CIA World Fact Book, 2004/Korea, North


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!| Background:
 * An independent kingdom under Chinese suzerainty for most of the past millennium, Korea was occupied by Japan in 1905 following the Russo-Japanese War; five years later, Japan formally annexed the entire peninsula. Following World War II, Korea was split, with the northern half coming under Soviet-sponsored Communist domination. After failing in the Korean War (1950-53) to conquer the US-backed republic in the southern portion by force, North Korea under its founder President KIM Il Sung adopted a policy of ostensible diplomatic and economic "self-reliance" as a check against excessive Soviet or Communist Chinese influence and molded political, economic, and military policies around the core ideological objective of eventual unification of Korea under Pyongyang's control. KIM's son, the current ruler KIM Jong Il, was officially designated as KIM's future successor in 1980 and assumed a growing political and managerial role until his father's death in 1994, when he assumed full power without opposition. After decades of economic mismanagement and resource misallocation, the North since the mid-1990s has relied heavily on international food aid to feed its population while continuing to expend resources to maintain an army of about 1 million. North Korea's long-range missile development and research into nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and massive conventional armed forces are of major concern to the international community. In December 2002, following revelations it was pursuing a nuclear weapons program based on enriched uranium in violation of a 1994 agreement with the United States to freeze and ultimately dismantle its existing plutonium-based program, North Korea expelled monitors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and in January 2003 declared its withdrawal from the international Non-Proliferation Treaty. In mid-2003 Pyongyang announced it had completed the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel rods (to extract weapons-grade plutonium) and was developing a "nuclear deterrent." Since August 2003 North Korea has participated in six-party talks with the United States, China, South Korea, Japan, and Russia to resolve the stalemate over its nuclear programs.
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!| Location: !| Geographic coordinates: !| Map references: !| Area: water: 130 sq km land: 120,410 sq km !| Area - comparative: !| Land boundaries: border countries: China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km !| Coastline: !| Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nm note: military boundary line 50 nm in the Sea of Japan and the exclusive economic zone limit in the Yellow Sea where all foreign vessels and aircraft without permission are banned !| Climate: !| Terrain: !| Elevation extremes: highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m !| Natural resources: !| Land use: permanent crops: 2.49% other: 76.75% (2001) !| Irrigated land: !| Natural hazards: !| Environment - current issues: !| Environment - international agreements: signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea !| Geography - note:
 * Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea
 * 40 00 N, 127 00 E
 * Asia
 * total: 120,540 sq km
 * slightly smaller than Mississippi
 * total: 1,673 km
 * 2,495 km
 * territorial sea: 12 nm
 * temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer
 * mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east
 * lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m
 * coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower
 * arable land: 20.76%
 * 14,600 sq km (1998 est.)
 * late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall
 * water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; water-borne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation
 * party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
 * strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated
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!| Population: !| Age structure: 15-64 years: 67.8% (male 7,575,590; female 7,812,878) 65 years and over: 7.6% (male 583,463; female 1,133,504) (2004 est.) !| Median age: male: 30.2 years female: 32.6 years (2004 est.) !| Population growth rate: !| Birth rate: !| Death rate: !| Net migration rate: !| Sex ratio: under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.52 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2004 est.) !| Infant mortality rate: female: 23 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 26.59 deaths/1,000 live births !| Life expectancy at birth: male: 68.38 years female: 73.92 years (2004 est.) !| Total fertility rate: !| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: !| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: !| HIV/AIDS - deaths: !| Nationality: adjective: Korean !| Ethnic groups: !| Religions: note: autonomous religious activities now almost nonexistent; government-sponsored religious groups exist to provide illusion of religious freedom !| Languages: !| Literacy: total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99%
 * 22,697,553 (July 2004 est.)
 * 0-14 years: 24.6% (male 2,836,991; female 2,755,127)
 * total: 31.4 years
 * 0.98% (2004 est.)
 * 16.77 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * 6.99 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
 * total: 24.84 deaths/1,000 live births
 * total population: 71.08 years
 * 2.2 children born/woman (2004 est.)
 * NA
 * NA
 * NA
 * noun: Korean(s)
 * racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese
 * traditionally Buddhist and Confucianist, some Christian and syncretic Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way)
 * Korean
 * definition: age 15 and over can read and write
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!| Country name: conventional short form: North Korea local short form: none local long form: Choson-minjujuui-inmin-konghwaguk note: the North Koreans generally use the term "Choson" to refer to their country abbreviation: DPRK !| Government type: !| Capital: !| Administrative divisions: : provinces: Chagang-do (Chagang), Hamgyong-bukto (North Hamgyong), Hamgyong-namdo (South Hamgyong), Hwanghae-bukto (North Hwanghae), Hwanghae-namdo (South Hwanghae), Kangwon-do (Kangwon), P'yongan-bukto (North P'yongan), P'yongan-namdo (South P'yongan), Yanggang-do (Yanggang) : municipalites: Kaesong-si (Kaesong), Najin Sonbong-si (Najin), Namp'o-si (Namp'o), P'yongyang-si (Pyongyang) !| Independence: !| National holiday: !| Constitution: !| Legal system: !| Suffrage: !| Executive branch: election results: KIM Jong Il and KIM Yong Nam were only nominees for positions and ran unopposed head of government: Premier PAK Pong Ju (since 3 September 2003); Vice Premiers KWAK Pom Gi (since 5 September 1998), JON Sung Hun (since 3 September 2003), RO Tu Chol (since 3 September 2003) cabinet: Cabinet (Naegak), members, except for the Minister of People's Armed Forces, are appointed by the SPA elections: election last held in September 2003 (next to be held in September 2008) !| Legislative branch: election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; the KWP approves a list of candidates who are elected without opposition; some seats are held by minor parties elections: last held 3 August 2003 (next to be held in August 2008) !| Judicial branch: !| Political parties and leaders: !| Political pressure groups and leaders: !| International organization participation: !| Diplomatic representation in the US: !| Diplomatic representation from the US: !| Flag description:
 * conventional long form: Democratic People's Republic of Korea
 * Communist state one-man dictatorship
 * Pyongyang
 * 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 4 municipalities (si, singular and plural)
 * 15 August 1945 (from Japan)
 * Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948)
 * adopted 1948, completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992 and September 1998
 * based on German civil law system with Japanese influences and Communist legal theory; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
 * 17 years of age; universal
 * chief of state: KIM Jong Il (since July 1994); note - on 3 September 2003, rubberstamp Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) reelected KIM Jong Il Chairman of the National Defense Commission, a position accorded nation's "highest administrative authority"; SPA reelected KIM Yong Nam President of its Presidium also with responsibility of representing state and receiving diplomatic credentials; SPA appointed PAK Pong Ju Premier
 * unicameral Supreme People's Assembly or Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui (687 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
 * Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly)
 * major party - Korean Workers' Party or KWP [KIM Jong Il, general secretary]; minor parties - Chondoist Chongu Party [RYU Mi Yong, chairwoman] (under KWP control); Social Democratic Party [KIM Yong Dae, chairman] (under KWP control)
 * none
 * ARF, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
 * none; North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York
 * none (Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the US as consular protecting power)
 * three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in white; on the hoist side of the red band is a white disk with a red five-pointed star
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!| Economy - overview: !| GDP: !| GDP - real growth rate: !| GDP - per capita: !| GDP - composition by sector: industry: 33.8% services: 36% (2002 est.) !| Population below poverty line: !| Household income or consumption by percentage share: highest 10%: NA !| Inflation rate (consumer prices): !| Labor force: !| Labor force - by occupation: !| Unemployment rate: !| Budget: expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA !| Agriculture - products: !| Industries: !| Industrial production growth rate: !| Electricity - production: !| Electricity - consumption: !| Electricity - exports: !| Electricity - imports: !| Oil - production: !| Oil - consumption: !| Oil - exports: !| Oil - imports: !| Exports: !| Exports - commodities: !| Exports - partners: !| Imports: !| Imports - commodities: !| Imports - partners: !| Debt - external: !| Economic aid - recipient: !| Currency: !| Currency code: !| Exchange rates: !| Fiscal year:
 * North Korea, one of the world's most centrally planned and isolated economies, faces desperate economic conditions. Industrial capital stock is nearly beyond repair as a result of years of underinvestment and spare parts shortages. Industrial and power output have declined in parallel. The nation has suffered its tenth year of food shortages because of a lack of arable land, collective farming, weather-related problems, and chronic shortages of fertilizer and fuel. Massive international food aid deliveries have allowed the regime to escape mass starvation since 1995-96, but the population remains the victim of prolonged malnutrition and deteriorating living conditions. Large-scale military spending eats up resources needed for investment and civilian consumption. In 2003, heightened political tensions with key donor countries and general donor fatigue threatened the flow of desperately needed food aid and fuel aid as well. Black market prices continued to rise following the increase in official prices and wages in the summer of 2002, leaving some vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and unemployed, less able to buy goods. The regime, however, relaxed restrictions on farmers' market activities in spring 2003, leading to an expansion of market activity.
 * purchasing power parity - $29.58 billion (2003 est.)
 * 1% (2003 est.)
 * purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2003 est.)
 * agriculture: 30.2%
 * NA
 * lowest 10%: NA
 * NA (2003 est.)
 * 9.6 million
 * agricultural 36%, nonagricultural 64%
 * NA (2003)
 * revenues: NA
 * rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs
 * military products; machine building, electric power, chemicals; mining (coal, iron ore, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals), metallurgy; textiles, food processing; tourism
 * NA
 * 30.01 billion kWh (2001)
 * 27.91 billion kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * 85,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * NA (2001)
 * NA (2001)
 * $1.044 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
 * minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments); textiles and fishery products
 * South Korea 28.5%, China 28.4%, Japan 24.7% (2002)
 * $2.042 billion c.i.f. (2002 est.)
 * petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment; textiles, grain
 * China 39.7%, Thailand 14.6%, Japan 11.2%, Germany 7.6%, South Korea 6.2% (2002)
 * $12 billion (1996 est.)
 * $NA; note - over $133 million in food aid through the World Food Program in 2003 plus additional aid from bilateral donors and non-governmental organizations
 * North Korean won (KPW)
 * KPW
 * official: North Korean won per US dollar - 150 (December 2002), 2.15 (December 2001), 2.15 (May 1994), 2.13 (May 1992), 2.14 (September 1991), 2.1 (January 1990); market: North Korean won per US dollar - 300-600 (December 2002), 200 (December 2001)
 * calendar year
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!| Telephones - main lines in use: !| Telephones - mobile cellular: !| Telephone system: domestic: NA international: country code - 850; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Russian (Indian Ocean region); other international connections through Moscow and Beijing !| Radio broadcast stations: !| Radios: !| Television broadcast stations: !| Televisions: !| Internet country code: !| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): !| Internet users:
 * 1.1 million (2001)
 * NA
 * general assessment: NA
 * AM 16, FM 14, shortwave 12 (1999)
 * 3.36 million (1997)
 * 38 (1999)
 * 1.2 million (1997)
 * .kp
 * 1 (2000)
 * NA
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!| Railways: standard gauge: 5,214 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified) (2003) !| Highways: paved: 1,997 km unpaved: 29,203 km (1999 est.) !| Waterways: note: most navigable only by small craft (2004) !| Pipelines: !| Ports and harbors: !| Merchant marine: by type: bulk 6, cargo 166, combination bulk 2, container 3, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 3, multi-functional large load carrier 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 11, refrigerated cargo 6, roll on/roll off 2, short-sea/passenger 1 registered in other countries: 4 (2004 est.) foreign-owned: Albania 1, Belize 1, Bolivia 1, Cambodia 3, Cyprus 1, Egypt 3, Germany 1, Greece 4, Italy 1, Lebanon 2, Marshall Islands 1, Pakistan 1, Portugal 1, Romania 8, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Syria 9, Tanzania 1, Tunisia 1, Turkey 5, Ukraine 2, United States 3 !| Airports: !| Airports - with paved runways: over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 23 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2003 est.) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 !| Airports - with unpaved runways: 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 20 under 914 m: 8 (2003 est.) 914 to 1,523 m: 14 !| Heliports:
 * total: 5,214 km
 * total: 31,200 km
 * 2,250 km
 * oil 154 km (2004)
 * Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam (Hamhung), Kimch'aek, Kosong, Najin, Namp'o, Sinuiju, Songnim, Sonbong (formerly Unggi), Ungsang, Wonsan
 * total: 203 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 921,577 GRT/1,339,929 DWT
 * 78 (2003 est.)
 * total: 35
 * total: 43
 * 19 (2003 est.)
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!| Military branches: !| Military manpower - military age and obligation: !| Military manpower - availability: !| Military manpower - fit for military service: !| Military manpower - reaching military age annually: !| Military expenditures - dollar figure: !| Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
 * Korean People's Army (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), Civil Security Forces
 * 17 years of age (2004 est.)
 * males age 15-49: 6,181,038 (2004 est.)
 * males age 15-49: 3,694,855 (2004 est.)
 * males: 189,014 (2004 est.)
 * $5,217.4 million (FY02)
 * 22.9% (2003)
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