and two multilane highways, which link the national capital with the ports of Wonsan and Namp'o.

Most of the nation's 2,253 km (1,400 mi) of navigable waterways are suitable for small craft only. Rivers utilized for freight transportation are the Yalu, Taedong, and Chaeryong. The principal ports are Namp'o on the west coast, and Ch'ŏngjin and Hŭngnam (Hamhung) on the east coast. In 2005, there were 238 ships in the merchant fleet of 1,000 gross registered tonnage (GRT) or more, with a total capacity of 985,108 GRT. In 2004, there were an estimated 78 airports. As of 2005, a total of 35 had paved runways, and there were also 20 heliports. Limited air services connect P'yŏngyang with other cities within the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and in China and the former USSR. In 2003, about 75,000 passengers were carried on scheduled domestic and international flights.

HISTORY

The history of the Korean people begins with the migration into the Korean Peninsula of Tungusic tribes from northern China and Manchuria about 3,000 bc. The archaeological evidence indicates that these tribes possessed a Neolithic culture. It was not until about the 8th century bc that the art of metalworking came to Korea from China. The recorded history of Korea begins around 194 bc, when the ancient kingdom of Choson ("Land of Morning Calm") in northwestern Korea was seized by Wiman, a military figure from China of either Chinese or Korean origin. He usurped the throne from a king who, according to legend, was a descendant of Kija, a historical Chinese nobleman who emigrated from China at the end of the Shang dynasty (c.1122 bc). A popular Korean legend of much later origin asserts that Kija was preceded in his rule over the Korean Peninsula by a dynasty started in 2333 bc by the semi-divine figure Tan-gun, an offspring of the son of the divine creator and a "bear woman" (possibly a woman from a beartotem tribe). Both Tan-gun and Kija are still widely revered.

The primitive state controlled by Wiman's successors fell victim to expanding Chinese power in 108 bc, and more than four centuries of Chinese colonial rule followed. During this period, the advanced Chinese culture slowly spread into nearly every corner of Korea, giving impetus to the coalescence of the loosely knit Korean tribes into statelike formations. By ad 313, when the Chinese power was destroyed, three Korean kingdoms had emerged: Paekche, in the southwest; Silla, in the southeast; and Koguryo, in the northwest. The three kingdoms had advanced cultures for the time, each compiling a written history during the 4th–6th centuries. During the same period, Buddhism was introduced into Korea, from which it was later taken to Japan. Ultimately, the Silla kingdom crushed the other two and united all but the northernmost portion of the peninsula, ushering in the age of the Silla Unification (668–900). After rebellions broke out, Korea again suffered a threefold division until reunification was achieved in 936 under the leadership of Wang Kon, who proclaimed a new dynasty in the kingdom of Koryo (founded in 918), which derived its name from Koguryo; the name Korea is derived from Koryo.

Chinese influence on political and social institutions and on Korean thought went on at an accelerated pace during the Koryo period, and there were some notable cultural achievements, including the traditional invention of the use of movable metal type in printing in 1234. Beginning in 1231, however, the Mongols invaded Koryo, devastating the land and, from 1259 on, making puppets of the Korean kings. Following a revolt against the Mongol Empire in 1356 and a subsequent period of disorder, Gen. Yi Song-gye assumed the throne as King T'aejo in 1392, adopting the name Choson for Korea, moving the capital from Kaesŏng (the capital of Koryo since 918) to Seoul, and ushering in the long-lived Yi (or Li) Dynasty (1392–1910).

The first hundred years of Yi rule witnessed truly brilliant cultural achievements, especially during the reign of King Sejong (1418–50). The world's first authenticated casting of movable metal type was made in 1403. The Korean alphabet, Han'gul, was developed. A rain gauge was invented and put into use throughout the peninsula. A spate of basic texts—including histories, geographies, administrative codes, and works on music—were compiled and issued under state auspices. Scholars competed for government posts through the civil service examination system. By about 1500, however, factionalism divided the kingdom, and the Yi rulers were ill prepared to meet foreign invasion. In 1592, in the course of an attempt to conquer China, the Japanese, under Hideyoshi Toyotomi, invaded Korea and were repulsed by an allied Chinese army and the Korean navy under Yi Sun-sin; in 1597, there was another invasion, which ended with Hideyoshi's death in 1598. After being invaded by the Manchus in 1636, Korea became a vassal state, eventually falling under the official but loose control of the Qing (Ch'ing), or Manchu, dynasty in China. During the 18th century, two energetic kings, Yongjo (r.1724–76) and Chongjo (r.1776–1800), were able to arrest the process of dynastic decline. The intellectual and cultural revival that they engendered, known as the Practical Learning Movement (Sirhak), was short-lived, however, and the Yi kingdom's bitterest century followed.

The first six decades of the 19th century were marked by a succession of natural disasters, by mounting peasant unrest and insurrection, and by administrative relapse into hopeless corruption and inefficiency. Eventually, a Korean figure came forward to attempt to rescue the dynasty from impending collapse. This was Yi Ha-leng, known as the Taewon'gun (prince regent), who was the father of the king, Kojong, and held the actual power during the decade 1864–73. While his domestic reforms were generally enlightened and beneficial, he adopted an isolationist policy, including persecution of the growing Roman Catholic community in Korea. Such a policy was doomed to failure. Soon after the Taewon'gun's downfall, the Kanghwa Treaty of 1876 with Japan opened Korea by force both to Japan and to the clamoring Western nations. During the last quarter of the 19th century, Korea was the prize in a complex rivalry for mastery of the peninsula among Japan, China, Western imperialist powers, and domestic political forces. Japan seized upon the pretext of peasant uprisings in Korea's southern provinces (the Tonghak Rebellion, led by followers of what later came to be called the Ch'ondogyo religion) during 1894–95 to destroy the waning Chinese power in Korea in the First Sino-Japanese War. A decade later, Japan turned back a Russian bid for supremacy in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–5). In 1910, with the tacit approval of the United States and the European powers, the Yi Dynasty came to an end with the formal annexation of Korea by Japan.

The Democratic People's Republic

For 35 years, Korea (renamed Choson) remained under the Japanese yoke, until liberated by US and Soviet troops at the end of World War II. Although Japanese colonial rule brought Korea considerable economic development along modern Western lines, the benefits went primarily to the Japanese, and the process was accompanied by ever harsher political and cultural oppression. The Korean people staged a nationwide passive resistance movement beginning on 1 March 1919 (the Samil or "March 1" Movement), only to have it swiftly and brutally crushed by their Japanese overlords. In the 1920s and 1930s, nationalist and Communist movements developed both within Korea and among Korean exiles in the former USSR, Manchuria (which was occupied by Japan in 1931), and the rest of China. After the onset of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, the Japanese aimed to eradicate Korean national identity; even the use of the Korean language was banned.

After Japan accepted the Potsdam Declaration for unconditional surrender on 14 August 1945, the 38th parallel was chosen, as a result of US initiative, as a line of demarcation between Soviet occupation forces (who had entered the north on 8 August) and US occupation forces (who were introduced on 8 September). While the Americans set up a full military government allied with conservative Korean political forces, the Soviets allied their government with leftist and Communist Korean forces led by Kim Il Sung, who had been an anti-Japanese guerrilla leader in Manchuria. After a joint commission set up by the United States and the USSR failed to agree on plans for the reunification of Korea, the problem was placed on the United Nations (UN) agenda in September 1947. In accordance with a UN resolution, elections were held on 10 May 1948 in South Korea alone; North Korea did not recognize UN competency to sponsor the elections. The newly elected National Assembly formulated a democratic constitution and chose Syngman Rhee, who had been the leader of an independence movement in exile, to be the first president of the Republic of Korea (ROK), proclaimed on 15 August 1948. On 9 September, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) was established in the north, with Kim Il Sung at the helm. Like its southern counterpart, the DPRK claimed to be the legitimate government of all Korea. In December, however, the ROK was acknowledged by the UN General Assembly as the only government in Korea to have been formed according to the original UN mandate. The next year and a half brought sporadic border clashes between the two Koreas, coupled with increasing guerrilla activity in the south.

On 25 June 1950, the People's Army of the DPRK struck across the 38th parallel at dawn in a move to unify the peninsula under Communist control. The DPRK forces advanced rapidly; Seoul, the ROK capital, fell within three days, and the destruction of the ROK seemed imminent. At US urging, the UN Security Council branded the DPRK an aggressor and called for the withdrawal of the attacking forces. President Harry S. Truman ordered US air and naval forces into battle on 27 June and ground forces three days later. A multinational UN Command was then created to join with and lead the South Koreans. An amphibious landing at Inch'on (15 September) in the ROK under General Douglas MacArthur brought about the complete disintegration of the DPRK's military position.

MacArthur then made a fateful decision to drive into the north. As the UN forces approached the Yalu River, China warned that it would not tolerate a unification of the peninsula under US/UN auspices. After several weeks of threats and feints, "volunteers" from the Chinese People's Liberation Army entered the fighting en masse, forcing MacArthur into a costly pell-mell retreat back down the peninsula. The battle line stabilized nearly along the 38th parallel, where it remained for two years. On 27 July 1953, an armistice agreement was finally signed by the North Korean People's Army, the Chinese volunteers, and the UN Command at P'anmunjom in the DPRK, ending a conflict that had cost the lives of an estimated 415,000 South Koreans, 23,300 Americans (combat dead), and 3,100 UN allies; casualties among Communist forces were officially estimated by the DPRK at 50,000 but may have been as high as two million. A military demarcation line, which neither side regarded as a permanent border, was established, surrounded by the DMZ. After the armistice agreement, all but a token force of UN Command troops withdrew, except those of the United States, which in 1954 guaranteed the security of the ROK under a mutual defense treaty. A postwar international conference held in 1954 to resolve the problem of Korea's political division was unable to find a satisfactory formula for reunification. Meanwhile, the DPRK, with the aid of China and the former USSR, began to restore its war-damaged economy. A series of purges consolidated political power in the hands of Kim Il Sung and his supporters. By the end of the 1950s, Kim had emerged as the unchallenged leader of the DPRK and the focus of a personality cult that developed around him and his family.

In 1972, the government replaced the original 1948 constitution with a new document (which would be further revised in 1992), and reunification talks, stalled since 1954, resumed under Red Cross auspices, though without lasting effect. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, as part of its cold war with the ROK, the DPRK extended its diplomatic relations to over 100 countries. The ROK continued to charge the DPRK with attempts at sabotage and subversion, including infiltration by tunnels under the DMZ. In the 1980s, Korea's basic divisions remained unresolved. In 1980, President Kim proposed that both North and South Korea be reunited as a confederal state, with each part retaining regional autonomy and its own ideological and social system, but the ROK has rejected the concept; the DPRK has likewise rejected the ROK's repeated proposals for the resumption of North–South talks on reunification unless the United States is a third party in the negotiations, but neither the ROK nor the United States has accepted that condition. Kim was unanimously reelected president in May 1990, and his son, Kim Jong Il (1942–), groomed since the 1960s as his designated successor, appeared to be running the nation's day-today affairs, though without the benefit of any formal administrative post. Indications of an improvement in relations between the North and South included material relief provided by the DPRK to the ROK after a flood in 1984, talks under Red Cross auspices that led to a brief reunion of separated families in 1985, economic discussions, and interparliamentary contacts. The DPRK did not participate in the 1988 summer Olympic Games, officially hosted by the ROK, since it was not named as cohost.

During the 1990s, the DPRK was less able to rely on its allies, the large communist states of the former Soviet Union and China. In 1990, the Soviet Union and the ROK opened formal diplomatic relations however, by 1991, the collapse of the Soviet Union cut off an important source of economic and political support for the DPRK. After a break of 12 years since the DPRK sided with the former Soviet Union in the Sino-Soviet clash of 1969, China and the DPRK reestablished ties in 1982. In 1990, China and the ROK began to encourage mutual trade and in 1992 established formal diplomatic relations. Beginning in 1993, China demanded that all its exports to the DPRK be paid for with cash instead of through barter. The DPRK found itself increasingly isolated and in severe economic difficulty. Reunification talks and the DPRK's relations with the United States took on added urgency as the DPRK sought international recognition and economic aid.

In the first half of the 1990s, the DPRK's foreign relations revolved around issues of joint US–ROK military exercises and of nuclear capabilities. Repeatedly, since 1986, the DPRK canceled negotiations with the ROK during the annual "Team Spirit" exercises of US and ROK militaries. In 1991, the United States withdrew its nuclear weapons from the ROK and the two Koreas signed a bilateral agreement to create a nuclear-free peninsula. Yet it was suspected that the DPRK was developing the capability to reprocess nuclear fuels and build nuclear weapons. (Both the ROK and Japan had stockpiles of plutonium.) Conflicts over the access of an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspection team, which the DPRK allowed into North Korea in May 1994, to a reprocessing plant led to new tensions. These tensions were defused with an agreement for high-level talks between the United States and the DPRK, previously refused by the United States, to be held on 8 July 1994, followed on 25 July by a summit in P'yŏngyang between the presidents of the two Koreas, the first such summit since Korea was divided in 1945.

On 8 July 1994, just as the US–DPRK talks were beginning, President Kim Il Sung died, and the talks were suspended. Kim Jong Il replaced his father as leader of the country, without assuming Kim Il Sung's previous titles of state president and general secretary of the Korean Workers Party. The official mourning period for Kim Il Sung was extended to three years.

On 10 September 1995, Russia advised the DPRK that it would not extend the 1961 treaty on friendship, cooperation, and mutual assistance. The DPRK closed the Neutral Nations Supervisory Committee offices in the northern half of the joint security area at Panmunjom in an effort to dismantle the Military Armistice Agreement in May 1994, following the expulsion of the Czech and Polish representatives and the withdrawal of China, one of the three original signatories to the agreement. This post-Cold War framework was designed to pressure the United States into guaranteeing the DPRK's survival by means of a bilateral peace treaty. Marshall O Jin U, the armed forces supreme commander and second in the hierarchy behind Kim Il Sung, died 25 February 1995. He had been a prominent symbol of military acceptance of the younger Kim.

After he had served as North Korea's de facto leader for four years without formally being named as president, Kim Jong Il's position was made official. On 5 September 1998, the Supreme People's Assembly paid tribute to his father, Kim Il Sung, by permanently abolishing the post of president, which left Kim Jong Il, in his capacity as Chairman of the National Defense Commission, the nation's top political official. At the same session, the assembly approved a number of other changes to the nation's constitution.

Later in 1998, tensions over North Korea's nuclear capabilities were revived when it reportedly fired a three-stage ballistic missile into the Pacific; claims that the vehicle was a satellite launcher were initially greeted with skepticism on the part of the United States and Japan, over which it had been fired.

Widespread flooding, due in part to North Korea's efforts to expand the land under collectivization by massive deforestation, has led to a national famine. Relief efforts have not been able to raise nearly enough food to feed North Korea's starving population. The policies of North Korea's government have led to reticence on the part of those nations that normally would have contributed to the UN-sponsored World Food Program (WPF). Nevertheless, in 1998, the WPF mounted the largest aid effort on record in an attempt to save millions of North Koreans from starvation. That year, the DPRK accepted nearly $1 billion in food aid. Famine conditions continued into 2005, although it appeared the worst of the famine had receded. The UN estimated that between one and two million North Koreans have died as a result of famine, economic mismanagement, and restrictions on the flow of information; approximately half of the population suffers from malnutrition. Another factor contributing to the economy's poor performance, before and after the natural disasters of the 1990s, was the disproportionately large percentage of monies that were allocated to the military; some reports claim more than 25% of the GNP was spent for both offensive and defensive purposes. In 2005, North Korea had the fourth-largest army in the world. It had an estimated 1.2 million armed personnel, compared to about 650,000 in the South; 20% of men ages 17–54 are in the regular armed forces.

Due to economic reforms in 2002, a rudimentary free-market system in North Korea came into existence, mainly in the countryside, which allowed farmers to sell their products as their main source of income. However, the North Korean economy is absolutely centrally planned and a large informal or black market exists for items such as food, clothes, appliances, and even cosmetics. The government assigns all jobs and prohibits private property. The government retains a high level of discrimination by giving all citizens security ratings of "core," "wavering," or "hostile." The lower the rating the harder it is to find employment, educational opportunities, residence and access to medical facilities. An increasing problem for North Korea is illegal migration of North Koreans into China to escape these harsh political and economic conditions.

As part of an effort to bring North Korea out of its self-imposed isolation, its government renewed diplomatic initiatives toward the South that had been interrupted by the death of Kim Il Sung in 1994. What became known as South Korean president Kim Dae Jung's "sunshine policy" of rapprochement toward the North resulted in the signing of a joint agreement at a summit in P'yŏngyang between Kim Dae Jung and Kim Jong Il in June 2000. In 2003, incoming South Korean president Roh Moo Hyun pledged to continue the "sunshine policy," but by then relations with North Korea had deteriorated due to revelations in October 2002 that North Korea was undertaking a program to enrich uranium for use in nuclear weapons. This revelation came on the heels of US president George W. Bush's January 2002 State of the Union Address, in which he labeled North Korea (along with Iran and Iraq) a state that endangers the peace of the world by supporting terrorism and pursuing weapons of mass destruction (chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons). In late 2002, North Korea accused the United States of not adhering to the Agreed Framework between the two countries, established in 1994, in that the United States' construction of two light-water reactors in North Korea was far behind schedule. The North demanded the IAEA remove seals and surveillance equipment from its Yongbyon power plant, which the IAEA said was in danger of reprocessing spent fuel rods for plutonium.

In January 2003, North Korea announced it would withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. In March, four armed North Korean fighter jets intercepted a US reconnaissance plane in international air space over the Sea of Japan about 150 miles off North Korea's coast, and shadowed it for 22 minutes. The US plane broke off its mission and returned to its base in Japan, unharmed. On 1 April, the United States announced that stealth fighters sent to South Korea for a training exercise were to remain there once the exercises ended. Later that month, talks were held between US and North Korean officials in Beijing; the talks ended in mutual recrimination, when US officials indicated the North had admitted it possessed nuclear weapons. The US announced on 6 June 2003 that it would redeploy some of its 37,000 troops from the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea, in an attempt to enhance security and create a more agile and mobile force in the region. On 9 June, North Korea stated it would be necessary to develop a "nuclear deterrent" to reduce conventional weapons and funnel resources to programs that benefit its citizens, and to respond to the hostile stance taken by the United States with regard to North Korea.

In September 2004 there was an immense explosion in the country, which North Korea claimed was the demolition of a mountain, but which political analysts believe may have been nuclear bomb testing. In February 2005, American officials claimed North Korea had admitted to having at least one nuclear weapon, although it had been not proven and was refuted by North Korea. However, the greatest fear is not that North Korea would create nuclear bombs for their own use but that they would sell plutonium or enriched uranium to rogue states or terrorists. In 2005, China proposed, through the UN, that North Korea be allowed to retain a peaceful nuclear program after abandoning its weapons—a proposal that North Korea rejected. North Korea demanded concessions, most notably a nuclear reactor for generating electricity, before disarming. The United States, however, would not acquiesce to this demand, citing North Korea's history of pursuing atomic bombs. In late 2005, after two years of six-nation talks, North Korea agreed to dismantle its nuclear program in exchange for energy aid, economic cooperation and security assurances, although implementation of the program was not expected to begin for several more years.

GOVERNMENT

In theory, the highest organ of state power is the unicameral Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), with 687 members in 2005. In practice, however, governmental control rests with the leadership of the Korean Workers' (Communist) Party and the military. SPA members are elected every five years and meet for only a few days each year to ratify decisions made by other governmental and party organs. As part of a series of constitutional changes made by the SPA in its 1998 session, a Presidium was created to operate as the top governmental body between sessions of the SPA, performing functions that formerly belonged to a 19-member Standing Committee and the 24-member Central People's Committee.

Under the constitution (first adopted in 1948, completely revised in 1972, and again in 1992 and 1998), the SPA also elected the president of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK); however, as of 1998, following the death of Kim Il Sung four years earlier, the post of president was abolished. In addition, the responsibilities of the cabinet (formerly called the Administrative Council) were expanded.

The state ideology is self-reliance (Chuch'e or Juche), the Korean version of Marxism-Leninism that was formulated in 1930 and adopted by the party in 1955. Under the new constitution (which created the post of president), Kim Il Sung, who had previously held state power as premier (1948–72), was elected to the presidency in 1972 and reelected in 1977, 1982, 1986, and 1990. Kim Il Sung died 8 July 1994. Kim Jong Il assumed his father's responsibilities and was formally acknowledged as the nation's leader at the 1998 session of the SPA. Hong Song Nam has been premier since September 1998.

Suffrage extends to all men and women 17 years of age or older. Elections are on a single slate of Communist-approved candidates, on a yes or no basis. Following elections, it is usually asserted that nearly all those eligible voted and that their votes were unanimously in favor of the candidates.

POLITICAL PARTIES

The Korean Workers' (Communist) Party, the ruling party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), was formed on 10 October 1945 through a merger of the Communist Party and the New Democratic Party. By the mid-1980s, party membership was estimated to have risen to over three million, or about 16% of the population, the largest percentage of any Communist country. The principal party organ is the National Party Congress. The congress adopts the party program and approves the political line set by its Central People's Committee. The party constitution states that a congress is to be convened every four years; however, as of 2003, no party congress had been convened since 1980.

To guide the party between sessions of the National Party Congress, the congress elects a Central People's Committee and a Central Auditing Commission, which looks after the party's financial affairs. The Central People's Committee elects the 10 members of the Politburo (Political Bureau). At the top of the party hierarchy is the Presidium of the Politburo, of which the only remaining member is Kim Jong Il. The other members either died or were dismissed, but a new Politburo could not be appointed because the party congress has not met. In October 1997, Kim Jong Il was named to succeed his father as general secretary of the party.

A "united front" policy confers nominal status on two ostensibly non-Communist political parties: the Korean Social Democratic Party, founded in 1945 and known as the Korean Democratic Party until 1981, and the Friends Party, founded in 1946 for adherents of the Ch'ondogyo faith.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Of Korea's 13 historic provinces (do), 6 were wholly or partly within the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) after 1945. The Communist regime subsequently established two new provinces and divided another into two sections, thus raising the number of provinces to nine: North P'yongan, South P'yongan, Chagang, North Hwanghae, South Hwanghae, Kangwon, North Hamgyong, South Hamgyong, and Yanggang. In addition, there are four provincial-level cities under the central government (P'yŏngyang, the capital, and Kaesŏng, Najin Sonbong, and Namp'o). The provinces are divided into cities (si), counties (kun), or districts (kuyok) and villages (eup), towns (ri), blocks (dong), or workers' districts. There are currently 24 ordinary cities, 146 counties, 31 districts, 2 subdistricts, 3,255 villages, 146 towns, 1,137 blocks, and 255 workers' districts.

There are people's assemblies and people's committees at all levels of administration. Members of the people's assemblies are elected for four-year terms at the provincial level and for two-year terms at the county, township, and village levels. The assemblies supervise public, economic, and cultural activities. They also elect and recall people's committees, which are the permanent executive and administrative organs of the state at the local level.

JUDICIAL SYSTEM

The judicial system consists of the Central Court, formerly called the Supreme Court; the courts of provinces, cities, and counties; and special courts (courts-martial and transport courts). Most cases are tried in the first instance by people's courts at the city or county level. Provincial courts try important cases and examine appeals from lower-court judgments. Members of the Central Court are named by the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA); lower courts are appointed by the people's assemblies at the corresponding level. A prosecutor-general, who is also appointed by the SPA, is the country's chief law enforcement officer. He appoints prosecutors at the provincial, city, and county levels. The Central Court is the final court of appeal for criminal and civil cases and has initial jurisdiction over grievous crimes against the state. The Central Court supervises all lower courts and the training of judges. It is staffed by a chief judge or president, two associate chief judges or vice presidents, and an unknown number of regular judges.

The People's Courts are the lowest level of the judicial system. They are organized at the county (kun ) level, even though they may have jurisdiction over more than one county or smaller city. Unlike the high courts, they are staffed with a single judge, who is assisted by two "people's assessors," laymen who are temporarily selected for the judiciary. An initial trial is typically presided over by one judge and two people's assessors. If the case is appealed, three judges preside, and a decision is made by consultation.

Judges at the city and county levels serve two-year terms and are usually Korea Workers' Party members. The law bans all independent civic groups, social welfare groups, and labor unions. Strikes, collective bargaining, or other types of organized activity are also illegal. The penal code (8 chapters, 161 articles) was adopted by the SPA on 5 February 1987. Punishment for criminal behavior is determined by both the type of crime, political or nonpolitical, and the status of the individual. Penalties for various types of crimes range from imprisonment, forced labor, banishment to remote areas, fines, loss of privileges or work status, and reeducation to death. Due to the revision of the penal code in 1998, there are only 5 offences that merit the death penalty, decreased from 20: plots against national sovereignty, terrorism, treason against the motherland by citizens, treason against the people, and murder.

Although a penal code and a judicial system exist, prosecution of alleged crimes against the state is conducted outside the judicial system and in secret. There are no known recidivism statistics.

There are several types of detention camps for convicted prisoners. Political criminals are sent to separate concentration camps managed by the State Security Department. Reports from defectors in 2005 were that 150,000–200,000 political prisoners and family members were being detained in security camps in remote areas. Refugees have also reported the occurrence of medical and scientific experiments on political prisoners. The government prohibits live births in prison and there are reports of forced abortion and infanticide. Emigration and defection are illegal.

North Korea is not party to the International Court of Justice, but is a member of the United Nations.

ARMED FORCES

Out of an estimated 1,106,000 personnel on active duty in 2005, an estimated 950,000 were in the Army, an estimated 46,000 in the Navy, and 110,000 in the Air Force. An additional 4.7 million were in the reserves, and there was a civilian Worker/Peasant Red Guard militia of 3.5 million. The Army's equipment roster included more than 3,500 main battle tanks, over 560 light tanks, an undisclosed number of armored infantry fighting vehicles, more than 2,500 armored personnel carriers, and over 17,900 artillery pieces. Major naval units included 88 tactical submarines, 3 frigates, 6 corvettes, 301 patrol/coastal vessels, and 23 mine warfare ships. The Air Force had 590 combat capable aircraft, including 299 fighters and 211 fighter ground attack aircraft. The service also had 24 attack helicopters. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has admitted to developing a nuclear weapons program. North Korea has provided advisors to 12 African countries. The Ministry of Public Security controls 189,000 internal security force personnel. The defense budget in 2005 was estimated at $1.9 billion. Because of the secrecy inherent in the DPRK, reliability of the figures provided is uncertain, as is information on the combat readiness of its forces.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

During the mid-1970s, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) came out of its relative isolation to pursue a vigorous international diplomacy. By 1986, it had diplomatic relations with 103 countries, including 67 that also had relations with the Republic of Korea (ROK). The DPRK became a member of the United Nations on 17 September 1991 and belongs to several nonregional specialized UN agencies, including the FAO, ICAO, IFAD, IMO, ITU, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, and WMO. The county is also a part of the ASEAN Regional Forum, G-77, and the Nonaligned Movement.

The DPRK retains treaties of friendship, cooperation, and mutual defense concluded with China and the republics of the former USSR in 1961. The DPRK was the only Asian Communist country to remain neutral in the Sino-Soviet dispute. The demilitarized zone that separates North and South Korea has been in place since 1953, though both governments claim a desire for reunification. The DPRK withdrew from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in 2003.

In environmental cooperation, the DPRK is part of the Antarctic Treaty, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Montréal Protocol, MARPOL, and the UN Convention on Climate Change.

ECONOMY

The Korean War devastated much of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) economy, but growth after postwar reconstruction was rapid. The Communist regime used its rich mineral resources to promote industry, especially heavy industry. A generally accepted figure put annual industrial growth from 1956 to 1963 at about 25%. By 1965, industry accounted for 78% of the total output, and agriculture 22%, an exact reversal of their respective contributions in 1946. Until the oil crisis of the 1970s, the DPRK ranked as one of the most prosperous states in Asia, but the government's pursuit of self-reliance (Juche ) had, by the end of the 1960s, also transformed it into one the most isolated and strictly regulated economies in the world. After 1965, greater emphasis was placed on agriculture and light industry, the latter stress owing to increasing demands for consumer goods. The industrial growth rate slowed in the late 1960s to around 14% and averaged about 16% during the 1970s. In the meantime, the military government in South Korea—the Republic of Korea (ROK)—began a series of five-year plans in 1962 that set it on the trajectory of export-led growth that, by 2001, would produce a per capita income 19 times greater than that in the DPRK. Efforts in the DPRK to accelerate the growth rate during the mid-1970s, requiring substantial imports of heavy industrial equipment from Japan and Western Europe, led to a payments crisis, and the DPRK was repeatedly compelled to reschedule its foreign debt.

The seven-year plan for 1978–84 called for an annual increase in industrial output of 12%. Reliable data on the economy became increasingly difficult to obtain as Kim Il Sung's regime became more obsessed with passing power and his particular vision on to his son, Kim Jong Il. In the 1980s, the government also became seriously involved in the clandestine supply of missiles and nuclear technology to Pakistan and Middle East countries, particularly Iran. Estimates are that growth fell to no more than 2% or 3% in the early 1980s as about one-fourth of output went into the country's outsized military.

After a three-year "period of adjustment," the government announced its third seven-year plan for 1987 to 1993, which targeted an annual increase in industrial growth of 10%. The plan also called for increased allocations to agricultural production, fueling speculation that there were food shortages. In any case, the plan period spanned three watershed events that helped set the economy on its downward course. First was the ROK's successful hosting of the 1988 Olympics, which left the DPRK increasingly isolated due to its own refusal to co-host any events and instead to boycott the games. Second was the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, cutting off the DPRK's main source of trade and aid. Third was the admission of the ROK and the DPRK to the UN in 1991 as separate states, unblocked by a veto from either Russia or China. On 8 July 1994, Kim Il Sung died, throwing the society into mourning, but also, it was hoped, opening up opportunities for economic reform. In October 1994, the so-called Agreed-Framework was put together, whereby a consortium of the United States, the ROK, and Japan, organized as the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO), would undertake the finance and construction of light-water nuclear reactors (LWRs) to supply 2000 MW of power in 2003, plus an interim supply of 500,000 metric tons of fuel oil a year in exchange for the DPRK's freezing and eventually dismantling its heavy-water nuclear facilities that were readily convertible to weapons use.

In January 1995, the United States sent a first installment of 50,000 tons of fuel, but in 1995 and 1996, the North Korean population became victims of widespread malnutrition and famine, worsened by the government's rejection of outside observers and reluctance to admit the seriousness of the situation, despite its unprecedented appeal for foreign aid in 1995. Lacking money to fuel and repair tractors and to pay for fertilizer, the government called for, or allowed the cultivation of marginal land with a professed target of doubling food production. The counterproductive result was crop-destroying flooding in 1995 and 1996 when the country was hit by heavy rains and a typhoon; the removal of tree cover from hillsides through the cultivation of marginal land made flooding worse. Drought conditions that followed worsened not only the food shortage but also the energy shortage by reducing the output from hydroelectric facilities. By 1997, most North Koreans had come to depend on government rations, which were reduced to 3.5 to 5.3 oz per person a day. In 1997 construction began on what were to be two 1,000 MW LWRs, delayed many months by North Korean objections to the use of a South Korean firm for the job. Estimates are that in real terms, the DPRK economy contracted 6.8% in 1997 and another 1.1% in 1998. In 1999, there were signs of positive growth, though small and from a low base, and due mainly to government construction projects.

The Bank of Korea, the most reliable source of economic data on the DPRK, estimates that the economy expanded 1.3% in 2000 and 3.7% in 2001. In 2002, a series of unannounced market-oriented reforms were undertaken. Refugees reported wage increases of 10% to 20% that partly reflected the higher prices in the unofficial "farmer's markets" and black markets, and that state rationing was being phased out. Three new special economic zones (SEZs) were announced, making a total of four (the first one was established in 1991), designed to attract foreign investment, particularly from China and South Korea. A defector reported a significant reduction in the party personnel attached to two major state corporations, the Musan Consolidated Mine Corp. and the Kimchalk Consolidated Steel Corp. Whether such reforms were meant to appease the more confrontational Bush administration, which, in US president George W. Bush's State of the Union address in January 2002, had branded North Korea as part of an "axis of evil." In November 2002, the United States announced that it was suspending oil shipments and that the work on the LWRs was going to be deliberately slowed. In December 2002, the DPRK expelled the last IAEA inspectors and removed their monitoring devices. In February 2003, the IAEA referred the matter of the DPRK's nuclear program to the UN Security Council. The program of economic inducements has been transformed into a zerosum confrontation.

In 2004, the GDP growth rate was 2.2%, up from 1.8% in 2003. There was no data available to highlight the inflation or unemployment rates, but it is expected the country is suffering from high levels of technical unemployment. Food shortages continue to be a problem, with large-scale military spending eating up much of the resources that could solve this problem. The government tried to respond by allowing private markets to sell a wider range of goods, and by permitting private farming on an experimental basis. In 2005 however, some of these policies were restricted, and plans were made to expel all nongovernmental organizations by year's end.

INCOME

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports that in 2005, North Korea's gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at $40 billion. The per capita GDP was estimated at $1,800. The annual growth rate of GDP was estimated at 1%. The CIA defines GDP as the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year and computed on the basis of purchasing power parity (PPP) rather than value as measured on the basis of the rate of exchange. It was estimated that in 2002, agriculture accounted for 30% of GDP, industry 34%, and services 36%. Foreign aid receipts amounted to about $5 per capita.

LABOR

The labor force was estimated at 9.6 million in 2001 (the latest year for which data was available). Approximately 36% of the labor force was engaged in agriculture, with the remainder in nonagricultural occupations. Unemployment data was unavailable.

There are no free trade unions in North Korea; instead, there is one labor organization controlled by the government, the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea, of which virtually all industrial and office workers are members. There is no minimum wage; salaries in joint-venture and foreign-owned businesses were estimated at $110 per month in 2002. The average salary in the public sector is not known. Labor conditions are governed by a national labor law of 1978. The eight-hour workday is standard but most laborers work 12–16 hours daily during production campaigns. Although children under the age of 16 are prohibited by law from working, school children work in factories or on farms to meet production goals. Office and shop workers spend Fridays in public works and urban maintenance projects. In addition, some work time is spent on mandatory study of the writings of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.

AGRICULTURE

About 2.9 million hectares (7.2 million acres), or 24% of all land, can be classified as arable. Most of the agricultural land is concentrated in the west coast provinces of North and South P'yongan and North and South Hwanghae. Irrigation, land reclamation, and flood-control projects have been carried out, especially in rice-growing areas; about one-half of the arable land is irrigated.

Rice is the principal crop, occupying 20% of all farmland in 2003. Total rice production was 2,370,000 tons in 2004, compared to 5,600,000 tons in 1985. Improved rice yields have been achieved through the use of "miracle" rice strains, intensive application of fertilizer, and mechanization. In 2003 there were some 211,576 tractors in use, or about one for every 14 hectares (34 acres) of cultivated land. Double-cropping of rice is not possible because of the climate, but double-cropping of other grains has been maximized through the use of cold-bed seeding and new seed varieties, so that an estimated half of all cultivated land yields two harvests. The leading grains after rice are corn, wheat, millet, and barley. Other important crops include soybeans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pulses, oats, sorghum, rye, tobacco, and cotton. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) long claimed to be self-sufficient in grain products, with total production (including rice) increasing from seven million tons in 1974 to 13.6 million tons in 1985, but falling to 4.3 million tons in 2003. Heavy rains in 1995 caused severe flooding in the DPRK, affecting over 5.2 million people and damaging crop production. Since 1996, there have been reports of widespread food shortages and famine in the DPRK.

The country's farms were collectivized after the Korean War. The movement began late in 1953, and the process was completed by August 1958, when all of the DPRK's 1,055,000 farm families became members of over 16,000 cooperatives. In order to establish larger and more efficient operating units, the cooperatives were merged in the autumn of 1958 into approximately 3,800 units with about 300 families each. Produce is delivered to the government, which controls distribution through state stores. Most farm workers retain small private plots (less than 100 sq m/1,100 sq ft) and can sell produce from them to the state or in peasant markets.

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

Since the 1950s, a major effort has been made to increase corn and fodder supplies, to improve breeding practices, and to raise sharply the numbers of livestock in all categories. In 2005, livestock totals were estimated as follows: cattle, 578,000 head; hogs, 3,200,000; sheep, 172,000; goats, 2,750,000; and horses, 48,000. Livestock raising is generally associated with the state farms. Meat produced in 2005 totaled 250,000 tons; milk, 94,000; and eggs, 136,000.

FISHING

The catch from the sea and from freshwater aquaculture includes mackerel, anchovy, tuna, mullet, rainbow trout, squid, kelp, sea urchin eggs, pollack eggs, and shrimp. The FAO estimated production for 2003 was 712,995 tons. Over 98% of fishing activity is marine, concentrated in the Sea of Japan. Much of the annual catch is now used for export.

The fishing industry is entirely socialized, with some 230 maritime cooperatives and more than 30 state-run fishery stations. The main fishing ports are on the east coast.

FORESTRY

Forests and woodland comprised about 8,210,000 hectares (20,287,000 acres) in 2000. There are rich stands of coniferous forests in the northern provinces. Predominant trees include oak, alder, larch, pine, spruce, and fir. Timber production was estimated at 7.2 million cu m (255 million cu ft) in 2004. About 80% of the timber cut was used for fuel. Sawn wood production in 2004 was 280,000 cu m (9.9 million cu ft); wood pulp, 56,000 tons; and paper and paperboard, 80,000 tons. The Ministry of Forestry, created in 1980, promotes development of forest industries.

MINING

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has known deposits of coal, copper, fluorspar, gold, graphite, iron ore, lead, limestone, magnesite (magnesium carbonate), pyrite, salt, silver, tungsten, and zinc. Of these, the country has large reserves of coal, iron ore, limestone, and magnesite.

Gross weight of marketable iron ore and concentrate produced in 2004 was 4.58 million tons. High-grade iron ore deposits lay off the coast of Unryl County, South Hwanghae Province. Outputs of other minerals included: crude magnesite, 1.2 million tons, up from 1 million tons in 2003; graphite, 25,000 metric tons, unchanged since 2001; mine copper (metal content), 12,000 metric tons; mined zinc, 62,000 metric tons; mined lead, 20,000 metric tons; mined gold, 6,000 kg; mined silver, 20 metric tons, unchanged since 2001; sulfur, 42,000 tons; phosphate rock, 300,000 metric tons, unchanged since 2002; and mined tungsten, 600 metric tons, unchanged since 2002. North Korea also produced barite, hydraulic cement, fluorspar, nitrogen, salt, and pyrophyllite soapstone, and presumably produced varieties of stone, sand, and gravel. As North Korea began emerging from its isolation, mineral trade with the Republic of Korea increased, with the DPRK exporting coal, gold, steel, and zinc to the South. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, North Korea has faced shortages of raw materials, in addition to shortages of fuel, food, and electricity. Molopo Australia NL had four gold projects in North Korea—Big Boy, Changjin, Danchon, and Hambung—and successfully processed 625 g of gold from a gravity separation plant in Changjin.

ENERGY AND POWER

North Korea has no known reserves of petroleum or natural gas but does have recoverable reserves of coal.

Imports of crude oil and refined petroleum products in 2002 averaged 24,070 barrels per day, of which demand averaged 24,530 barrels per day in that same year. Refinery output that same year averaged 12,080 barrels per day. There were no known imports or output of natural gas in 2002.

Coal is by far the most important component of energy production. The major coal-producing center is in South Pyongan Province, where the Anju, Sunchon, Tokchon, Pukchang, and Kaechon coal-producing complexes are located. In 2000, coal accounted for 86% of primary energy consumption. Estimated coal production in 2002 was 31,912,000 million short tons. Domestic consumption that year came to 31,986,000 short tons.

North Korea's electric power capacity in 2002 came to 9.500 million kW, of which conventional thermal plants accounted for 4.500 million kW of capacity and hydroelectric accounted for 5.000 million kW. Electric power output in 2002 totaled 19.122 billion kWh, of which Hydropower accounted for 10.514 billion kWh and conventional thermal power 8.608 billion kWh. Consumption of electricity in 2002 was 17.783 billion kWh. Although engineers and technical advisers from the United States assisted with the installation of windmills in coastal villages in the P'yŏngyang region, in 1998; there is no recorded output of wind-generated electricity for 2002.

Although North Korea has a nuclear energy program, it is not directed toward the production of electric power, but to build nuclear weapons. In 1994, the United States and North Korea negotiated an Agreed Framework, by which North Korea agreed to give up its nuclear ambitions in exchange for the construction of two safer light water nuclear reactors and shipments of oil from the United States. In 2002, it was revealed that North Korea was engaged in pursuing a program of enriching uranium—enriched uranium is used for the production of nuclear weapons. In January 2003, North Korea pulled out of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and later admitted it was pursuing the reprocessing of plutonium, which also can be used in the building of nuclear weapons. In April 2003, North Korea stated it possessed nuclear weapons. In August 2003, six-nation talks—between the United States, China, South Korea, Japan, Russia, and North Korea—began to address the nuclear situation. As of early 2006, the issue of North Korea's nuclear program had yet to be resolved.

INDUSTRY

Under Japanese rule, northern Korea was regarded mainly as a supplier of war materials, while manufacturing and processing branches were neglected. The Communist regime, however, emphasized the development of manufacturing. By 1963, the metal-fabricating, textile, and food-processing industries accounted for 33%, 18.6%, and 13.7% of industrial output, respectively. By the late 1980s, heavy industry (including metal fabricating and textile production) accounted for 50% of total industrial production. Private enterprise in industry declined from 27.6% of total output in 1946 to only 2% in 1956, and the private sector was said to have disappeared by 1959. About 90% of all industry is state-owned, and 10% is owned by cooperatives.

Under the second seven-year plan (1978–84), industrial output was scheduled to grow at an average annual rate of 12.2%; however, Western estimates put annual growth at 2% or 3% by the early 1980s. In the mid-1980s, the government became involved in clandestine missile production and supply. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) had obtained the technology for producing HY-2 Silkworm and Scud (short-range) missiles in the 1970s and early 1980s. In 1985, the DPRK reached a bilateral accord with Iran, then in the midst of its war with Iraq, whereby North Korea would supply production technology and missiles in exchange for payments to finance engineering of the Scud-B missiles (a more accurate version of the original Scuds) and help in covert procurement of other necessary technologies. Ironically, because it became a matter of international security concern, the missile program is better documented that other aspects of the DPRK's secretive economy.

In 1987, Scud-B production facilities were established near P'yŏngyang. In June 1987, North Korea delivered 90 to 100 ScudB missiles, 12 launchers, and an undetermined number of HY-2 Silkworm missiles to Iran as part of the two countries' $500 million military assistance agreement. In the meantime, the DPRK established its own Scud-B regiment and began work on an upgraded model, the Scud-C, with double the range (595 km/372 mi). Iran was being supplied "knock-down kits" for assembly at its ballistic missile plant in Isfahan. Iran continued, in exchange, to finance the DPRK's weapons program as it began work on an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) at Nodong that would give it its name.

In June 1990, the DPRK conducted the first successful test of the Scud-C, and in November concluded a second series of agreements with Iran believed to have covered the purchase of DPRK Scud-Cs and the conversion of an Iranian missile-maintenance facility into a production facility. In December 1990, during the runup to the Persian Gulf War, the DPRK also agreed to sell Scud-B and Scud-C missiles to Iraq, but in February 1991, despite a personal visit from Iraq's deputy foreign minister, the DPRK backed out of the deal because of Iraq's inability to pay cash. Syria, having received $2 billion for participating on the side of the coalition, used some of it to purchase more than 150 North Korean Scud-C missiles for an estimated $500 million. In March 1991, in a third agreement with Iran, the DPRK signed a five-year contract for the supply of 20,000 barrels of oil per day.

Pakistan, which North Korea had been supplying with conventional arms since the war over East Pakistan in 1971, helped with the secret deliveries of Scud-Cs to Iran. During the two tenures of Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto (1988–90 and 1993–96), the cooperation with the DRPK was extended to include the training of Pakistani scientists and engineers in North Korea, the training of North Korean scientists and engineers at the Pakistan uranium enrichment plant at Kahuta, and the supply of Nodong missiles to Pakistan.

On 27 March 1992, the United States announced the imposition of sanctions on the DPRK and Iran for missile technology proliferation. In the mid-1990s, the DPRK recruited an estimated 160 Russian strategic weapons specialists to help with the DPRK's missile and nuclear programs. On 12 March 1993 North Korea announced its withdrawal from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) because of the International Atomic Energy Association's (IAEA's) efforts to conduct a special inspection of its nuclear facilities. During the spring of 1993, the successful launch of four missiles, one of which hit a target at 500 km (300 mi), raised international alarm to a new level. All the while, the DPRK representative to the UN denied that the government had ever supplied missiles to Iran.

In August 1993, a defector reported that two additional long-range missile bases had been built in the DPRK, one at Chunggang and the other at Wonsan. In a report issued in 1996, the South Korean Unification Ministry estimated that arms exports constituted about 30% of DPRK exports from1980 to 1993, that annual Scud missile sales totaled about $500 million, and that the DPRK had a production capacity of about 100 Scud-B and ScudC missiles a year.

The consequence of the DPRK's role as arms supplier to the Middle East was increasing isolation elsewhere. Japan banned the export of missile-related technology to the DPRK in 1988. In 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed, North Korea lost its main source of fuel and fertilizer, as well as its main markets. As a result, the DPRK's nonmilitary industries atrophied while the government continued to build its military industry, developing nuclear ambitions.

At the end of its third seven-year plan, the government, admitting for the first time that targets had not been met, announced another three-year period of adjustment including a promised attention to light industry, as well as agriculture and foreign trade. In March 1994, however, it was confirmed that the government was building two new medium-range missiles—the Taepodong-I, with a range of more than 1,600 km (1,000 mi) and the Taepodong-II, with a range of more than 3,200 km (2,000 mi).

Manufacturing output fell an estimated 17.8% in 1992 and continued to fall by 1.9% in 1993, 3.8% in 1994, and 5.3% in 1995. In 1995, manufacturing accounted for an estimated 26.9% of GDP, of which heavy industry accounted for 20.5% and light industry 6.4%.

Only rough production estimates are available for a few key industries. These include the iron and steel manufactures, which reportedly amounted to 6.6 million tons of pig and conversion pig iron and 8.1 million tons of steel (including rolled steel) in 1995. Major iron and steel works are located at Ch'ŏngjin, Kimch'aek, Kangso, Namp'o, and Kaesŏng. Industrial plants produce sophisticated machinery, including generators, bulldozers, high-speed engines, and diesel locomotives. Other plants produce cement (17 million tons in 1995), refined lead (80,000 tons), and zinc (200,000 tons), metal cutting lathes, tractors, and trucks. The chemical industry produced an estimated 1.2 million tons of chemical fertilizers and 56,000 tons of synthetic fibers in 1994. The petrochemical industry is centered in the Hŭngnam area. Oil refining capacity was recorded at approximately 71,000 barrels per day in 2000. Textiles production increased rapidly in the 1970s; North Korea also produces clothing, jackets, and shoes.

After a series of negotiations in 1994, the so-called Agreed Framework was signed in October. It was essentially an attempt to use economic incentives to induce the DPRK to give up its nuclear weapons ambitions. In exchange for a freeze on its graphite-moderated reactors, the United States undertook to arrange for the provision of a 2,000 MW light water reactor (LWR). In the contract, concluded in 1996 with the Korea Electric Power Company (KEPCO), the DPRK was to acquire two 1,000 MW LWRs. The Korea Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) was established to carry out the arrangements. Ground was broken for the construction of the LWRs in August 1997. While the DPRK's nuclear program apparently remained frozen, the government continued to develop its delivery systems and to export weapons and weapons technology.

In April 1998 the US government reported that Korea had helped develop Pakistan's 1,500-km (940-mi) Ghauri intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM). Exports of Scuds continued to Iran, Syria, Pakistan, Egypt, and Libya. On 31 August 1998, North Korea test-launched a Taepodong-I missile with a range of up to 2,000 km (1,243 mi) over Japan, claiming it was a satellite launch. In February 1999, US CIA director George Tenet warned that the DPRK was developing a new generation of missiles capable of delivering payloads to the United States. In March 1999, the Republic of Korea (ROK) reported that the DPRK had as many as 8 missile factories and 12 missile bases, with production capacity of about 100 Scud-like missiles a year. In mid-July, intense pressure from the United States, the ROK, and Japan dissuaded the DPRK from test-launching a Taepodong-II missile, believed to have a range of more than 6,000 km (3,728 mi). In September 1999, the United States and the DPRK reached an agreement on a moratorium on additional long-range missile testing, but an agreement on a wider freeze on its indigenous missile program and weapons exports was not completed as of early 2003.

In 2002, industry made up 34% of the economy, with services accounting for 36%, and agriculture for 30%; 36% of 9.6 million workers were engaged in agriculture, while 64% were employed by nonagricultural sectors. By 2004, the industry's share in the GDP rose to 41%. However, the country's industrial stock is suffering from underinvestment and spare part shortages, and is considered to be beyond repair.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

In 1970, the Fifth Party Congress called for the education of one million new technicians and specialists to aid economic modernization and development. By the mid-1990s, the government claimed that there were agricultural specialists on most rural cooperatives, although severe economic deprivation has curtailed the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) agricultural output. Throughout this period, Russian and Chinese technicians helped train DPRK workers, and the DPRK actively sought to acquire advanced foreign technology through the importation of entire petrochemical and other manufacturing plants from Japan, France, Sweden, and other developed nations. In the 1990s, its nuclear energy program—with both peaceful and military applications—gained international attention.

The principal scientific and technical institutions are the Academy of Sciences (founded in 1952), the Academy of Agricultural Science (founded in 1948), the Academy of Fisheries (founded in 1969), the Academy of Forestry (founded in 1948), the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Academy of Light Industry Science (founded in 1954), and the Academy of Railway Sciences. All of these academies are located in P'yŏngyang, and each has numerous attached research institutes.

By 1994, Kim Il Sung University in P'yŏngyang (founded in 1946) included faculties of computer science, chemistry, biology, atomic energy, geology, mathematics, and physics. Also in P'yŏngyang are the Kim Chaek University of Technology, the P'yŏngyang University of Agriculture, and the P'yŏngyang University of Medicine.

DOMESTIC TRADE

Wholesale and retail trade is almost entirely in state and cooperative hands. In 1946, private trade accounted for 96.5% of total business volume. By 1960, private merchants had been entirely eliminated, and 78.8% of trade was conducted by the state, 20.4% by cooperatives, and 0.8% by farmers' markets. In 2000, 90% of the economy was in the state's hands.

Wholesale distribution is administered by the state ministries and enterprises under the general jurisdiction of the Ministry of Material Supply. Most retail shops are run by the People's Service Committee, established in 1972. There are several state-run department stores in P'yŏngyang, and there is at least one in each provincial capital. All-purpose stores, cooperatives, factory outlets, and special stores for the military and for railroad workers also play an important part in retailing.

Normal business hours are from 9 am to noon and 1 to 6 pm, Monday through Friday. Saturday is a "study" day.

Since the mid-1990s, the domestic economy has remained stifled as the government refuses to give up state control of industry. Though agriculture accounted for 30% of the GDP and 36% of the workforce in 2001, there were frequent food shortages. Improvements in industry and infrastructure have been slow, as the government continued to dedicate a large portion of funds to military, rather than social or domestic concerns. With the decay of the formal economy, black market activity has rapidly grown throughout the country, with the underground economy replacing formal domestic trade throughout much of the DPRK.

FOREIGN TRADE

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) principal exports include rice, pig iron, rolled steel, cement, machinery of various types, chemicals, magnetite, textiles, armaments, and gold. Imports include petroleum, coking coal, wheat, cotton, and machinery. A steep drop in the DPRK's trade earnings in the early 1990s was primarily a result of a policy shift by Russia and the CIS countries requiring trade to be denominated in hard currency at world prices, ending a previous goods exchange arrangement much more favorable to the DPRK.

With the change in Russian–North Korean trade relations, China took the lead as the DPRK's largest trading partner in 1992, followed by Japan and Russia. Inter-Korean trade expanded particularly rapidly after 1988. By 1992, the Republic of Korea (ROK) became the DPRK's fourth-largest trading partner, behind China, Japan, and Russia. Total trade between the two countries was reported to have reached $199 million, 90% of which consisted of exports from north to south. However, after tensions flared in the late 1990s, inter-Korean trade slowed.

As the DPRK economy has deteriorated, smuggling activity across the Chinese border has increased. An estimated 100,000 people are involved in illegal trade across the border, which may be worth as much as $30 to $300 million per year.

In 2004, exports reached $1.3 billion (FOB—Free on Board), while imports grew to $2.8 billion (CIF—Cost and Freight). The bulk of exports went to China (45.6%), South Korea (20.2%), and Japan (12.9%). Imports included minerals, machinery and electronic goods, textiles, and chemicals, and mainly came from China (32.9%), Thailand (10.7%), and Japan (4.8%).

BALANCE OF PAYMENTS

During the late 1970s, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) enjoyed consistent trade surpluses, due in part to increasing shipments of agricultural products, gold and silver, and armaments in exchange for hard currencies. Despite the improving trade picture, the DPRK had still not emerged from the shadow of foreign debt left over from the mid-1970s. Declining prices for precious metals in the early 1980s made it difficult for the nation to meet its debt obligations, even after repeated rescheduling. In 1987, a new rescheduling agreement was reached after Western banks threatened to freeze the DPRK's bank assets if it failed to service bank loans. External debt was estimated at $12 billion in 1996. In the early 2000s, the government focused on attracting foreign aid and earning hard currency without introducing market reforms. Desperately needed food and fuel aid from donor countries declined in 2002/03, due in part to the government's threats of nuclear weapons capabilities.

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reported that in 2001 the purchasing power parity of North Korea's exports was $826 million while imports totaled $1.874 billion resulting in a trade deficit of $1.048 billion.

Exports of goods and services totaled $1.278 billion in 2004, up from $1.066 billion in 2003. Imports grew from $2.049 billion in 2003, to $2.279 billion in 2004. The resource balance was consequently negative, and on a downward path—from -$983 million in 2003 to -$1 billion in 2004.

BANKING AND SECURITIES

The Central Bank, established in 1946, is the sole recipient of national revenues and the repository for all precious metals. It supplies basic operating funds to various sectors of the economy and is subordinate to the Ministry of Finance. The Central Bank is also an administrative organ that executes the fiscal policies of the State Planning Commission. It supervises the Foreign Trade Bank, established in 1959, and the Industrial Bank, established in 1964. The latter provides loans and credits to farm and fishing cooperatives and has an extensive system of branches that help to manage the financial operations of all cooperatives.

The Kumgang Bank is a specialized bank that handles transactions of foreign trade organizations dealing with exports and imports of machinery, metals, mineral products, and chemical products. The Daesong Bank handles transactions of the Daesong Trading Co. and other trading organizations. There were also three joint-venture banks, as of 1994. As of 1997, the Central Bank had a network of 227 local branches. Another state bank is the Changgwang Credit Bank, founded in 1983. A consortium of 60 Western countries (including Russia) filed suit in 1996 in a US district court against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) Foreign Trade Bank for a total of $1.4 billion in principal and accumulated interest.

There are savings facilities at all post offices, in industrial enterprises, and in the "trust" sections in the agricultural cooperatives. Through the latter, large farm and fishing cooperatives perform local banking functions, especially the raising and allocation of capital for local needs.

There are no securities exchanges in the DPRK.

INSURANCE

The State Insurance Bureau and the Korea Foreign Insurance Co. carry fire and natural disaster insurance and, as appropriate, livestock, marine, and passenger insurance on a compulsory basis. Individuals may take out various types of property, life, and travel insurance, all provided by the government.

PUBLIC FINANCE

The annual state budget is approved at regular sessions of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA). In April 1995, the government failed to announce its 1995/96 budget at the annual meeting of the SPA, which exacerbated the economic stagnation. Foreign aid, important after the Korean War, has not appeared as budgetary income since 1961.

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) estimated that North Korea's total external debt was $12 billion in 1996.

TAXATION

All direct taxes were abolished in 1974; the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) thus became the first country in the world to abolish income taxes collected from its citizens. As a result, the population is dependent on the government for many services. The government collects a percentage (turnover tax) on all transactions between producers and state marketing agencies. Fees are charged to farmers for seeds, fertilizer, irrigation water, and equipment. Consumers pay a tax for the use of water and certain other household amenities. The tax on collective farms is 15% of the harvest, paid in kind. Refugees from North Korea report that a similar in-kind tax was being assessed on the private plots that proliferated during the 1990s, but there is no official confirmation of this assessment.

All foreign-invested enterprises are subject to income, property, turnover, and local taxes. In the four special economic zones established by the government, one in 1991 and three in 2002, the tax on profits for most enterprises is set at 14%; for enterprises involving high technology, infrastructure construction, or light industry, the tax rate is 10%. Resident aliens in the DPRK must pay personal income taxes; the rate varies from 4% to a top rate of 20%.

CUSTOMS AND DUTIES

No information is available.

FOREIGN INVESTMENT

In 1984, the Joint Venture Act permitted foreign direct investment (FDI) for the first time. Investment mainly came from Soviet-bloc countries, however, as both the United States and South Korea were closed to products from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Companies found it difficult to do business in North Korea because of limits on equity ownership and a suffocating bureaucracy. In any case, the law was abruptly withdrawn in 1985, reinforcing perceptions of an unstable atmosphere for business.

In 1991, faced with the collapse of the Soviet bloc, the president announced plans to establish a multinational special economic zone (FETZ) in the Tuman River estuary region. On 11 December 1992, the Supreme People's Assembly passed three laws relating to foreign investment—the Foreign Investment Law, the Foreign Enterprise Law, and the Joint Venture Law. The laws allowed 10% foreign ownership and loosened government control over employee layoffs. Three types of enterprises were distinguished: contractual joint ventures, equity joint ventures, and "foreign enterprises." Citizens of the Republic of Korea (ROK) are treated as foreigners under the investment laws. Foreigners are prohibited from establishing a "technologically backward" enterprise, or one that threatens DPRK national security. In practice, the most suspect categories are those involved in publishing, the press, broadcasting, and telecommunications. Also not permitted are businesses that do not conform with the "ideological emotions of the people."

Most trade with ROK enterprises is conducted in the contractual joint-venture mode in which, typically, the DPRK partner takes responsibility for production and management while the ROK partner supplies both advanced technology and access to export markets. Most meetings between North and South Korean partners are held outside both countries. Applications for investment have remained limited; most have come from Japan-based Korean investors. As of 2002, the FETZ could not be rated very successful. The investment attracted a total of about $140 million. The main investors included the Emperor Group with a $60 million hotel project, and Loxley Pacific, with a $29 million investment telecommunications infrastructure.

In 2002 the DPRK formally established three more special economic zones: a mainly tourist zone at Mt. Kumgang, an industrial zone near Kaesŏng, and a special autonomous region (SAR) modeled on Hong Kong in the northwest city of Sinuiji on the Chinese border. In all three, free enterprise was officially guaranteed with a land lease period of 50 years with the possibility of extension. The Mt. Kumgang and Kaesŏng zones were mainly aimed at attracting South Korean investment, whereas Sinuiji is designed to attract Chinese participation.

The Mt. Kumgang zone is a direct descendant of a money-losing tourism enterprise initiated by the ROK conglomerate Hyundai Group in 1999. Tours peaked at about 212,000 in 2000, the year of the historic 13 June handshake between the leaders of the two Koreas, but had fallen to 56,680 by 2001. As of 2002, the Hyundai Group had lost about $400 million on the operation.

The Kaesŏng industrial zone also got its main impetus from firms connected with the Hyundai Group. Though the official decree establishing a 66-sq-km (25-sq-mi) "international industrial, trade, commercial, financial and tourist" zone was made law on 28 November 2002, its roots are in an agreement between the Hyundai Group and the DPRK government in August 2000 to open an expanded industrial zone. Kaesŏng is connected to P'yŏngyang by railway and expressway. To make it a viable investment venue, the rail and highway connections to South Korea must be restored. In late December 2002, however, the third session of talks on the restorations of connections was called off, with no further discussions scheduled.

Much more devastating to hopes for increased foreign investment, however, has been the rapid escalation of tensions after October 2002, when a US State Department envoy asserted that the North Koreans had admitted to conducting a secret nuclear program. In November 2002, the United States announced that there would be no more oil supplied through the Korea Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO). The United States also achieved an agreement to slow down the construction of the light water reactors (LWRs), which were already years behind schedule. In apparent retaliation, a letter from a North Korean bank was circulated to foreign missions and businesses stating that as of 1 December 2002, US dollars would not be accepted at North Korean shops and hotels.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Until the 1990s, the economy operated on a planned basis, with priority given to the development of industry, particularly heavy industry. Planning began in 1947, when the economy operated first under two consecutive one-year plans (1947 and 1948), followed by a two-year plan (1949–50), which was interrupted by the Korean War in June 1950. After the war, economic reconstruction followed the terms of a three-year plan (1954–56) and a five-year plan (1957–61). The industrial goals of the five-year plan were fulfilled in just half the allotted time, so 1960 was set aside as a year of adjustment. An ambitious seven-year plan was then launched in 1961, with the general objectives of a 220% increase in industrial output and a 150% rise in grain production. This plan had to be extended until 1970, however, before its targets were fulfilled. In 1975, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) announced completion of its six-year plan (1971–76) one year ahead of schedule, although certain outputs fell somewhat short of projected levels. Industrial growth slowed in 1976. A second seven-year plan (1978–84) called for a 12% annual industrial growth rate. Although the government claimed that its goals had been met or exceeded, neither the actual results nor a new plan was announced during the following three years. During this period the DPRK experienced the double trauma of ballooning international debt (to more than $5 billion, nearly $2 billion owed to Communist creditors), and watching South Korea's per capita income soar past its own. By 1980, per capita income in the DPRK was about a third of that in the Republic of Korea (ROK). (By 2002 the gap had widened such that the ROK's per capita income was 20 times greater in nominal terms.)

In 1982, the president announced a new economic policy giving priority to increased agricultural production through land reclamation (taken as a sign that food shortages had appeared), development of the country's infrastructure, a greater reliance on indigenously produced capital equipment, and an emphasis on light industry. In 1984, the government issued the Joint Investment Law in its first opening to foreign direct investment (FDI), designed to secure technology and outside capital. The law was abruptly withdrawn the next year, however, having attracted little investment.

There was a three-year hiatus, before the government set forth the third seven-year plan (1987–93), which would turn out to be the last multiyear plan issued by the government as of 2003. (The death of President Kim Il Sung on 8 July 1994 marked the end of multiyear planning.) Annual growth of 10% was targeted under the third seven-year plan, part of which would be derived from missile production and export. Its stated targets were a 90% increase in industrial output, 40% in agricultural production, and 70% in national income. The DPRK government publishes no official economic data, but estimates by the ROK Bank of Korea, the most reliable source of information on the North Korean economy, suggest that actual performance fell far short of these targets, in some areas by as much as 50%, and that overall industrial output decreased. The plan period spanned the breakup and economic liberalization of the Soviet bloc in 1991. President Kim Il Sung made a gesture at keeping up with the trends, decreeing the establishment of the Rajin-Sonborg Free Economic and Trade Zone (FETZ). However, the lack of infrastructure and low investor confidence in the regime made the FETZ ineffective in attracting investments.

In late 1993, statements released by the Korean Workers' Party Central Committee for the first time admitted to the overall failure in achieving the goals of the economic plan. Another three-year period of adjustment was announced during which, again, agricultural production, light industry, and infrastructure projects were to be prioritized.

A serious problem the DPRK had in meeting its public goals, however, was that the international trade it had actually been fostering was clandestine. In the mid-1980s North Korea had become a prime source of missiles, missile technology, and nuclear technology for countries of the Middle East and Pakistan. The most fully developed relationships were with Iran's missile program and Pakistan's missile and nuclear programs. The weapons trade was estimated to have been worth roughly $500 million a year, a figure equal to between 30% and 100% of estimated exports.

When Kim Il Sung died in July 1994, this was not one of the aspects of the economy that was radically affected since his son and successor, Kim Jong Il, had been in charge of the military.

As of 1994, total development assistance outside the Soviet bloc amounted to $6 million. Famine struck the country in 1995 and 1996, and output contracted from 1995 to 1998 an estimated 46.8% (from $23.5 billion GDP to $12.5 billion GDP). No economic plan was issued by the government in the 1990s, a decade that was dominated from 1994 by an international effort to stop the regime's apparent nuclear ambitions with positive economic incentives.

The so-called Agreed Framework of October 1994 embodied the offer to replace the DPRK's heavy-water nuclear facilities (suitable for producing weapons-grade fuel) with light-water reactors (LWRs, not as suitable), with construction and financing arranged by the United States. An annual supply of 500,000 metric tons of heavy oil would be donated by a consortium of 17 countries. In exchange the DPRK committed to freeze and eventually dismantle its heavy-water facilities. The Korea Peninsula Energy Development Corporation (KEDO) was created to administer the agreement. Besides maintaining the freeze, the DPRK was also dissuaded in 1999 from test-firing its most advanced missile, the Taepodong-II, which has a range of over 6,000 km (3,728 mi).

The Agreed Framework began to unravel in early 2002, after US president George W. Bush, in his State of the Union address, branded North Korea as part of an "axis of evil." In July 2002, the DPRK introduced a number of market-based economic reforms. Three special economic zones were officially established in 2002, including a special autonomous region (SAR) in Sinuiji to attract Chinese investment, and zones at Mt. Kumgang and near Kaesŏng to attract South Korean investment. The government also announced it would be presenting a formal economic plan in 2003. These gestures were overwhelmed by increased tensions following the October 2002 announcement from the US State Department that the DPRK regime had admitted it was pursuing a secret nuclear weapons program. Oil shipments through KEDO were stopped after November 2002, and by the end of December, North Korea had expelled all IAEA inspectors and removed their monitoring devices. In February, the IAEA referred North Korea's nuclear program to the UN Security Council. In April 2003, Kim Jong Il asked for a nonaggression pact with the United States, arguing that the United States was planning to overthrow his regime. No economic plan had been issued.

The way North Korea guards the access to indicators that might highlight its level of economic health prevents any solid analysis of economic growth perspectives. It is believed however that the country still suffers from food shortages, and it lacks a coherent future development strategy. In June 2005, the United States committed to sending 50,000 metric tons of food aid.

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

All men and women of working age are required to work, and all economic activity is run by the state. The government provides any medical, pension, or other welfare program to the workers. The country relies heavily on international aid for basic subsistence.

Although the constitution grants equal rights for women, few women have reached high levels in the government. The state provides nurseries and day-care centers, and large families are encouraged. Like men, women are obligated by law to work, although few occupy high official positions. Women with large families are entitled to shorter work hours. Female workers are legally guaranteed five weeks of maternity leave. A UNICEF official reported that some 20% North Korean children were suffering from malnutrition and about 80,000 were in danger of dying from hunger and disease.

The government rejects international human rights standards, and human rights organizations are not permitted to operate. Dissent is not tolerated, and capital punishment is meted out for a wide variety of offenses, including attempted defection.

The government classifies all citizens into three groups: core, wavering and hostile. These security ratings reflect the perceived degree of loyalty exhibited by citizens. These ratings may be taken into account in the allocation of housing, employment, medical care, and other benefits. All citizens are subjected to extensive indoctrination. Listening to foreign broadcasts or possession of banned reading materials are punishable by death. Travel within the country is also strictly controlled. Travel passes must be requested for intervillage travel.

HEALTH

The Ministry of Public Health is responsible for all national health services, including disease prevention and sanitation. All of the population has access to health care. Estimated immunization rates for children up to one year old were as follows: diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus, 37%, and measles, 34%. Polio has been nearly eradicated. In 2004, there were an estimated 297 physicians and 180 nurses per 100,000 people. Western medicine is used alongside traditional Eastern medicine (tonguihak). In 1997, there were 176 cases of tuberculosis per 100,000 people. Cancer is now the leading cause of death, followed by heart disease and hypertension.

The total fertility rate has decreased from 5.8 in 1960 to 2.1 children per woman in her childbearing years, as of 2000. Average life expectancy in 2005 was 71.37 years. The infant mortality rate was 24.04 per 1,000 for that year. The HIV/AIDS prevalence rate was estimated at less than 0.10 per 100 adults.

HOUSING

A serious housing shortage resulted from the government's early stress on industrial rather than residential construction. The housing deficit was aggravated by the Korean War, which demolished about one-third of the country's housing. Since then, residential housing has received serious attention. About 886,000 new units were completed under the 1971–76 economic plan. Construction levels of 200,000–300,000 units a year were targeted for 1978–84, and 150,000–200,000 units a year were projected for 1987–93. Available figures for 1980–88 show a total housing stock of 4,566,000 with 4.5 people per dwelling. The government reported that the catastrophic floods in August 1995 caused 500,000 residents to become homeless.

EDUCATION

Both primary and secondary education are free and compulsory for 10 years, beginning at age five. Children ages one through five are cared for in nursery schools, followed by one year of kindergarten, four years of primary school, and six years of secondary school.

According to UNESCO's EFA 2000 Assessment Report, North Korea has 14,167 two-year kindergartens (with 748,416 pupils), 4,886 four-year primary schools (with 1,609,865 pupils), 4,772 six-year senior middle schools (with 2,181,524 pupils), and over 300 colleges and universities. In the 1990s, the school curriculum was balanced between academic and political subject matter. Subjects such as the Korean language, mathematics, and physical education accounted for most of the instructional time in the classroom; however, more than 8% of instructional time was spent on the "Great Kim Il Sung" and "Communist Morality."

Kim Il Sung University (founded in 1946) in P'yŏngyang had about 16,000 full-time and part-time students and about 3,000 faculty, including teachers and research staff, as of the early 1990s. Admission to the university is gained by intensely competitive examination. Song Kyun University of Koryo was founded in 1992, along with three medical schools. Other institutions of higher learning include the Kimch'aek Polytechnic Institute, P'yŏngyang Agricultural College, and P'yŏngyang Medical School. In 1987 there were 220,000 students attending two- or three-year higher specialized schools and 301,000 students attending four- to six-year colleges and university courses. A system of adult schools, correspondence courses, and workplace schools makes higher education widely available. There are over 100 schools offering specialized workers' training.

The adult literacy rate was reported to be 99% in 2002.

LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has more than 200 public libraries, the largest being the Grand People's Study House in P'yŏngyang (also serving as the national library), with 20 million volumes. Also in Pyongyang, there is a fairly new German library holding 4,000 scientific books in natural and social sciences, plus leading German newspapers and magazines. This is the first public institution to allow citizens to freely read foreign books. In addition, there are research libraries at the academies of sciences and social sciences and at Kim Il Sung University.

Museums include the Korean Central Historical Museum, the Memorial Museum of the War of Liberation, the Korean Art Gallery, the Ethnographic Museum, and the Korean Revolutionary Museum, all in P'yŏngyang. There is a large museum at Mangyongdae, Kim Il Sung's birthplace, near the capital.

MEDIA

Postal, telephone, and telegraph services are operated by the government. Telephones are believed to be used primarily for government business. Private lines are for local calling only; international phone lines are available only under very restricted circumstances. In 2003, there were an estimated 41 mainline telephones for every 1,000 people.

The Korean Central Broadcasting Station in P'yŏngyang has a 1,500-kW transmitter. Broadcasts reach to every corner of the country through a system of more than one million loudspeakers, as well as through private radios. In addition, news is broadcast to other countries in English, Russian, French, and Spanish. There are two radio networks (Korean Central Radio and Radio P'yŏngyang) and two television networks (Korean Central TV and Mansudae TV). Radios and televisions are pretuned to respond to these government stations. In 2003, there were an estimated 154 radios and 160 television sets for every 1,000 people. Internet access is only permitted to foreign visitors and high-ranking government officials.

All newspapers and periodicals in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) are published by government, party, or front organizations; each edition is subjected to prepublication review and censorship. As of 2002, there were four daily newspapers in publication. The leading national newspapers and their publishers are: Rodong Sinmun (Central Committee of the Korean Workers' Party, circulation 1,500,000); Minju Choson (Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly and the cabinet, circulation 200,000); Joson Immingun (Korean People's Army Daily); and Rodong Chongnyon (Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League). Each province has a newspaper, and other mass organizations have their own publications. A state news service, the Korean Central News Agency, is the sole organ for the gathering and dissemination of news.

Though there are articles of the constitution that provide for freedom of speech and the press, in practice the government prohibits the exercise of these rights, controlling all information. The receiving of foreign broadcasts is illegal, as is any criticism of the government in any media.

ORGANIZATIONS

Mass organizations established for specialized political, economic, or cultural purposes include the powerful Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland, commonly known as the Fatherland Front. Among its constituent members are the Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League (formerly known as the Socialist Working Youth League), under the direct guidance of the Korean Workers' Party Central People's Committee; the Young Pioneer Corps, open to children ages 9–15; and the Korean Democratic Women's League. Also important is the Korean Agricultural Workers' Union. There are a number of sports associations and clubs throughout the country. There is a national chapter of the Red Cross Society.

TOURISM, TRAVEL, AND RECREATION

Most sightseeing takes place in the capital city of P'yŏngyang. Travel outside P'yŏngyang is closed to individual tourists but available to groups. Nampe, the port city for P'yŏngyang, has a beach resort area. The two most outstanding tourist sites outside the capital are the Kumgang (Diamond) Mountains in the southwest and Packdu Mountain on the Chinese border. Wrestling, tug-of-war, chess (with pieces different from the European form), and kite fighting are traditional sports. All visitors need valid passports and visas secured in advance. Tourists from the United States and the Republic of Korea may need an invitation to travel to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

In 2003, the US Department of State estimated the daily cost of travel in P'yŏngyang and other areas was $271.

FAMOUS KOREANS

Among the many historical figures of united Korea are Ulchi Mundok, a Koguryo general of the early 7th century ad; Kim Yosin (595–673), a warrior and folk hero in Silla's struggle to unify the peninsula; Wang Kon (877–943), the founder and first ruler of the Koryo Dynasty; Yun Kwan (d.1111), a Koryo general who repulsed Chinese invaders; Kim Pusik (1075–1151), a scholar-official who wrote the great History of the Three Kingdoms; Yi Song-gye (1335–1408), a general and founder of the Yi (or Li) Dynasty; King Sejong (1397–1450), who called for the invention of Han'gul and was Korea's greatest monarch; Yi Hwang (1501–70) and Yi I (1536–84), Neo-Confucianist philosophers and officials; Yi Sun-sin (1545–98), an admiral who invented the "turtleboat," the first ironclad ship, and defeated the Japanese in every naval engagement of the Hideyoshi invasions, dying in the climactic battle; Chong Yag-yong (1762–1836), a pragmatic scholar-official and prolife writer; and Yi Haung (1820-98), known as the Taewon'gun (Prince Regent), the regent for his son, Kojong, and the central political figure of the late 19th century.

The preeminent political figure of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is Kim Il Sung (1912–94), the leader of the nation from 1948 until his death. Other influential figures have included Kim Il (1910–84), a prominent officeholder since 1954; Kim Jong Il (b.1941), the son of Kim Il Sung, who succeeded him; Nam Il (1914–76), a chief of staff who became well known as an armistice negotiator at P'anmunjom (1951–53), and Marshal O Jin U (1918–95), head of the army from 1976 until 1993.

DEPENDENCIES

The DPRK has no territories or colonies.

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