|
| World Fact Book
| Mark H. Solsman
| Documentation Training and Publications, Center for Academic Computing
| mhs108@psu.edu  10/19/93
I
 
_@_Korea, North Geography
 
Total area:
    120,540 km2
Land area:
    120,410 km2
Comparative area:
    slightly smaller than Mississippi
Land boundaries:
    1,673 km; China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km
Coastline:
    2,495 km
Maritime claims:
  Exclusive economic zone:
    200 nm
  Military boundary line:
    50 nm in the Sea of Japan and the exclusive economic zone limit in the
    Yellow Sea (all foreign vessels and aircraft without permission are banned)
  Territorial sea:
    12 nm
Disputes:
    short section of boundary with China is indefinite; Demarcation Line with
    South Korea
Climate:
    temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer
Terrain:
    mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains
    wide in west, discontinuous in east
Natural resources:
    coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold,
    pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower
Land use:
    arable land 18%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures NEGL%; forest and
    woodland 74%; other 7%; includes irrigated 9%
Environment:
    mountainous interior is isolated, nearly inaccessible, and sparsely
    populated; late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding
Note:
    strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia
 
:Korea, North People
 
Population:
    22,227,303 (July 1992), growth rate 1.9% (1992)
Birth rate:
    24 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
    6 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
    0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
    30 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
    66 years male, 72 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
    2.4 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
    noun - Korean(s);adjective - Korean
Ethnic divisions:
    racially homogeneous
Religions:
    Buddhism and Confucianism; some Christianity and syncretic Chondogyo;
    autonomous religious activities now almost nonexistent; government-sponsored
    religious groups exist to provide illusion of religious freedom
Languages:
    Korean
Literacy:
    99%, (male 99%, female 99%); note - presumed to be virtually universal among
    population under age 60
Labor force:
    9,615,000; agricultural 36%, nonagricultural 64%; shortage of skilled and
    unskilled labor (mid-1987 est.)
Organized labor:
    1,600,000 members; single-trade union system coordinated by the General
    Federation of Trade Unions of Korea under the Central Committee
 
:Korea, North Government
 
Long-form name:
    Democratic People's Republic of Korea; abbreviated DPRK
Type:
    Communist state; Stalinist dictatorship
Capital:
    P'yongyang
Administrative divisions:
    9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 3 special cities* (jikhalsi,
    singular and plural); Chagang-do, Hamgyong-namdo, Hamgyong-bukto,
    Hwanghae-namdo, Hwanghae-bukto, Kaesong-si*, Kangwon-do, Namp'o-si*,
    P'yongan-bukto, P'yongan-namdo,P'yongyang-si*, Yanggang-do
Independence:
    9 September 1948
Constitution:
    adopted 1948, revised 27 December 1972
Legal system:
    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
National holiday:
    Independence Day, 9 September (1948)
Executive branch:
    president, two vice presidents, premier, eleven vice premiers, State
    Administration Council (cabinet)
Legislative branch:
    unicameral Supreme People's Assembly (Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui)
Judicial branch:
    Central Court
Leaders:
  Chief of State:
    President KIM Il-song (national leader since 1945, formally President since
    28 December 1972); designated Successor KIM Chong-il (son of President, born
    16 February 1942)
  Head of Government:
    Premier YON Hyong-muk (since December 1988)
Political parties and leaders:
    major party - Korean Workers' Party (KWP), KIM Il-song, general secretary,
    and his son, KIM Chong-il, secretary, Central Committee; Korean Social
    Democratic Party, YI Kye-paek, chairman; Chondoist Chongu Party, CHONG
    Sin-hyok, chairman
Suffrage:
    universal at age 17
Elections:
  President:
    last held 24 May 1990 (next to be held NA 1994); results - President KIM
    Il-song was reelected without opposition
  Supreme People's Assembly:
    last held on 24 May 1990 (next to be held NA 1994); results - percent of
    vote by party NA; seats - (687 total) the KWP approves a single list of
    candidates who are elected without opposition; minor parties hold a few
    seats
Communists:
    KWP claims membership of about 3 million
Member of:
    ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, ICAO, IFAD, IMF (observer), IMO, IOC, ISO, ITU,
    LORCS, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation:
    none
 
:Korea, North Government
 
Flag:
    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
 
:Korea, North Economy
 
Overview:
    More than 90% of this command economy is socialized; agricultural land is
    collectivized; and state-owned industry produces 95% of manufactured goods.
    State control of economic affairs is unusually tight even for a Communist
    country because of the small size and homogeneity of the society and the
    strict rule of KIM Il-song and his son, KIM Chong-il. Economic growth during
    the period 1984-89 averaged 2-3%, but output declined by 2-4% annually
    during 1990-91, largely because of disruptions in economic relations with
    the USSR. Abundant natural resources and hydropower form the basis of
    industrial development. Output of the extractive industries includes coal,
    iron ore, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals.
    Manufacturing is centered on heavy industry, with light industry lagging far
    behind. Despite the use of improved seed varieties, expansion of irrigation,
    and the heavy use of fertilizers, North Korea has not yet become
    self-sufficient in food production. Four consecutive years of poor harvests,
    coupled with distribution problems, have led to chronic food shortages.
    North Korea remains far behind South Korea in economic development and
    living standards.
GNP:
    purchasing power equivalent - $23.3 billion, per capita $1,100; real growth
    rate -2% (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
    NA%
Unemployment rate:
    officially none
Budget:
    revenues $17.3 billion; expenditures $17.7 billion, including capital
    expenditures of $NA (1990)
Exports:
    $2.02 billion (f.o.b., 1990)
  commodities:
    minerals, metallurgical products, agricultural products, manufactures
  partners:
    USSR, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Germany, Singapore
Imports:
    $2.62 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.)
  commodities:
    petroleum, machinery and equipment, coking coal, grain
  partners:
    USSR, Japan, China, Hong Kong, FRG, Singapore
External debt:
    $7 billion (1991)
Industrial production:
    growth rate NA%
Electricity:
    7,140,000 kW capacity; 36,000 million kWh produced, 1,650 kWh per capita
    (1991)
Industries:
    machine building, military products, electric power, chemicals, mining,
    metallurgy, textiles, food processing
Agriculture:
    accounts for about 25% of GNP and 36% of work force; principal crops - rice,
    corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; livestock and livestock products - cattle,
    hogs, pork, eggs; not self-sufficient in grain; fish catch estimated at 1.7
    million metric tons in 1987
Economic aid:
    Communist countries, $1.4 billion a year in the 1980s
Currency:
    North Korean won (plural - won); 1 North Korean won (Wn) = 100 chon
 
:Korea, North Economy
 
Exchange rates:
    North Korean won (Wn) per US$1 - 2.13 (May 1992), 2.14 (September 1991), 2.1
    (January 1990), 2.3 (December 1989), 2.13 (December 1988), 0.94 (March 1987)
Fiscal year:
    calendar year
 
:Korea, North Communications
 
Railroads:
    4,915 km total; 4,250 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 665 km 0.762-meter
    narrow gauge; 159 km double track; 3,084 km electrified; government owned
    (1989)
Highways:
    about 30,000 km (1989); 98.5% gravel, crushed stone, or earth surface; 1.5%
    paved
Inland waterways:
    2,253 km; mostly navigable by small craft only
Pipelines:
    crude oil 37 km
Ports:
    Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam, Namp'o, Wonsan, Songnim, Najin, Sonbong (formerly
    Unggi), Kim Chaek
Merchant marine:
    78 ships (1,000 GRT and over) totaling 543,033 GRT/804,507 DWT; includes 1
    passenger, 1 short-sea passenger, 1 passenger-cargo, 67 cargo, 2 petroleum
    tanker, 4 bulk, 1 combination bulk, 1 container
Airports:
    55 total, 55 usable (est.); about 30 with permanent-surface runways; fewer
    than 5 with runways over 3,659 m; 20 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 30 with
    runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications:
    broadcast stations - 18 AM, no FM, 11 TV; 200,000 TV sets; 3,500,000 radio
    receivers; 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station
 
:Korea, North Defense Forces
 
Branches:
    Korean People's Army (including the Army, Navy, Air Force), Civil Security
    Forces
Manpower availability:
    males 15-49, 6,476,839; 3,949,568 fit for military service; 227,154 reach
    military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures:
    exchange rate conversion - about $5 billion, 20-25% of GNP (1991 est.); note
    - the officially announced but suspect figure is $1.9 billion (1991) 8% of
    GNP (1991 est.)
 
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