North Korea

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) (in chosŏn'gŭl, 조선민주주의인민공화국; in Hancha, 朝鮮民主主義人民共和國; revised romanization of Korean, Joseon Minjujuui Inmin Gonghwaguk; McCune-Reischauer, Chosŏn Minchuchuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk), commonly called North Korea (조선^?, 朝鮮^?, Joseon^RR , Chosŏn^MR by the North Koreans or 북한^?, 北韓^?, Bukhan^RR, Puk’an^MR by South Koreans), is a sovereign country in East Asia, located in the northern part of the Korean peninsula. It is bordered on the north by China, to the northeast with Russia and to the south with South Korea, with which it formed a single country until 1945. Its capital is the city of Pyongyang.

Its territory covers the northern half of the Korean peninsula. It is bordered by China to the north, Russia to the northeast, the Sea of Japan to the east, South Korea to the south, and the Yellow Sea and the Korean Bay to the west.

The Korean Peninsula was ruled by the Korean Empire until it was conquered and colonized by Japan after the Russo-Japanese War of 1905. In 1945—just after World War II—the Korean Peninsula was divided into two zones: the north, occupied by the Soviet Union, of communist ideology; and the south, occupied by the United States, with a capitalist ideology. In 1948, North Korea refused to participate in elections held under the auspices of the United Nations, eventually creating two independent governments in each of the occupied areas. Both States claimed the entire peninsula as their own territory, which would lead to the Korean War in 1950 after the North Korean invasion, which ended with the signing of an armistice in 1953; officially, the two countries are still at war, as a peace treaty has not yet been signed.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is constitutionally defined as a self-sufficient socialist state and formally holds elections every five years. Human rights organizations and foreign governments in general have described the North Korean government as a totalitarian dictatorship.

Juche, an ideology of national self-sufficiency, was introduced into the Constitution as a "creative application of Marxism-Leninism" in 1972. The means of production are owned by the state through corporations state and collectivized farms. Most of the services such as health, education, housing and food production are subsidized or financed by the State.

From 1995 to 1998, North Korea suffered a famine that resulted in the official death of 220,000 people—although according to some humanitarian organizations, the number was between 600,000 and 3 million people. Korea The North continues to face long periods of drought that threaten its food security. North Korea follows the songun, or "military-first" policy. military and paramilitary personnel, with a total of 9,495,000 active, reserve, and paramilitary personnel. Its active duty army of 1,210,000 soldiers is the fourth largest in the world, after China, the United States and India. Since Kim Jong-il's rule, the country has accelerated its nuclear program and is known worldwide for its prolific and continuous nuclear tests.

North Korea is officially a secular state, in which there are 3 recognized religions and their respective churches where they are practiced, which are Buddhism, Chandoism and Christianity, despite this the majority of religious associations and governments (not allies of that country) recognize North Korea as an atheocracy. It is a member of the United Nations Organization since 1991, as well as the Non-Aligned Movement and the G77.

A 2014 UN investigation into human rights abuses in North Korea concluded that "the severity, scale and nature of these violations reveal a state unlike any in the contemporary world& #34;, and Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch hold similar views. The North Korean government denies these abuses.

Toponymy

The name Korea is derived from the name Goryeo (also spelled Koryŏ). The name Goryeo itself was first used by the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo (Koguryŏ), which was one of the great powers of East Asia during its time, ruling most of of the Korean peninsula, Manchuria, parts of the Russian Far East, and parts of Inner Mongolia, under Gwanggaeto the Great. The kingdom of the century X of Goryeo succeeded Goguryeo, and thus inherited its name, which was pronounced by visiting Persian traders as "Korea". The modern spelling of Korea first appeared time in the late 17th century century in the travel writings of Hendrick Hamel of the Dutch East India Company.

After the country's division into North and South Korea, the two sides used different terms to refer to Korea: Chosun or Joseon (조선) in North Korea and Hanguk (한국) in South Korea. In 1948, North Korea adopted the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (Korean: 조선민주주의인민공화국, Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk) as its new legal name. In the rest of the world, because the government controls the northern part of the Korean peninsula, it is commonly referred to as North Korea to distinguish it from South Korea, which is officially called the Republic of Korea in Spanish. Both governments consider themselves the legitimate government of all of Korea. For this reason, the people do not consider themselves 'North Koreans'; but as Koreans in the same divided country as their compatriots in the south and foreign visitors are discouraged from using the former term.

History

The Japanese military occupation of Korea ended with the end of World War II and the surrender of Japan, announced on August 15, 1945. On August 8, the Soviet Union broke the non-aggression pact it had signed with Japan in April 1941 and, fulfilling the agreement of the Yalta conference of February 1945, in which it promised to intervene in the war against Japan, proceeded to the occupation of Manchuria, Korea, and the islands of Sakhalin and Kuriles. On August 10, 1945, the US government, which at that time did not have troops deployed on the peninsula, ordered the delimitation of two occupation zones and arbitrarily chose a demarcation along the 38th parallel, which was immediately accepted. by the Soviets.

After three years in which various unification projects failed, on August 15, 1948, the Americans created the Republic of Korea in the south, led by Syngman Rhee, a veteran politician in exile in Hawaii and an opponent of the Japanese occupation. from Korea. In response, the Soviets recognized the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on September 9, with a government headed by Kim Il-sung, who had fought since 1932 against the Japanese, who considered him one of the most popular and dangerous Korean guerrilla leaders..

The government of the north adopted an autocratic form and the one of the south began the repression of the pro-communist guerrillas and other left-wing movements, but both regimes, once the occupying forces withdrew, equally aspired to unify the country under their command. Border provocations ensued, and both Rhee and Kim Il-sung requested support for an invasion, but both the Americans and the Soviets refused to grant it at first, although Stalin eventually gave the North Korean leader limited backing conditional on Mao's acceptance. Mao reacted prudently, asking Stalin for confirmation of Kim's version, while the latter ordered that the Chinese be excluded from any military planning, including withholding from them the actual date of the attack.

War finally broke out when, at dawn on June 25, 1950, the North Korean army crossed the 38th parallel border and reached the gates of Seoul in just three days. The Soviet Union did not exercise its veto right, that a United Nations Security Council resolution in support of international military intervention was approved on June 27, although they could not prevent the advance of the North Koreans, who at the end of August they controlled almost the entire peninsula. However, after the Incheon landing on September 15, behind the lines of the tired northern army, the Americans quickly advanced, taking Seoul on the 26th and Pyongyang on October 19, the same day. day Mao decided to intervene directly. The "Chinese People's Volunteer Army", led by Peng Dehuai, initially inflicted heavy defeats on the Americans—to the point that MacArthur even came to to propose the use of nuclear weapons—and reoccupied Seoul on January 4, 1951. A month later the Americans counterattacked, recapturing Seoul and advancing to the 38th parallel, around which they built a fortified line of defense. The war then entered a phase of stalemate, although intensive bombardments of North Korea continued, until an armistice was signed at Panmunjom on July 27, 1953, restoring the pre-war 38th parallel border, although it did not conclude. in a final peace treaty.

A Korean People ' s Army soldier points to the demilitarized zone of Korea on a map.

North Korea was led by Kim Il-sung from 1948 until his death on July 8, 1994. On October 8, 1997, his son Kim Jong-il was elected by the Supreme People's Assembly as Secretary General of the Labor Party and in 1998 as president of the National Defense Commission. After a reform of the Constitution, elaborated in 1972, his position was declared as "the highest in the State" leaving the president vacant in memory of Kim Il-sung. His posthumous title is that of & # 34; Eternal President of the Republic & # 34;, recognized in the preamble of the Constitution.

During Kim Jong-il's rule in the late 1990s, the country's economy deteriorated considerably and food shortages became evident in many areas due to severe rains and floods that hit North Korean territory. Official figures provided by the "Committee for the Rehabilitation of the Victims of North Korea", estimated the number of deaths at 220,000 due to the famine that the country suffered between 1995 and 1998; however, according to some humanitarian organizations, a unknown but large number of people - some put the number at around three million; The Economist estimated that between 600,000 and 1,000,000 died as a result of this, intensified by a collapse in the food distribution system. Numerous North Koreans entered China illegally in search of food.

During the Clinton administration, relations between North Korea and the United States improved, including a historic summit between Seoul and Pyongyang in June 2000. However, in 2008, then-US President George W. Bush it changed its policies towards North Korea, calling for its disarmament and suspension of its nuclear weapons program; For its part, Pyongyang asked in return that its nation be removed from the terrorism blacklist and that the United States supply it with oil derivatives and technologies for its energy self-sufficiency. Despite the tense diplomatic relations between the two countries and the practically non-existent official communication between them, unofficial contacts such as visits by American students to North Korea occur from time to time.

North Korea is one of the most isolated places in the world, with severe restrictions on people entering or leaving the country. The press and mass organizations are controlled by the state, and are governed by the principles of Juche ideology, a Korean interpretation of socialism.

On December 17, 2011, Kim Jong-il passed away while traveling by train. His son, the young Kim Jong-un, who was designated heir to the Government on September 28, 2010, assumed the duties of head of state.

On March 8, 2013, due to the sanctions imposed by the UN for the nuclear tests carried out in 2012, as well as considering the joint military training maneuvers between the United States and its southern neighbor a threat, North Korea announced the end of the non-aggression agreement with South Korea, leading to an escalation of tension that developed during the first half of 2013. On March 29, 2013, North Korea declared a state of war on South Korea. /p>

Kim Il-sung at a meeting of the Korean Workers Party in Pionyang, 1946.

On January 6, 2016, ignoring the sanctions imposed by the UN, he carried out the underground detonation of the first Hydrogen bomb, developed by this country, therefore this commotion causes tensions between China, one of its main allies, and Japan, the United States and South Korea, who urgently called a meeting to treat the matter as an International Emergency because, according to them, it was provocations by the North Korean government. On July 4, 2017, North Korea successfully conducted its first test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), designated the Hwasong-14.

The inter-Korean summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un took place on April 27, 2018.

Geography

Day photography made by satellite of the Korean peninsula.

Monte Paektu, the highest point in North Korea, located on the border with China.

North Korea is located on the northern half of the Korean Peninsula, from the 38th parallel. It is bordered by two seas, to the west by the Yellow Sea and the Bay of Korea, and to the east by the Sea of Japan. Its terrain presents numerous mountain ranges and mountains, separated by deep and narrow valleys. On the western coast, the plains predominate. The highest point in the country is the peak of Mount Paektu, at 2,744 meters above sea level. Among the country's most important rivers are the Tumen and the Yalu, which form the natural border with the People's Republic of China.

The local climate is temperate, with the most rainfall being in summer, during a rainy season called jangma. Winters are usually very cold and intense.

The largest city in North Korea is its capital, Pyongyang, or Pyongyang. Other notable cities are Kaesong in the south, Sinuiju in the northwest, Wŏnsan and Hamhung in the east, and Ch'ŏngjin in the northeast.

The territory of North Korea is considerably mountainous, with forest-covered mountain ranges to the east, along the coastline of the Sea of Japan.

Climate

North Korea experiences a combination of a continental climate and an oceanic climate, but most of the country experiences a humid continental climate within the Köppen climate classification scheme. Winters bring clear weather interspersed with snowstorms as a result of northerly and northwesterly winds blowing from Siberia. Summer tends to be the hottest, wettest, and rainiest of the year due to south and southeast monsoon winds that carry moist air from the Pacific Ocean. Approximately 60 percent of all precipitation occurs from June to September. Spring and fall are transitional seasons between summer and winter. The average daily high and low temperatures for Pyongyang are -3 and -13 °C (27 and 9 °F) in January and 29 and 20 °C (84 and 68 °F) in August.

Territorial organization

Since 2005 North Korea has been divided into two directly ruled cities or Chikhalsi (in chosŏn'gŭl, 직할시; in Hancha, 直轄市), three special regions and nine provinces.

Map		Name	Hangul	Hanja	Capital
Pionyang P'y Columnngan Sur North Hwanghae Hwanghae Sur Kangwon Hamgy circulatedng Sur North Hamgy Rasovićn Ryanggang Chagang P'yůngan North Sinŭiju Kŭmgangsan Kaesong Namp'o People ' s Republic of China Russia Republic of Korea Yellow Sea Korean Bay Sea of Japan	Cities with direct government
	1	Pionyang	の 양 の 양の 양 양 양 양 양 양 양 양 양 양 양 양 양 양 양 양 양 양 양 양 양 양	▪	Pionyang
	2	Rasovićn	the Lord	先の 先の 先の 先の 先の 先の 先	Rasovićn
	Special regions
	3	Sinŭiju	oriented	..	No information
	4	Kaesong	أعربية	城 cherished	No information
	5	Kŭmgangsan	。	✕觀の	No information
	Provinces
	6	P'y Columnngan of the South	안 better expression	Manifesto	Pyongsong
	7	P'yůngan of the North	celebrities	quot; quot,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,	Sinuiju
	8	Chagang	Manifesto	に	Kanggye
	9	South Hwanghae	해 compound cleansing	海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 我 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海	Haeju
	10	North Hwanghae	️	海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海 海	Sariwon
	11	Kangwon	Русский		Wonsan
	12	South Hamgy	▪ precipitous	に	Hamhung
	13	North Hamgy		北 北 北 北 北 北 北 北 北 北 北 北 北 北 北 北 北	Chongjin
	14	Ryanggang	ה	に	Hyesan

v t e Most populated cities in North Korea Census 2008
	Post		Administrative division	Pob.
Pionyang Hamhung	1	Pionyang	Pionyang	3 255 288	Chongjin Nampo
	2	Hamhung	South Hamgy	768 551
	3	Chongjin	North Hamgy	667 929
	4	Nampo	P'y Columnngan of the South	366 815
	5	Wonsan	Kangwon	363 127
	6	Sinuiju	P'yůngan of the North	359 341
	7	Tanchon	South Hamgy	345 875
	8	Kaechon	P'y Columnngan of the South	319 554
	9	Kaesong	North Hwanghae	308 440
	10	Sariwon	North Hwanghae	307 764

Government and politics

Wall of political propaganda in Pionyang representing Kim Il-sung.

North Korea is officially a socialist republic based on Juche ideology. Kim Il-sung, the founder of the North Korean state, is considered the Eternal President of the Republic. His son Kim Jong-il was Supreme Commander of the Army, Chairman of the National Defense Commission and head of the Military Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, but it was not until July 1995 that he formally assumed the leadership of the State and the Party, which temporarily vacant.

Kim Jong-il was not addressed as president, like his father, but as "leader." Kim Jong-il's youngest son, Kim Jong-un, was named heir to his father's political powers in October 2010, at the age of 27, following the fall from grace of his eldest son, Kim Jong-il. nam, who went into exile in Macao. He currently occupies the place of his father, Kim Jong-il after his death.

The governing Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is the Socialist Constitution of 1972, approved on December 27, 1972, revised and completed in 1993, and amended in 1998. The highest state body is the Supreme People's Assembly, which has 687 members. Elections are held every five years to renew the seats of such a legislative body; the last to take place were the elections on March 10, 2019.

Headquarters of the Supreme People’s Assembly in Pionyang.

Executive power is vested in the North Korean Cabinet, which is headed by Premier Kim Tok-hun. The premier represents the government and functions independently. His authority extends over two vice presidents, 30 ministers, two cabinet committee chairmen, the cabinet secretary general, the president of the Central Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the director of the Central Statistical Office, and the president of the Academy of Sciences.

One of the country's backbones are its armed forces, made up of 1,106,000 troops, according to 2010 data, and other paramilitary forces, among which the Workers' and Peasants' Red Guards stand out, with around 3.5 million of troops, and the Security Troops, which depend on the Ministry of Public Security and have some 115,000 troops.

On October 9, 2006, North Korea exploded its first nuclear bomb, despite the notable threats it had received in this regard from the United States and other countries, which led it to receive strong sanctions international.

Vladimir Putin, when he was Prime Minister, together with Kim Jong-il, the country's leader between 1994 and 2011.

On December 18, 2006, multilateral talks resumed in Beijing on the issue of nuclear weapons. A new round of talks was held on February 8, 2007 in the Chinese capital, in which North Korea demanded energy compensation. On the sixth day of the six-party talks, delegations from North Korea, South Korea, the United States, Russia, Japan and China signed an agreement containing the first steps for North Korea's denuclearization. In exchange, North Korea would receive energy aid equivalent to 1 million toe and other financial compensation.

On October 4, 2007, after a meeting between the heads of state of Pyongyang and Seoul, the Declaration of Peace and Prosperity was signed, through which both parties resumed the agreements of June 2000 and expressed their desire to overcome the Korean War armistice to sign the final peace, and North Korea was willing to abandon its nuclear program. However, after the rise to power of the conservative Lee Myung-bak in 2008, that treaty was canceled and all the aid to the country given by the previous South Korean governments disappeared.

A painting by Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il on the top of Mount Paektu.

North Korea's third nuclear test was carried out on February 11, 2013 in the northwest of the country, in defiance of a United Nations Security Council ban. This generated a great state of alert in South Korea and Japan, the closest countries with which North Korea maintains tense relations. Shortly after the nuclear test bomb was detonated, media outlets in the United States, Russia, Japan and South Korea announced that an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale struck the area where the tests were taking place. nuclear tests, while on the other hand the official press release of the Government of Pyongyang, although it recognized the use of an atomic bomb in an underground nuclear test, denied that it had caused negative effects on the environment, such as the aforementioned cause of an earthquake.

North Korea's last nuclear test was conducted in early January 2016, the first indications of unusual activity in the Punggye-ri area, the scene of previous nuclear tests. They were recorded around 10:30 in the morning, when experts from countries such as China, Japan or the US warned of an earthquake in that area that would have reached a magnitude of 5.1 on the international scale, which measures telluric movements. Unlike its previous nuclear tests, this differs from the fact that a hydrogen bomb was used for the first time by the country.

Political parties

North Korean citizens bowing to the statues of Kim Il-sung (left) and his son Kim Jong-il (right) at the Great Monument of Mansu Hill in Pionyang.

Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il in Pionyang. The slogan of the building reads: "We are happy" (Speaking Dictionary of the PDF).

The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), founded in 1945, which adheres to the Juche idea, is the main political party. The Social Democratic Party of Korea and the Chondoist Chong-u Party are united with the WPK in the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland, created in June 1945. Young people and women are organized in the "Kimilsungist-Kimjongilist Youth League". » and in the «Union of Democratic Women», respectively. Some groups of citizens in exile founded alternative political parties, banned within the country, such as the Party of Korean Liberal Democrats. In the 2009 elections, the Democratic Front occupied all 687 seats in the Supreme People's Assembly, of which almost 90% corresponded to the PTC and the rest to the minor parties. In the last elections held in 2014, 687 deputies were elected.

International relations

Reunification Arch.

International relations of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea have been strained since the creation of its nuclear program and its isolation from abroad. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country has been under constant pressure by the United States towards its nuclear disarmament and halting the production of nuclear weapons.

Its isolation abroad has made its bilateral and multilateral relations excessively difficult; It owns embassies in various countries that were or are communist.

It has been strongly sanctioned by several countries and by international organizations, with China and Russia being the countries with which it has fairly stable relations.

Human rights

War prisoners killed by the North Korean army near Hamhung in October 1950 during the Korean War.

The magazine The Economist contains in its issue corresponding to September 27, 2008 an extensive analysis of the situation in North Korea, contrasting it with South Korea, which is a state of capitalist economy, supported by a liberal political system or parliamentary democracy.

According to article 68 of the Socialist Constitution of 1972, citizens have the right and freedom to practice any religious belief as long as they do not use it to introduce foreign forces into the country and disturb the social order. there is a Catholic diocese in Pyongyang founded in 1927, which is still in force today.

According to Amnesty International, human rights violations in North Korea include the use of torture, the application of the death penalty, arbitrary arrest and imprisonment, inhumane prison conditions and the near complete suppression of fundamental freedoms, including those of expression and movement. Based on satellite images and testimonies from defectors - not having representation personnel or headquarters in North Korea, nor having ever been in the country - Amnesty International estimates that around More than 200,000 prisoners are held in six large prison camps, where they are forced to work in conditions close to slavery.

According to the United States Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, North Korean defectors have witnessed the existence of prison and concentration camps with an estimated population of between 150,000 and 200,000 inmates—about 0.85 % of the population—, as well as the existence of human experimentation fields and numerous cases of torture, starvation, rape, murder, medical experiments, forced labor and forced abortions.

In 2014, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights wrote a report stating severe human rights violations and extremely brutal crimes against humanity in North Korea, including torture of all kinds, arbitrary detention, summary execution, forced abortions and sexual violence, as well as prison and concentration camps where brutal practices are carried out against the prisoners. This report was made despite the refusals of the North Korean government to cooperate in the investigation and the requests for access to the country presented by the commission. The report opened a world debate that continued investigations on the subject until today.

North Korea's diplomatic mission in Geneva, for its part, issued a statement alleging that the UN report was based on falsehoods used as a "tool of political conspiracy" aimed at sabotaging the socialist system and smearing the country. The commission in charge of preparing the report was created by the UN Human Rights Council at the request of the European Union, the United States, and Japan, and is made up of three members, from Australia, Indonesia, and Serbia, considered hostile forces. by the North Korean authorities because they are backed by the United States, the European Union, and Japan, in opposition to the Government of Pyongyang.^{[citation needed]} In the statement issued by his diplomatic personnel, the North Korean authorities denied the existence of human rights violations and denounced the Commission, describing it as "a puppet that intervenes here and there to represent the sick purposes of those pulling the strings, such as the United States, Japan and the countries of the EU", alleging that both the creation of the commission and the report itself are an attempt to change the current system of government of the Asian country under the pretext of concerns for the human rights.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, stated in this regard that submitting human rights issues to international criminal courts does not improve the situation of a country, and that "China has always advocated that they be resolved human rights differences through constructive dialogue and cooperation based on equality and mutual respect."

In January 2015, the British newspaper The Telegraph published an article revealing that the story of North Korean defector Shin Dong-Hyuk was partly false. Shin Dong-Hyuk, considered the only defector to have been born and escaped from a North Korean prison camp, admitted to having falsified facts about his personal history, posting a message on his Facebook account asking for forgiveness and saying that "I had always wanted to hide part of his past." A Seoul-based human rights expert described the changes as "minor inaccuracies" and said many refugees who have suffered abuse have "selective memories". In response, Korea Central Television published an interview in which his father called his son a "liar" and denied that his family was in the camp.

In terms of human rights, regarding membership of the seven bodies of the International Bill of Human Rights, which include the Human Rights Committee (HRC), North Korea has signed or ratified:

Status of major international human rights instruments

North Korea	International treaties
	CESCR		CCPR			CERD	CED	CEDAW		CAT		CRC			MWC	CRPD
	CESCR	CESCR-OP	CCPR	CCPR-OP1	CCPR-OP2-DP			CEDAW	CEDAW-OP	CAT	CAT-OP	CRC	CRC-OP-AC	CRC-OP-SC		CRPD	CRPD-OP
Pertenence
Signed and ratified, signed, but not ratified, neither signed nor ratified, without information, it has agreed to sign and ratify the body concerned, but also recognizes the competence to receive and process individual communications from the competent bodies.

Armed Forces

North Korean soldiers in Panmunjom.

North Korean military personnel in the demilitarized zone of Korea.

The Korean People's Army (조선인민군) is in charge of defending the country. It is estimated to be the fourth largest in the world in personnel (more than 1 million active soldiers and 4.7 million in the reserves) and the first in military spending compared to GDP (around 25%).

According to the guidelines derived from the Songun policy of «the military first», the country dedicates a very important part of its resources to defense. It also has about 45 soldiers per 1,000 inhabitants, a relative rate higher than that of any other country in the world, including relatively militarized states such as Israel, which has 25 soldiers per 1,000 inhabitants, or South Korea, where there are 12 soldiers for every 1,000 people.

Nuclear Program

In recent years, the North Korean nuclear program has sparked controversy among nuclear states, particularly the United States, over the objectives of its military development. While the North Korean government argues that the development of nuclear weapons is for deterrence and eventual defense purposes, the US and the European Union consider North Korea's possession of atomic war material illegal.

North Korea has the capacity to manufacture nuclear weapons. In 2006 it carried out the test of a nuclear device, which made it the ninth nuclear power in the world. On May 25, 2009, North Korea successfully carried out a second nuclear test consisting of an underground explosion with a power of 20 kilotons, conducting the test approximately 15 km from the first North Korean test center in Kilju, in Hamgyong province. North, close to the border with Russia. North Korea launched at least three short-range surface-to-air missiles.

On January 6, 2016, North Korea revealed to the world its ability to make advanced nuclear weapons by conducting a nuclear test of a hydrogen bomb. Also, on September 9 of the same year, it conducts an underground test; the international community interpreted it as a challenge.

By April 20, 2018, Kim Jong-un announced the suspension and shutdown of nuclear programs.

Families separated after the Korean War are reunited

North Korea and South Korea have so far held 19 days of reunions between families from both countries that were separated after the Korean War. These meetings began with the so-called Policy of the Sun, promoted by Kim Jong-il and Kim Dae-jung, the then first leaders of both Koreas, which ceased this type of meeting in 2007 due to the subsequent growing tensions between the two nations. After the 2013 Korean Crisis, both nations pledged to cease exchanging verbal insults in order to improve their bilateral relations, which helped to resume reunions between families separated by war, leading to the 19th session. of reunions carried out in North Korea, in a tourist complex on Mount Kumgang.

Economy

Night satellite photo of the Korean peninsula in 2014. The darkness of North Korea is often interpreted as a sign of economic backwardness towards its neighbouring countries.

An industrial plant in Hamhung.

Crops growing in the Democratic People ' s Republic of Korea.

North Korea has maintained one of the most closed and centralized economies in the world since the 1940s (although today it is experiencing a mildly liberalizing period since Kim Jong-Un came to power). For several decades it followed the Soviet model of five-year plans to achieve self-sufficiency. Broad Soviet and Chinese support allowed the country to recover quickly from the Korean War and record very high growth rates. GNP per capita in North Korea nearly quadrupled between 1953 and 1960 (from $55 to $208), while it nearly stagnated in South Korea (from $56 to $60). Historian Bruce Cummings notes that: "An internal CIA report admitted the different achievements of the regime: the care of children and particularly orphans, the "radical change" the status of women, free medical care and preventive medicine, infant mortality rates and a life expectancy comparable to the most advanced countries.

Inefficiency began to emerge around the 1970s, when the economy moved from the extensive stage to the stage of intensive development. Shortages of skilled labor, energy, arable land, and transportation significantly hampered long-term growth and resulted in consistent failure to meet planning targets.^{[citation needed]}

Since the fall of the socialist camp (mainly the socialist countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union) the country is going through a chronic situation of economic crisis, aggravated by the blockades to which the international community submits it. However, it is not possible to know details, since international organizations that monitor world trade and financial activities do not have data on the country, have huge gaps in their reports or analyzes with some kind of ideological bias (North Korea is not a member of the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank does not have economic data on the country). However, according to the CIA World Factbook, the very precarious food situation of the 1990s has not ceased. This is contrasted with the data provided by the FAO who affirms that, although some malnutrition persists, malnutrition rates have steadily decreased and production has increased.

Barely 21.8% of North Korea's land area is arable. Its main agricultural product is rice. 90% of the land is worked cooperatively. It has several mineral resources such as coal, iron, zinc, copper, lead and manganese.

The North Korean economy is governed through a vertical system of state power, centralized around the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, in what is commonly referred to as a centrally planned economy. Almost all companies are owned by the state, which in turn is controlled and run by the Party, effectively making North Korea a socialist state. A large number of funds are allocated to heavy industry, mainly metallurgy, coal mining and rail transport. In agriculture, rice cultivation stands out.

The North Korean government, however, distinguishes itself from its kindred by its full embrace of Juche, defined as a resource management system ("national philosophy of life") based on the country's self-sufficiency, nationalism, and certain concepts of Buddhism and socialism. In this context, the basis of trade consists in making the most of one's own resources and importing only essential products that are lacking, such as oil.

Cable car installed on Mount Paektu, the highest mountain in the Korean Peninsula.

Since the 1980s, special economic zones were created where foreign investment is encouraged. However, this measure should not be understood as a turn towards a socialist market economy, as some analysts have warned, since at no time has it been accompanied by a privatization of the productive means, as happened in the People's Republic of China after the death of Mao in 1976. The General Federation of Korean Trade Unions is the only labor union in the country. For its part, the Korean Agricultural Workers Union is the agrarian union that brings together day laborers and peasants.

In 2014, the North Korean state mining company contracted the British company SRE Minerals Ltd. to grant it mining exploration concessions in search of rare metals (rare earths), since according to a report by the British company North Korea could host more rare metals than the rest of the planet. At the moment it is unknown if the contract grants rights to SRE Minerals for the exploitation and export of rare earths, or if it is only limited to exploration, leaving the extraction and commercialization in the hands of the State.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea claims to be the only country where no taxes are levied. This average was established on March 21, 1974 and was launched on April 1 of the same year, although there are those who criticize such a statement as propaganda. Although foreign companies pay taxes, unlike many countries these can be considered low..

Tourism

Monument in honor of the workers, peasants and intellectuals of the Korean Workers Party, before the Juche Tower in Pionyang.

Traveling from abroad is not complicated, but it must be through a travel agency authorized by the North Korean tourism authorities, such as the KTG agency. The Ministry of Cultural Relations has launched a website where tourist information can be found. Tourism is highly controlled by the government and only 4,000 to 6,000 Western tourists visit North Korea each year. It is estimated that in 2019 at least 300,000 tourists visited the country. Approximately 90% of them are Chinese.

Historically, interactions with locals have been strictly controlled; however, with photos posted online and traveler testimonials, those restrictions appear to have been eased slightly in recent years. the possibility of communicating with the foreigner from the country, by email or by telephone, since it is possible to acquire a SIM card for the country that allows international calls, although these services tend to be expensive.

Economic blockade

The United States government, through the Treasury Department, has imposed an economic blockade on North Korea restricting various types of transactions. Among the prohibitions imposed by the United States on North Korea are the blockade of North Korean property and property interests abroad; the prohibition of registration, authorization, possession, and leasing of North Korean ships to any US citizen, restrictions on imports of goods (food, etc.), services, and technology from North Korea, and a blockade on exports of products to Korea from the North.

On the other hand, the Department of State of the United States through the Wassenaar Agreement, signed together with 32 other countries, establishes prohibitions on the export of any technology or materials considered dual-use, while the European Union also established a series of restrictions against North Korea.

In addition, the North Korean economy is also affected by blockades and embargoes imposed by other countries, such as Switzerland, Mexico, Japan, and even China and the UN Security Council.

Demographics

Demographic developments between 1961 and 2003 in millions of inhabitants.

According to the provisional or preliminary data of the census of October 1, 2008, the second conducted in the history of North Korea (after the 1993 census), the country had 24,051,218 inhabitants (approximately half of the population of his ideological rival in the south). The official language is Korean. Given the traditional political isolation of the State, it is more "pure" than the dialect variant spoken in its southern neighbor, since the latter usually includes words from English.

According to 2015 data, life expectancy is 70.11 years and the fertility rate is 1.97 children per woman. 100% of the population is literate. North and South Koreans, ethnically speaking, probably come from the Tungus branch, which over the centuries suffered influences from its Chinese and Mongolian conquerors. Compared with the majority of Asian countries, their ethnic and cultural homogeneity is striking, since there are no differentiated minorities.

The most populous city is the capital, Pyongyang, with an estimated population of 3,270,582. In 2010, in addition to Pyongyang, six other cities exceeded 300,000 inhabitants: Hamhung (586,337), Namp'o (471,075), Hŭngnam (362,970), Kaesong (354,810), Wŏnsan (342,852) and Ch'ŏngjin (330.208).

Language

In North Korea, as in its neighbor to the south, the official language is Korean, although there are dialectal differences in both Koreas. North Koreans refer to their own Pyongyang dialect as munhwaŏ ('cultured language') in comparison to South Korean dialects, especially the Seoul dialect or p'yojun' in South Korea. ŏ ("standard language"), which is seen as decadent due to its use of loanwords from the Chinese and European (particularly English) languages. Words of Chinese, Manchu or Western origin have been removed from the munhwa along with the use of Chinese hanja characters. The written language uses only the phonetic alphabet chosŏn&#3l, developed under Sejong the Great (1418-1450).

Songbun (caste system)

North Koreans posing for a photo in front of Kumsusan Sun Palace.

According to a report published by Robert Collins —who was part of the United States Army in South Korea—, for the "Committee for Human Rights in North Korea", the North Korean authorities have divided the population of the country in a caste system called Songbun, according to their loyalty to the regime into three different groups:

• The "lears": The descendants of those who fought against the Japanese occupation of Korea and the relatives of the soldiers who died in the Korean war, as well as the small peasants and the workers. Members of this group have the right to reside in the capital, Pionyang, and preferences for access to housing, food, medical treatment and jobs.

• The "vacilantes": To this group belong the relatives of artisans, small merchants, repatriated from China and intellectuals. They are employed as low-training technicians and are closely monitored.

• The "hostiles": This caste includes the descendants and relatives of those who collaborated with Japan during the occupation and the opponents of the regime's founder, Kim Il-sung. Also part of the "hostiles" are relatives of people fleeing to South Korea, entrepreneurs, religious and aristocrat personalities. This group is subjected to the most dangerous and hard work in the most remote regions, receive little food rations, suffer discrimination when entering the school or getting married and are subject to continuous monitoring.

Despite the report indicating that the North Korean government announced this caste system, no official source from the North Korean government has been identified where such statements are appreciated.^{[citation needed]}

Health

Dentologists working at the Maternal Hospital of Pionyang. WHO ensures that North Korea has an extensive and efficient health system.

North Korea's healthcare system is publicly accessible and free. According to WHO Director General Margaret Chan, following a visit she made in 2010, the country offers an extensive health system, with one GP for every 130 families, and good maternal and child immunization coverage. He said that the Government was willing to collaborate with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization. On the other hand, it is the third country in the world with the highest number of hospital beds per inhabitant, which places it below only Monaco and Japan.

However, Margaret Chan said malnutrition is a problem in North Korea and needed attention, even though she had seen no obvious signs of it in the capital. These food problems have been recognized by the authorities. In particular, deficiencies in certain products such as calcium and milk, due to the scarcity of arable land and the economic embargoes that prevent commercial exchange with foreign countries.

He also maintains that certain points should be improved in terms of the health system, such as the long distances that separate some patients from their medical centers or access to new technologies that allow documenting medical records using computer resources, since today most are made by hand.^{[citation needed]} However, Chan noted that the current nutritional situation has improved since the famines that hit the country in the 1990s and the natural disasters of 2001, and that, from what he had seen, North Koreans are currently the same height and weight as other Asian countries. In addition, the country has also sent medical aid abroad on occasion. The WHO does not have data on those affected by HIV/AIDS in North Korea.

In 2016, the Nobel Prize winners in medicine and economics were alarmed by the international sanctions directed against the North Korean health system. The embargo effectively prevents the importation of medicines by North Korea.

The work of humanitarian NGOs is also hampered by international sanctions tightened in 2017 and US pressure In 2018, Save the Children, one of the last NGOs still permanently present in the country, had to leave, unable to provide humanitarian aid because of sanctions.

Education

A girl at a school in Mangyongdae.

The 2008 census determined that there is a 100% literacy rate. Practically the entire population has received primary and secondary education. The study of the natural sciences is greatly emphasized while the social sciences are neglected. The study of Russian and English has been made compulsory in higher schools since 1978. However, in terms of higher education the percentage is much lower, with a great difference between men and women: 14% of men and 7% of women have a higher degree.

Culture

The Koguryo tomb set is the first World Heritage Site in North Korea.

In North Korea, traditional culture is specially protected. The literacy level of the population is 100%, although the level of the population with higher education decreases considerably due to the allocation of the most capable students. The rest of the population is assigned to other more productive positions based on their demonstrated abilities. Religious freedom is a constitutional right in North Korea. The most common religions are Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Chondoism—which combines native Korean elements, mainly Buddhist, and Christian influences—and in the interior regions, traditional shamanic cults.

North Korea has been denounced as the country where the greatest persecution of Christianity exists. However, Christian organizations that denounce the alleged persecution of Christianity acknowledge that in North Korea there are open Christian churches —generally Protestants and Orthodox - and that even certain anti-communist religious leaders such as Billy Graham have been well received in the country. Currently there are Christian churches in North Korea and inter-Korean relations conferences between religious of both States.

North Korea also has, in addition to the flag and national anthem, a "national flower", which is the magnolia sieboldii. This flower is a native variety of magnolia and appears on the 200 Won bill.

Cult of personality

The North Korean government exercises control over many aspects of North Korean culture, and this is used to perpetuate a cult of personality surrounding Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. This cult has existed in the nation for decades and can be found in many manifestations of North Korean culture. Although this cult is not officially recognized by the North Korean government, many defectors and Western visitors say there are often harsh penalties for those who criticize or fail to show "proper" respect for the cult. to the regime.

Several places in North Korea are named after Kim Il-sung, including Kim Il-sung University, Kim Il-sung Stadium, and Kim Il-sung Square. Defectors say North Korean schools celebrate both father and son. After Kim Il-sung's death, North Koreans fell down and wept before a bronze statue of him at an organized event, similar scenes were broadcast on state television after Kim Jong-il's death.

Critics argue that Kim Jong-il's cult of personality was inherited from his father. Kim Jong-il was often the center of attention in ordinary life. His birthday is one of the most important holidays in the country. On his sixtieth birthday (based on his official birth date), mass celebrations were held across the country. Kim Jong-il's cult of personality, while significant, was not as strong as his father's. Some claim that Kim Jong-il's personality cult was solely out of respect for Kim Il-sung or fear of punishment for failing to pay proper homage. Media and government sources outside the country support this view, while North Korean government sources say it is genuine hero worship.

Sports

The Arirang Festival, an artistic and gymnastic festival that is held annually at the First Place of May.

The most practiced sports in the country are taekwondo, judo and table tennis (player Kim Hyang-Mi was runner-up at the 2004 Athens Olympics).

North Korea's first participation in the Olympic Games was in Innsbruck 1964, however, it boycotted the games in Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988. Its best performance occurred in Barcelona 1992, where the national team won nine medals, from of which four medals were gold and five bronze. In those of Beijing 2008 they also achieved a good participation, winning two gold medals, one bronze and three silver. The country has also won Olympic gold and bronze medals generally in combat and strength sports, such as weightlifting, judo, and wrestling, and also in Greco-Roman wrestling tournaments, although it was left out of the 2014 Sochi Summer Olympics. Medal-winning athletes are awarded luxury apartments by the state in recognition of their achievements.

The North Korean men's soccer team has only qualified twice for the World Cup in this category. He had an outstanding performance in the 1966 World Cup in England, eliminating teams like Italy and almost doing the same with Eusébio's Portuguese team.

On June 17, 2009, the soccer team qualified for the 2010 Soccer World Cup held in South Africa, which was their second participation in this event, after a goalless draw against Saudi Arabia in Riyadh, eliminating Iran and taking the Saudis to the playoffs. However, in the championship they had a poor development, being eliminated in the first group stage, after losing against Brazil (1-2), Portugal (0-7) and Ivory Coast (0-3).

Meanwhile, the North Korean women's soccer team has managed to establish itself worldwide, highlighting the fact that it has won two U-20 Women's Soccer World Cups and two U-17 Women's Soccer World Cups, among other continental cups in the different categories.

The Arirang Festival has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the largest choreographic event in the world. Some 100,000 athletes perform rhythmic gymnastics and dance while another 40,000 participants create a large animated screen in the background. The event is an artistic representation of the country's history and pays tribute to Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. The Reungrado Primero de Mayo Stadium, the largest in the world with a capacity for 114,000 people, hosts the festival every year.