Korea North

National name: Choson Minjujuui Inmin Konghwaguk

Government
Authoritarian socialist; oneman dictatorship.

Geography
Korea is a 600-mile (966 km) peninsula jutting out from Manchuria and China. The country is almost completely covered by a series of north-south mountain ranges separated by narrow valleys. The Yalu River forms part of the northern border with Manchuria.

Historical Background
An independent kingdom for much of its long history, 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 USbacked Republic of Korea (ROK) in the southern portion by force, North Korea (DPRK), under its founder President KIM II-so'ng, adopted a policy of ostensible diplomatic and economic "selfreliance" as a check against excessive Soviet or Communist Chinese influence. In December 2002, following revelations that the DPRK was pursuing a nuclear weapons program based on enriched uranium in violation of a 1994 agreement with the US to freeze and ultimately dismantle its existing plutonium-based program, North Korea expelled monitors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In January 2003, it 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 the Six-Party Talks with China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the US designed to resolve the stalemate over its nuclear programs. The fourth round of Six-Party Talks were held in Beijing during July- September 2005. While the Joint Statement provides a vision of the end-point of the Six-Party process, much work lies ahead to implement the elements of the agreement. In 2006, North Korea exploded Nuclear weapon which shook the world.

Name

Democratic People's Republic of Korea

Capital

Pyongyang

Government

Juche republic,unitary single-party republic,military dictatorship -  Eternal President Kim Il-sung (deceased)[a] -  Supreme Leader[2][3] Kim Jong-il - NDC Chairman Kim Jong-il -  Chairman of the Presidium Kim Yong-nam[b] -  Premier Choe Yong-rim

Area

Total 120,540 km2 (98th) 46,528 sq mi        

Population

2009 estimate 24,051,218[4] (51st) -  2008 census 24,052,231[5]

GDP (PPP)

2008[6] estimate - Total $40 billion (94th)

GDP (nominal)

2009[7] estimate - Total $28.2 billion (88th)

Currency

North Korean won  (KPW)

Time zone

Korea Standard Time (UTC+9)