North Korea
|
| Basic Facts |
| Country name |
conventional long form: Democratic People's Republic of Korea
conventional short form: North Korea local long form: Choson-minjujuui-inmin-konghwaguk local short form: Choson abbreviation: DPRK |
| Gevernment type | Communist state one-man dictatorship |
| Capital |
name: Pyongyang
geographic coordinates: 39 01 N, 125 45 E time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Flag description | 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 |
| Currency | North Korean won (KPW) |
| Internet country code | .kp |
| Ports and terminals | Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam (Hamhung), Kimch'aek, Kosong, Najin, Namp'o, Sinuiju, Songnim, Sonbong (formerly Unggi), Ungsang, Wonsan |
| Agriculture products | rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs |
| Industries | military products; machine building, electric power, chemicals; mining (coal, iron ore, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals), metallurgy; textiles, food processing; tourism |
| Geography |
| Location | Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea |
| Coordinates | 40 00 N, 127 00 E |
| Continent | Asia |
| Area |
total: 120,540 sq km
land: 120,410 sq km water: 130 sq km |
| Boundaries |
total: 1,673 km
border countries: China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km |
| Coastline | 2,495 km |
| 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 |
| Natural hazards | late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall |
| People |
| Population | 23,113,019 (July 2006 est.) |
| Ethnic groups | racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese |
| Religions | traditionally Buddhist and Confucianist, some Christian and syncretic Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way)
note: autonomous religious activities now almost nonexistent; government-sponsored religious groups exist to provide illusion of religious freedom |
| Languages | Korean |
