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North Korea
Physical. North Korea is located in
Eastern Asia along the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan. Between China and South
Korea. It covers an area slightly smaller than Mississippi. Its climate is
temperate with rainfall concentrated in the summer and some spring droughts and
fall typhoons. Its terrain is mostly hills and mountains separated by deep,
narrow valleys with a few coastal plains in the west. Natural resources include
coal, lead, tungsten, gold, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, salt, and
hydropower.
People. Almost 22.7 million people
live in North Korea. Korean is the official language. The population is
predominately Korean, with small Chinese and Japanese ethnic communities.
Traditionally Buddhism and Confucianism were the primary religions, with some
adherents to Christianity and syncretic Chondogyo as well. Current
state-supported religions offer only the illusion of religious freedom.
Government. Current leader is Kim
Jong-Il, son of Kim Il-Song who controlled North Korea for nearly 50 years. This
was the first dynastic power transfer in the Communist world. In 2000 North and
South Korea took diplomatic steps toward each other in a summit that resulted in
opening borders for family visits and halting propaganda. The first installment
on reunification took place in 2002 when South Korea gave North Korea $25
million dollars to help rebuild rail and road links between the two countries.
However reunification is not projected to occur very soon.
The most alarming situation for the world is
that North Korea admitted in 2002 that it didn’t dismantle its nuclear
bomb-making program. President Bush was so incensed that he cut shipments of oil
and other supplies. North Korea responded by evicting the UN inspectors who were
monitoring the nuclear program.
Economy. When communism was introduced
in 1945, the government nationalized major companies and steered economic
development toward heavy industry. The current economic situation is so bad that
there are areas of North Korea where there is neither electricity nor sufficient
chlorine to run water treatment plants, resulting in a contaminated water supply
for 60% of the population. North Korea has developed its resources of aluminum,
cement, and iron into solid industries for the production of tools. China is now
Korea’s main ally for trade.
Military expenses account for almost a
quarter of the gross domestic product. Many young people bypass formal education
in favor of service in the military.
Areas of Concern. Environmental
concerns include a lack of potable water, deforestation and soil erosion and
degradation. Nuclear proliferation and a poor human rights record are of concern
with the government. Areas of the country where mass starvation and widespread
malnutrition occur are of concern.
North Korea statistics
Geography
Area: 44,358
Capital: P’yongyang (pop 3,197,000)
Environmental concerns: water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water;
water-borne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation
Geographical features: mostly hills and mountains; deep, narrow valleys; coastal
plains wide in west, discontinuous in east
Climate: temperate with concentrated rainfall in the summer; spring droughts;
fall typhoons
People.
22,697,553 (July 2004 est.) people;
racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic
Japanese
Annual growth rate: 0.98%
Major language: Korean
Religions: traditionally Buddhist and Confucianist; some Christian and syncretic
Chondogyo (religion of the Heavenly Way); autonomous religious activities now
almost nonexistent
Health and social issues
Life expectancy: Men, 68.4 years; women, 73.9 years
Infant mortality: 24.84 deaths per 1000 live births
1 physician per 370 people
99% of adults are literate
Compulsory education (ages): 6-17; free
Communication and
transportation
1,100,000 main telephone lines (2002)
19,345 miles of highway
3,000 miles of railroads
78 airfields
Government
North Korea is a Communist state, one-man dictatorship
that gained its independence from Japan on August 15, 1945 and formed the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on September 9, 1948
Kim Jong Il is head of state
3 major political parties
Suffrage: universal at 17
Military
Military expenditures: 22.9% of GDP
Current disputes: territorial and boundary disputes with China; mass migration
to China due to drought and famine; border and maritime disputes with South
Korea
Economy
Currency: won
Per capita GDP: $1,300
GDP: $29.58 billion
GDP growth rate: 1%
Labor force: agriculture (36%); nonagricultural (64%)
Resources and industry
Natural resources: coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore,
copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower
Agriculture: rice; corn; potatoes; soybeans; pulses; cattle; pigs; pork; eggs
Industry: military products; machine building, electric power, chemicals; mining
(coal, iron ore, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals),
metallurgy; textiles; food processing; tourism
Exports: $1.044 billion
Imports: $2.042 billion
Suggested web sites
http://www.dmoz.org/
www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook
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