North Korea
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK; Chosŏn'gŭl: 조선민주주의인민공화국; Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk), commonly called North Korea ( listen), is a country in East Asia, in the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital is Pyongyang, the country's largest city by both land area and population. IBM Lenovo Thinkpad X201 Laptop Keyboard
The Amnok River and the Tumen River form the international border between North Korea and thePeople's Republic of China. A small section of the Tumen River also lies along the border between North Korea and the Russian Federation, technically following the river's thalweg.[7] The Korean Demilitarized Zone is the boundary between North Korea and South Korea. DELL 9J.N6782.A01 Laptop Keyboard
The Korean peninsula was governed by the Korean Empire from the late 19th century to the early 20th century, until it was annexed by the Empire of Japan in 1910. After the surrender of Japan at the end of World War II, Japanese rule ceased. The Korean peninsula was divided into two occupied zones in 1945, Compaq Presario CQ57 Series Laptop Keyboard
with the northern half of the peninsula occupied by the Soviet Union and the southern half by the United States. A United Nations–supervised election held in 1948 led to the creation of separate Korean governments for the two occupation zones: the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the north, HP Pavilion dv6-2155tx Laptop Keyboard
and the Republic of Korea in the south. North Korea and South Korea each claimed sovereignty over the entire Korean peninsula, which led to the start of theKorean War in 1950. An armistice in 1953 committed both to a cease-fire, but the two countries remain officially at war because a formal peace treaty was never signed.[8] Both states were accepted into the United Nations in 1991.[9] DELL XPS M1530 Laptop Keyboard
The country's government follows the Juche ideology of self-reliance, initiated by the country's firstPresident, Kim Il-sung. After his death, Kim Il-sung was declared the country's Eternal President. Juchebecame the official state ideology, replacing Marxism–Leninism, when the country adopted a new constitutionin 1972.[10][11] In 2009, references to Communism (Chosŏn'gŭl: 공산주의) were removed from the country'sconstitution.[12] TOSHIBA Satellite L300 Laptop Keyboard
North Korea political parties includes Workers' Party of Korea, Korean Social Democratic Party and theChondoist Chongu Party (also there are some independent deputies). The three political parties participates in the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland led by the Workers' Party of Korea.[13] Electionsare held every five years to elect representatives to city, county, provincial and national "people's assemblies".[14] HP Envy 15 Laptop Keyboard
Education in North Korea is universal and free of charge (it is one of the most literate countries in the world, with an average literacy rate of 99%).[15] The country has a national medical service and health insurance system which are offered for free.[15] Housing and food rations traditionally have been heavily subsidized.[15] The means of production are owned by the state through state-run enterprises and collectivized farms.[15] HP Pavilion dv6-2112sa Laptop Keyboard
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il adopted Songun, or "military-first" policy in order to strengthen the country and its government.[16] North Korea is the world's most militarized country, with a total of 9,495,000 active, reserve, and paramilitary personnel. Its active duty army of 1.21 million is the 4th largest in the world, after China, the U.S., and India.[17] It is a nuclear-weapons state and has an active space program.[18][19][20] HP Pavilion G6-1223TX Laptop Keyboard
With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, North Korea lost a major trading partner and strategic ally. Combined with a series of natural disasters, this led to the North Korean famine, which lasted from 1994 to 1998 and killed an estimated 240,000 to 1,000,000 people.[21][22] TOSHIBA A000014900 Laptop Keyboard
As a result of its isolation it is sometimes known as the "Hermit kingdom",[23] a name once given to its predecessor, the Korean Empire. Although North Korea is officially a socialist republic[24] and elections are held, it has been described by the mass media as a totalitarian and Stalinistdictatorship[25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34] with an elaborate cult of personality around the Kim family. ACER Aspire 5742 Laptop Keyboard
Also, the Economist Intelligence Unit, a private business based in the United Kingdom, ranked it as the lowest country in the Democracy Index. Finally, Amnesty International[35][36] and Human Rights Watch[37][38] report of severe restrictions on human rights but the government rejects these claims.[39][40][41] HP G62-229WM Laptop Keyboard
Korean history began with the founding of the Gojoseon Dynasty in 2333 BC by Dangun, according to Korean foundation mythology.[42] Gojoseon expanded until it controlled northern Korean Peninsula and some parts of Manchuria. After many conflicts with the Chinese Han Dynasty, Gojoseon disintegrated, leading to theProto–Three Kingdoms of Korea period. TOSHIBA Satellite L300 Laptop Keyboard
This saw the kingdoms of Buyeo, Okjeo, Dongye, and the Samhan confederacy occupying the peninsula along with southern Manchuria. Of the various states, Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla grew to control the peninsula as the Three Kingdoms of Korea. The unification of the Three Kingdoms by Silla in 676 led to the North South States Period, in which much of the Korean Peninsula was controlled by Silla. HP Probook 4710S Laptop Keyboard
Under the rule of Unified Silla, relationships between Korea and China remained relatively peaceful. However, Silla weakened under internal strife, and eventually was defeated by Emperor Taejo of Goryeo of the Goryeo Dynasty in 935. After a long period of rule, the Mongol invasions in the 13th century greatly weakened Goryeo. SONY VAIO PCG-FRV25 Laptop Keyboard
Nearly 30 years of war later, Goryeo continued to rule Korea, though as a tributary ally to the Mongols. After the Mongol Empire collapsed, severe political strife followed and the Goryeo Dynasty was replaced in 1388 by the long-lasting Joseon Dynasty, whose rule over the peninsula would last until 1897. GATEWAY AEMA2TAU015 Laptop Keyboard
The latter years of the Joseon Dynasty were marked by an increasing dependence on China for external affairs and isolation from the outside world. The Joseon Dynasty tried to protect itself against Western imperialism, but was eventually forced to open trade. HP pavilion DV7-1000 Laptop Keyboard
From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, the Korean peninsula was governed by the newly established Korean Empire, whose continued isolationist policies earned it the name of the "Hermit Kingdom". After the First Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, Korea was annexed by the Empire of Japan in 1910, leading to 35 years of military rule. Compaq Presario CQ57 Series Laptop Keyboard
After the surrender of Japan at the end of World War II, Japanese rule was brought to an end. The Korean peninsula was divided into two occupied zones in 1945 along the 38th parallel, HP Pavilion dv6-2106ea Laptop Keyboard
with the northern half of the peninsula occupied by the Soviet Union and the southern half by the United States, in accordance with a prior arrangement between world powers, whereUnited Nations–supervised elections were intended to be held for the entire peninsula shortly after the war. HP Mini 110-3536tu laptop keyboard
In August 1945, the Soviet Army established a Soviet Civil Authority to rule the northern portion of the Korean Peninsula until a domestic regime, friendly to the USSR, could be established. ASUS X88S laptop keyboard
This became governed by the Provisional People's Committee for North Korea through 1948. After the departure of Soviet forces in 1948, the main agenda in the following years was unification of Korea until the consolidation of the Syngman Rhee regime in the South and a Jeju Uprising/brutal crackdown on Communist sympathizers under his presidency. Lenovo 0A62075 laptop keyboard
In 1949, a military intervention into South Korea was considered by Kim Il-sung, but failed to receive support from the Soviet Union, which had played a key role in the establishment of the country.[43] Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E520 laptop keyboard
The withdrawal of most of the American forces from the South in June dramatically weakened the Southern regime and encouraged Kim Il-sung to rethink an invasion plan against the South.[43] SONY V-0702BIAS1-US laptop keyboard
The war proposals were rejected several times by Joseph Stalin, but along with the development of Soviet nuclear weapons, Mao Zedong's victory in China, and the Chinese indication that it would send troops and other support to North Korea, Stalin approved the invasion which led to the start of the Korean War in June 1950.[44] HP Mini 210-1199DX laptop keyboard
After Korea was divided by the UN, the two Korean powers both tried to control the whole peninsula under their respective governments. This led to escalating border conflicts on the 38th parallel and attempts to negotiate elections for the whole of Korea.[45] These attempts ended when the military of North Korea invaded the South on June 25, 1950, leading to a full-scale civil war. HP Pavilion dv6-2143ca laptop keyboard
With endorsement from the United Nations, countries allied with the United States intervened on behalf of South Korea. After rapid advances in a South Korean counterattack, North-allied Chinese forces intervened on behalf of North Korea, shifting the balance of the war. TOSHIBA Satellite L550-ST5701 laptop keyboard
Fighting ended on July 27, 1953, with an armistice that approximately restored the original boundaries between North and South Korea. More than one million civilians and soldiers were killed in the war. SONY VAIO VGN-N350N laptop keyboard
Although some have referred to the conflict as a civil war, other important factors were involved.[46] The Korean War was also the first armed confrontation of the Cold War and set the standard for many later conflicts. It created the idea of a proxy war, where the two superpowers would fight in another country, forcing the people in that country to suffer most of the destruction and death involved in a war between such large nations. HP Mini 110-3135dx Laptop Keyboard
The superpowers avoided descending into an all-out war against one another, as well as the mutual use of nuclear weapons. It also expanded the Cold War, which to that point had mostly been concerned with Europe. A heavily guarded demilitarized zone on the 38th parallel still divides the peninsula, and an anti-Communist and anti-North Korea sentiment remains in South Korea. TOSHIBA Satellite L300 Laptop Keyboard
Since the Armistice in 1953, relations between the North Korean government and South Korea, the European Union, Canada, the United States, and Japan have remained tense, and hostile incidents occur often.[47][page needed] North and South Korea signed the June 15th North-South Joint Declarationin 2000, IBM Thinkpad R61i Laptop Keyboard
in which they promised to seek peaceful reunification.[48] On October 4, 2007, the leaders of North and South Korea pledged to hold summit talks to officially declare the war over and reaffirmed the principle of mutual non-aggression.[49] On March 13, 2013, North Korea confirmed it ended the 1953 Armistice and declared North Korea "is not restrained by the North-South declaration on non-aggression".[50] HP Pavilion dm3-1040EV Laptop Keyboard
Late 20th century
Main article: Korean Demilitarized Zone
The relative peace between the south and the north following the armistice was interrupted by border skirmishes and assassination attempts. The North failed in several assassination attempts on South Korean leaders, most notably in 1968, 1974 and the Rangoon bombing in 1983; HP G56-118CA Laptop Keyboard
tunnels were frequently found under the DMZ and war nearly broke out over the Axe Murder Incident at Panmunjeom in 1976.[51] In 1973, extremely secret, high-level contacts began to be conducted through the offices of the Red Cross, but ended after the Panmunjeom incident with little progress having been made and the idea that the two Koreas would join international organisations separately.[52] DELL Vostro PP37L Laptop Keyboard
North Korea remained closely aligned to China and the Soviet Union until the mid-1960s. Recovery from the war was quick – by 1957 industrial production reached 1949 levels. Until the 1960s, economic growth was higher than in South Korea, and North Korean GDP per capita was equal to that of its southern neighbor as late as 1976.[53][54] The last Chinese troops withdrew from the country in October 1958.[55] SAMSUNG N140 Laptop Keyboard
In the late 1990s, with the South having transitioned to liberal democracy, the success of the Nordpolitik policy, and power in the North having been taken up by Kim Il-sung's son Kim Jong-il, the two nations began to engage publicly for the first time, with the South declaring its Sunshine Policy.[56][57] HP Mini 210-2030ew Laptop Keyboard
In January 2002, U.S. president George W. Bush labeled North Korea part of an "axis of evil" and an "outpost of tyranny". The highest-level contact the government has had with the United States was with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who made a visit to Pyongyang in 2000,[58] but the two countries do not have formal diplomatic relations.[59] HP Compaq G50-118NR Laptop Keyboard
By 2006, approximately 37,000 American soldiers remained in South Korea, although by June 2009 this number had fallen to around 30,000.[60][61] Kim Jong-il privately stated his acceptance of U.S. troops on the peninsula, even after a possible reunification.[62] Publicly, North Korea strongly demands the removal of American troops from South Korea.[62] HP Pavilion tx2627cl laptop keyboard
On June 13, 2009, the Associated Press reported that in response to new U.N. sanctions, North Korea declared it would progress with its uranium enrichmentprogram. This marked the first time the DPRK has publicly acknowledged that it is conducting a uranium enrichment program.[63] ACER Extensa 5235 laptop keyboard
In August 2009, former U.S. president Bill Clinton met with Kim Jong-il to secure the release of two American journalists, who had been sentenced for entering the country illegally.[64]Current U.S. President Barack Obama's position towards North Korea has been to resist making deals with North Korea for the sake of defusing tension, a policy known as "strategic patience."[65] TOSHIBA Satellite L755-S5242BN laptop keyboard
On November 23, 2010, North Korea fired about 170 rounds of artillery on Yeonpyeong Island and the surrounding waters near the Yellow Sea border, with some 90 shells landing on the island. The attack resulted in the deaths of two marines and two civilians on the South Korean side, Packard Bell Easynote TK85 laptop keyboard
and fifteen marines and at least three civilians wounded.[66] South Korean forces fired back 80 shells, although the results remain unclear. North Korean news sources alleged that the North Korean actions, described as "a prompt and powerful physical strike", were in response to provocation from South Korea that had held an artillery exercise in the disputed waters south of the island.[67] SONY AEGD1U00020 laptop keyboard
On the December 17, 2011 the Supreme Leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-il died from a heart attack.[68] His death was reported by the Korean Central News Agencyaround 08:30 local time with the newscaster announcing his youngest son Kim Jong-un as his successor. SONY VAIO VGN-FS415M laptop keyboard
The announcement placed South Korean and United States troops on high alert, with many politicians from the global community stating that Kim's death leaves a great deal of uncertainty in the country's future.[69] North Korea was put into a state of semi-alert, with foreigners put under suspicion and asked to leave.[70] Packard Bell Easynote TK85 laptop keyboard
On January 24, 2013, North Korea announced its intentions to target the United States in its missile and nuclear programs. The statement called the United States, the "sworn enemy of the Korean people".[71] SAMSUNG N150 laptop keyboard
On March 8, 2013, the North Korean government announced that it was withdrawing from all non-aggression pacts with South Korea in response to UN Resolution 2094.[72][73][74] The announcement said it was closing its joint border crossing with South Korea and cutting off the hotline to the South.[72][73][74] HP G56 laptop keyboard
On March 13, 2013, North Korea confirmed it ended the 1953 Armistice and declared North Korea "is not restrained by the North-South declaration on non-aggression.[50]Confirmation of the severing of the hotline between the North and the South—the last remaining communication link between the two countries at that time—was publicly announced on March 27, 2013, SAMSUNG NP-NB30-JP01 laptop keyboard
the same date that the hotline was cut off. According to the Korean Central News Agency, a senior North Korean military official stated: "Under the situation where a war may break out any moment, there is no need to keep up North-South military communications" prior to the cessation of the communication channel.[75][76] HP Mini 110-3102st laptop keyboard
On March 30, 2013, the North Korean government declared it was in 'a state of war' with South Korea. A North Korean statement promised "stern physical actions" against "any provocative act". Lenovo 04W0872 laptop keyboard
The North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared that rockets were ready to be fired at American bases in the Pacific in response to the US flying two nuclear-capable B2 stealth bombers over the Korean peninsula. Packard Bell Easynote TK85 laptop keyboard
The United States warned North Korea that the rapidly escalating military confrontation would lead to further isolation, as The Pentagon declared that the US was 'fully capable' of defending itself and its allies against a missile attack.[77] [78] [79] HP Mini 110-3040ss laptop keyboard
North Korea occupies the northern portion of the Korean Peninsula, lying between latitudes 37° and 43°N, and longitudes124° and 131°E. It covers an area of 120,540 square kilometres (46,541 sq mi). North Korea shares land borders with China and Russia to the north, SONY Vaio VGN-FW139E laptop keyboard
and borders South Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone. To its west are the Yellow Sea andKorea Bay, and to its east lies Japan across the Sea of Japan (East Sea of Korea). The highest point in North Korea is Baekdu Mountain at 2,744 metres (9,003 ft). Acer Aspire 1414WLMi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
The longest river is the Amnok River which flows for 790 kilometres (491 mi).[80] The capital and largest city is Pyongyang; other major cities include Kaesong in the south, Sinuiju in the northwest, Wonsan andHamhung in the east and Chongjin in the northeast. Acer Aspire 1415 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
In 2013, internet users were encouraged to participate in a community based event on Google Maps. These users could useGoogle Map Maker along with Cartography and Telemetry skills that eventually led to a virtual map of Pyongyang.[81] In addition, the Google Map of North Korea includes political prison camp locations such as Camp 22.[82] Acer Aspire 1415LMi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Early European visitors to Korea remarked that the country resembled "a sea in a heavy gale" because of the many successivemountain ranges that crisscross the peninsula.[83] Some 80% of North Korea is composed of mountains and uplands, separated by deep and narrow valleys, Acer Aspire 1640 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
with all of the peninsula's mountains with elevations of 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) or more located in North Korea. The coastal plains are wide in the west and discontinuous in the east. A great majority of the population lives in the plains and lowlands. Acer Aspire 1640LC Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
The highest point in North Korea is Baekdu Mountain which is a volcanic mountain near the Chinese border with basalt lavaplateau with elevations between 1,400 and 2,744 metres (4,600 and 9,003 ft) above sea level.[83] The Hamgyong Range, located in the extreme northeastern part of the peninsula, has many high peaks including Gwanmosan at approximately 1,756 m (5,761 ft). Acer Aspire 1640Z Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Other major ranges include the Rangrim Mountains, which are located in the north-central part of North Korea and run in a north-south direction, making communication between the eastern and western parts of the country rather difficult; Acer Aspire 1641LM Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
and theKangnam Range, which runs along the North Korea–China border. Mount Kumgang, or Diamond Mountain, (approximately 1,638 metres or 5,374 feet) in the Taebaek Range, which extends into South Korea, is famous for its scenic beauty.[83] Acer Aspire 1641LMi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
For the most part, the plains are small. The most extensive are the Pyongyang and Chaeryong plains, each covering about 500 square kilometres (190 sq mi). Because the mountains on the east coast drop abruptly to the sea, the plains are even smaller there than on the west coast. Unlike neighboring Japan or northern China, North Korea experiences few severe earthquakes. Acer Aspire 1641WLMi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
North Korea has a continental climate with four distinct seasons.[84] Long winters bring bitter cold and clear weather interspersed with snow storms as a result of northern and northwestern winds that blow from Siberia. Average snowfall is 37 days during the winter. The weather is likely to be particularly harsh in the northern, mountainous regions. Acer Aspire 1642WLMi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Summer tends to be short, hot, humid, and rainy because of the southern and southeastern monsoon winds that bring moist air from the Pacific Ocean. Typhoons affect the peninsula on an average of at least once every summer.[84] Acer Aspire 1650 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Spring and autumn are transitional seasons marked by mild temperatures and variable winds and bring the most pleasant weather. Natural hazards include late spring droughts which often are followed by severe flooding. There are occasional typhoonsduring the early fall. Acer Aspire 1651NWLCi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
North Korea's climate is relatively temperate. Most of the country is classified as type Dwa in the Köppen climate classification scheme, with warm summers and cold, dry winters. In summer there is a short rainy season called changma.[85] On August 7, 2007, the most devastating floods in 40 years caused the North Korean government to ask for international help. NGOs, such as the Red Cross, asked people to raise funds because they feared a humanitarian catastrophe.[86] Acer Aspire 1651WLCi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
North Korea is a self-described Juche (self-reliant) state,[87] described by some observers as a de facto absolute monarchy[88][89][90] or "hereditary dictatorship"[91] with a pronounced cult of personality organized around Kim Il-sung (the founder of North Korea and the country's only president) and his late son, Kim Jong-il. Acer Aspire 1651WLMi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
North Korea uses a government system that also utilizes a Departmentalization system of Ministries. There are also those who reject the view that North Korea is a socialist state espousing communism, instead claiming that the North Korean leadership uses communism as a justification for their rule.[92][93] Acer Aspire 1652WLMi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
More recent research based on North Korea’s domestic documents and not propaganda for the international audience, popularized in 2009 byBrian R. Myers and his book The Cleanest Race and later supported by further academics[94][95] even characterizes North Korea as a far-right national-socialist country heavily influenced by Japan of the 1930s.[96][97] Acer Aspire 1654WLMi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Following Kim Il-sung's death in 1994, he was not replaced but instead received the designation of "Eternal President", and was entombed in the vast Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in central Pyongyang.[98] COMPAQ Presario CQ60-150EP Laptop Keyboard
Although the office of the President is ceremonially held by the deceased Kim Il-sung,[99][100][101] the Supreme Leader until his death in December 2011 was Kim Jong-il, who was General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and Chairman of the National Defence Commission of North Korea. SONY PCG-GR5F/BP Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
The legislature of North Korea is the Supreme People's Assembly, currently led by Chairman Kim Yong-nam. The other senior government figure is Premier Choe Yong-rim. Acer Aspire 1412LC Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
The structure of the government is described in the Constitution of North Korea, the latest version of which is from 2009 and officially rejects North Korea's founding ideology of communism.[102] The governing party by law is theDemocratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland, Acer Aspire 1412LCi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
a coalition of the Workers' Party of Korea and two other smaller parties, the Korean Social Democratic Party and the Chondoist Chongu Party. These parties nominate all candidates for office and hold all seats in the Supreme People's Assembly. They have negligible power, as the leader holds autocratic control over the nation's affairs. Acer Aspire 1412LM Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
In June 2009, it was reported in South Korean media that intelligence indicated that the country's next leader would be Kim Jong-un, the youngest of Kim Jong-il's three sons.[103] This was confirmed on 19 December 2011, following Kim Jong-il's death.[68][104] Acer Aspire 1412LMi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
According to Cheong Seong-chang of Sejong Institute, speaking on June 25, 2012, there is some possibility that the new leader Kim Jong-un, who has greater visible interest in the welfare of his people and engages in greater interaction with them than his father did, will consider economic reforms and regularization of international relations.[105] Acer Aspire 1412WLMi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Political expression is tightly controlled in North Korea. Supporters of the government who deviate from the government line are subject to reeducation in sections of labor camps set aside for that purpose. Those who are successfully rehabilitated may reassume responsible government positions on their release.[106] Troublesome political dissidents, Acer Aspire 1413 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
factionalists and class enemies, who are considered irredeemable are incarcerated together with any close family members or children born in the camp in "Total Control Zones" for life at hard labor. Labor camps in North Korea are actually areas of the country set aside for that purpose, Acer Aspire 1413LC Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Camp 22(also known as Kwan-li-so No.22 Haengyong) is 31 miles by 25 miles with a population of about 50,000. Those who attempt to escape or violate camp rules are executed or sent to a separate prison within the camp. The labor camps are reserved for political prisoners; common criminals are incarcerated in a separate system.[107] There are 6 such areas in the northern and northeastern portion of North Korea.[108] Acer Aspire 1413LM Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
North Korea has long maintained close relations with the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Russia. The fall of communismin eastern Europe in 1989, and the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, resulted in a devastating drop in aid to North Korea from Russia, although China continues to provide substantial assistance. North Korea continues to have strong ties with its socialist southeast Asian allies in Vietnam and Laos, as well as with Cambodia.[109] Acer Aspire 1413LMi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
North Korea has started installing aconcrete and barbed wire fence on its northern border, in response to China's wish to curb an overflow of illegal refugees from North Korea. Previously, the border between China and North Korea had only been lightly patrolled.[110] Acer Aspire 1413WLMi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
As a result of the North Korean nuclear weapons program, the six-party talks were established to find a peaceful solution to the growing tension between the two Korean governments, the Russian Federation, the People's Republic of China, Japan, and the United States. Acer Aspire 1414 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
On July 17, 2007, United Nations inspectors verified the shutdown of five North Korean nuclear facilities, according to the February 2007 agreement.[111] On October 4, 2007, South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il signed an 8-point peace agreement, on issues of permanent peace, high-level talks, economic cooperation, renewal of train, highway and air travel, and a joint Olympic cheering squad.[49] Acer Aspire 1414L Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
The United States and South Korea previously designated the North as a state sponsor of terrorism.[112] The 1983 bombing that killed members of the South Korean government and the destruction of a South Korean airliner have been attributed to North Korea.[113] Acer Aspire 1414LC Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
North Korea has also admitted responsibility for the kidnapping of 13 Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s, five of whom were returned to Japan in 2002.[114] On October 11, 2008, the United States removed North Korea from its list of states that sponsor terrorism.[115] Acer Aspire 1414LM Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
In 2009, relationships between North and South Korea increased in intensity; North Korea had been reported to have deployed missiles,[116] ended its former agreements with South Korea,[117] and threatened South Korea and the United States not to interfere with a satellite launch it had planned.[118] Acer Aspire 1414LMi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
North and South Korea are still technically at war (having never signed a peace treaty after the Korean War) and share the world’s most heavily fortified border.[119] On May 27, 2009, North Korean media declared that the Korean Armistice was no longer valid due to the South Korean government's pledge to "definitely join" theProliferation Security Initiative.[citation needed] Acer Aspire 1414WLCi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
To further complicate and intensify strain between the two nations, the sinking of the South Korean warshipCheonan in March 2010, killing 46 seamen, is as of May 20, 2010 claimed by a multi-national research team[120] to have been caused by a North Korean torpedo, which the North denies. SONY PCG-GR300K Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
South Korea agreed with the findings from the research group and President Lee Myung-bak declared in May 2010 that Seoul would cut all trade with North Korea as part of measures primarily aimed at striking back at North Korea diplomatically and financially.[121] As a result of this, SONY PCG-GR315MP Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
North Korea severed all ties, completely abrogated the previous pact of non aggression and expelled all South Koreans from a joint industrial zone in Kaesong.[122] On November 23, 2010, North Korea attacked Yeonpyeong Island, further deteriorating the diplomatic relations with the South and other nations.[123] SONY PCG-GR37 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Most of the foreign embassies connecting with diplomatic ties to North Korea are located in Beijing (Capital of China) rather than in Pyongyang (Capital of DPRK).[124] SONY PCG-GR370 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
The North Korean government claims all citizens are equal and denies any discrimination on the basis of family background.[125] According to North Korean documents and refugee testimonies,[126] however, all North Koreans are sorted into groups according to their Songbun, an ascribed status system. SONY PCG-GR370K Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Based on their own behavior and the political, social, and economic background of their family for three generations as well as behavior by relatives within that range, Songbun is allegedly used to determine whether an individual is trusted with responsibility, given opportunities,[127] or even receives adequate food.[126][128] SONY PCG-GR370P Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Songbun allegedly affects access to educational and employment opportunities and particularly whether a person is eligible to join North Korea's ruling party.[127] There are 3 main classifications and about 50 sub-classifications. According to Kim Il-sung, speaking in 1958, the loyal "core class" constituted 25% of the North Korean population, the "wavering class" 55%, SONY PCG-GR390 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
and the "hostile class" 20%.[126] The highest status is accorded to individuals descended from those who participated with Kim Il-sung in the resistance against Japanese occupation during and before World War II and to those who were factory workers, laborers or peasants as of 1950.[129] SONY PCG-GR390K Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
While some analysts believe private commerce recently changed the Songbun system to some extent,[130] most North Korean refugees say it remains a commanding presence in everyday life.[126] SONY PCG-GR390P Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Main article: Human rights in North Korea
Many international human rights organizations accuse North Korea of having one of the worst human rights records of any nation.[131]Amnesty International reports of severe restrictions on the freedom of association, expression and movement, arbitrary detention, torture and other ill-treatment resulting in death, and executions.[35] The organization demands the closure of prison camps, SONY PCG-GR3BP Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
where 200,000 political prisoners and their families exist in “the most inhuman conditions imaginable”.[36] North Koreans have been referred to as "some of the world's most brutalized people" by Human Rights Watch, due to the severe restrictions placed on theirpolitical and economic freedoms.[37][38] SONY PCG-GR3F Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
In the 1990s just listening to South Korean radio could result in capital punishment[citation needed]. Some were also allegedly sent to prison camps for singing a South Korean song.[132]
law enforcement and allegedly maintain various prison camps. North Korean defectors have testified to the existence of prisons and concentration camps[133] including "total control zones", (SONY PCG-GR3F/BP Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Kwan-li-so : 관리소), where political undesirables are imprisoned for life at hard labor and are subjected to reported torture, starvation, rape, murder, medical experimentation, forced labour, and forced abortions.[134] According to Amnesty International, based on satellite images and anonymous testimonies, around 200,000 prisoners (about 0.85% of the population) are held in six large political prison camps,[135] SONY PCG-GR3N Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
being in operation since the 1950s. They are forced to work in conditions approaching slavery and are frequently subjected to torture and other cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment.[136] Camp 14 in Kaechon,[137] Camp 15 in Yodok[138] and Camp 18 in Bukchang[139] are described in detailed testimonies.[134] People suspected not to be loyal to the regime, e.g. SONY PCG-GR3N/BP Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
because they are Christians or because they criticized the leadership,[135] are deported to these camps without trial,[140] often with their whole family and mostly without any chance to be released.[141] The International Coalition to Stop Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea (ICNK) estimates that over 10,000 people die in North Korean prison camps every year.[142] SONY PCG-GR5BP Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
According to R.J. Rummel, forced labor, executions, and concentration camps were responsible for over one million deaths in North Korea from 1948 to 1987;[143] others have estimated 400,000 deaths in concentration camps alone.[144] SONY PCG-GR5E Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
The North Korean government exercises control over many aspects of the nation's culture, and this control is used to perpetuate a cult of personalitysurrounding Kim Il-sung,[145] and, to a lesser extent, Kim Jong-il.[146] While visiting North Korea in 1979, journalist Bradley Martin noted that nearly all music, SONY PCG-GR5E/BP Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
art, and sculpture that he observed glorified "Great Leader" Kim Il-sung, whose personality cult was then being extended to his son, "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-il.[147] Bradley Martin also reported that there is even widespread belief that Kim Il-sung "created the world", and Kim Jong-il could "control the weather".[147] Such reports, however, are contested by North Korea researcher Brian R. Myers: "SONY PCG-GR5F Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
divine powers have never been attributed to either of the two Kims. In fact, the propaganda apparatus in Pyongyang has generally been careful not to make claims that run directly counter to citizens’ experience or common sense."[148] He further explains that the state propaganda painted Kim Jong-il as someone whose expertise lay in military matters and that the famine of the 1990s was partially caused by natural disasters out of Kim Jong-il's control.[149] Hp Envy 13-1099EO Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
The song "No Motherland Without You" (당신이없으면 조국도없다), sung by the North Korean Army Choir, was created especially for Kim Jong-il and is one of the most popular tunes in the country. Kim Il-sung is still officially revered as the nation's "Eternal President". Several landmarks in North Korea are named for Kim Il-sung, including Kim Il-sung University, Hp Envy 13-1099XL Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Kim Il-sung Stadium, and Kim Il-sung Square. Defectors have been quoted as saying that North Korean schools deify both father and son.[150] Kim Il-sung rejected the notion that he had created a cult around himself, and accused those who suggested this of "factionalism".[147Hp Envy 13-1100 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
] Following the death of Kim Il-Sung, North Koreans were prostrating and weeping to a bronze statue of him in an organized event;[151] similar scenes were broadcast by state television following the death of Kim Jong-il. Hp Envy 13-1940EZ Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Critics maintain this Kim Jong-il personality cult was inherited from his father, Kim Il-sung. Kim Jong-il was often the center of attention throughout ordinary life in the DPRK. His birthday is one of the most important public holidays in the country. On his 60th birthday (based on his official date of birth), mass celebrations occurred throughout the country.[152] Hp Envy 13t-1000 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Kim Jong-il's personality cult, although significant, was not as extensive as his father's. One point of view is that Kim Jong-il's cult of personality was solely out of respect for Kim Il-sung or out of fear of punishment for failure to pay homage.[23] Media and government sources from outside of North Korea generally support this view,[153][154][155][156][157] while North Korean government sources say that it is genuine hero worship.[158] Hp Envy 14 Series Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
B.R. Myers also argues that the worship is real and not unlike worship of Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany.[159] In a more recent event – on June 11, 2012 – a 14-year-old North Korean schoolgirl drowned while attempting to rescue portraits of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il from a Hp Envy 14-1000wx Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
North Korea's policy is to seek reunification without what it sees as outside interference, through a federal structure retaining each side's leadership and systems. In 2000, both North and South Korea signed the June 15th North–South Joint Declaration in which both sides made promises to seek out a peaceful reunification.[161] Hp Envy 14-1000xx Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
The Democratic Federal Republic of Korea is a proposed state first mentioned by then North Korean president Kim Il-sung on October 10, 1980, proposing a federation between North and South Korea in which the respective political systems would initially remain.[162] Hp Envy 14-1001tx Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
The Ministry of the People's Armed Forces maintains the Korean People's Army (KPA), which serves as the military force of the country. The Korean People's Army (KPA) is the name for the collective armed personnel of the North Korean military. It has five branches: Ground Force, Naval Force, Hp Envy 14-1002tx Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Air Force, Special Operations Force, and Rocket Force. According to the U.S. Department of State, North Korea has the fourth-largest army in the world, at an estimated 1.21 million armed personnel, with about 20% of men aged 17–54 in the regular armed forces.[17] North Korea has the highest percentage of military personnel per capita of any nation in the world, Hp Envy 14-1003tx Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
with approximately one enlisted soldier for every 25 citizens.[18][163] North Korea also has a Defense Industry that is responsible for engineering military equipment. In 1994, North Korea received 10 Golf II Class Submarines from Russia.[164] Hp Envy 14-1004tx Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Military strategy is designed for insertion of agents and sabotage behind enemy lines in wartime,[17] with much of the KPA's forces deployed along the heavily fortified Korean Demilitarized Zone. The Korean People's Army operates a very large amount of equipment, including 4,060 tanks, Hp Envy 14-1005tx Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
2,500 APCs, 17,900 artillery pieces, 11,000 air defense guns and some 10,000 MANPADS and anti-tank guided missiles[165] in the Ground force; at least 915 vessels in the Navy and 1,748 aircraft in the Air Force,[166] of which 478 are fighters and 180 are bombers.[167] North Korea also has the largest special forces in the world, as well as the largest submarine fleet.[168] Hp Envy 14-1006tx Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
The equipment is a mixture of World War II vintage vehicles and small arms, widely proliferated Cold War technology, and more modern Soviet or locally produced weapons. In line with its asymmetric warfare strategy, North Korea employs a wide range of unconventional techniques and equipment, such as GPS jammers,[169] stealth paint,[170] midget submarines and human torpedoes,[171] Hp Envy 14-1007tx Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
a vast array of chemical and biological weapons,[172] and blinding laser weapons.[173] According to official North Korean media, military expenditures for 2010 amount to 15.8% of the state budget.[174] Hp Envy 14-1008tx Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
North Korea has active nuclear and ballistic missile weapons programs and has been subject to United Nations Security Council resolutions 1695 of July 2006,1718 of October 2006, and 1874 of June 2009, for carrying out both missile and nuclear tests. North Korea probably has fissile material for up to nine nuclear weapons,[175] Hp Envy 14-1009tx Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
and has the capability to deploy nuclear warheads on intermediate-range ballistic missiles.[176] The launch of a North Korean satellite in December 2012 was seen as a weapons development step by South Korea and its allies[177] and condemned by the UN Security Council.[178] SONY PCG-GR300 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
In North Korea, weapons are manufactured in roughly 180 underground defense industry plants in Jagang-do. The plants are responsible for producing; 200,000Kalashnikov rifles annually, 3,000 heavy guns, 200 battle tanks, 400 armored cars and amphibious crafts in addition to several other weapons.[179] Hp Envy 13-1004TX Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
In the 1990s, North Korea sold medium-sized nuclear capable missiles to Pakistan in a deal facilitated by China.[180] In 2005, North Korea admitted to having nuclear weapons but vowed to close their nuclear programs.[181][182] The promise of a reduction in nuclear programs has also been reinforced at various Inter-Korean Summit meetings between North and South Korea since the year 2000. Hp Envy 13-1005TX Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
However, nuclear plants in North Korea have caused international concern since the 1950s as they are capable of assisting in the development of nuclear arms. International issues involving North Korea's refusal to discontinue nuclear projects have prevented Russia based Gazprom from developing a $2.5 billion pipeline to South Korea through Pyongyang. The revenue generated from Gazprom is intended to provide North Korea with $100 million per year in transit fees.[183][184] Hp Envy 13-1006TX Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
The Japan Meteorological Agency has been able to use technological advances in seismology to detect various nuclear weapons tests.[185]
The economy of North Korea operates under the Central Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and issues the North Korean won. North Korea has an industrialised, near-autarkic, highly centralized command economy. Hp Envy 13-1007EV Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
North Korea is one of only two states (along with Cuba) with an almost entirely government-planned, state-owned economy. The Central Planning Committee prepares, supervises and implements economic plans, while a General Bureau of Provincial Industry in each region is responsible for the management of local manufacturing facilities, production, resource allocation and sales.[186] Hp Envy 13-1007LA Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
North Korea's isolation policy means that international trade is highly restricted. North Korea passed a law in 1984 allowing for foreign investment through joint ventures,[189] but failed to attract any significant investment. In 1991, it established the Rason Economic Special Zone,[190] Hp Envy 13-1007TX Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
in an attempt to attract foreign investment from China and Russia. Chinese and Russian companies have purchased rights to use the ports at Rason. Chinese investors are renovating a road from Rason to China,[191] and Russian railway workers are renovating the railway from Rason to Russia, from where it continues onto the Trans-Siberian Railway.[192] Hp Envy 13-1008TX Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Until 1998, the United Nations published HDI and GDP per capita figures for North Korea, which stood at a medium level of human development at 0.766 (ranked 75th) and a GDP per capita of $4,058.[193] The average salary was about $47 per month in 2004.[194] The average official salary in 2011 was equivalent to $2 per month while the actual monthly income seems to be around $15 because most North Koreans earn money in illegal small businesses: Hp Envy 13-1010ER Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
trade, subsistence farming, and handicrafts. The illegal economy is dominated by women because men have to attend their places of official work even though most of the factories are non-functioning.[195] It is estimated that in the early 2000s, the average North Korean family drew some 80% of its income from small businesses that are legal in market economies but illegal in North Korea.[196] Hp Envy 13-1015ER Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Despite substantial economic problems, quality of life was improving and wages were rising steadily in 2007.[197] Small-scale private markets, known as janmadang, exist throughout the country and provide the population with imported food and commodities ranging from cosmetics to motorcycles in exchange for money.[198][199] Hp Envy 13-1030CA Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
In 2009, the government carried out a currency redenomination with the aim to curb free market activity across the country, but the attempt failed, causing inflation rates to skyrocket, and eventually led to the lifting of the ban on free market trade.[200] Hp Envy 13-1030NR Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Food rations, housing, healthcare, and education are offered from the state for free,[201] and the payment of taxes has been abolished since April 1, 1974.[202] In order to increase productivity from agriculture and industry, since the 1960s the North Korean government has introduced a number of management systems such as the Taean work system.[203] In the 21st century, Hp Envy 13-1050EA Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
following a recovery in 1999, North Korea's GDP growth was slow but steady until 2005. Between 2006 and 2011 the majority of years have had negative growth.[204] In 2012 the Bank of Korea published the following estimates of North Korea's GDP growth:[205][206] Hp Envy 13-1050EF Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
According to estimates from 2002, the dominant sector in the North Korean economy is industry (43.1%), followed by services(33.6%) and agriculture (23.3%). In 2004, it was estimated that agriculture employed 37% of the workforce while industry and services employed the remaining 63%.[59] Major industries include military products, machine building, electric power, Hp Envy 13-1050EG Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
chemicals, mining, metallurgy, textiles, food processing and tourism. Iron ore and coal production are among the few sectors where North Korea performs significantly better than its southern neighbour – the DPRK produces about 10 times larger amounts of each resource.[207] Hp Envy 13-1050ES Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Rice yields are about 2.8 tonnes per hectare, about half that in most countries, with soil degradation, lack of fertilisers, and limited mechanisation blamed.[208] In 2005, North Korea was ranked by the FAO as an estimated 10th in the production of fresh fruit[209] and as an estimated 19th in the production of apples.[210] DELL Inspiron 6400 Laptop Keyboard
It has substantial natural resources and is the world's 18th largest producer of iron and zinc, having the 22nd largest coal reserves in the world. It is also the 15th largest fluorite producer and 12th largest producer of copper and salt in Asia. Other major natural resources in production include lead, tungsten, graphite, magnesite, gold, pyrites, fluorspar, and hydropower.[59] Compaq Presario CQ57 Series Laptop Keyboard
In 1991, North Korea started experimenting with private capitalism in the Rajin-Sonbong Economic Special Zone, and in 2002 also set up the Kaesong Industrial Region.[211] A small number of other areas have been designated as Special Administrative Regions. China and South Korea are the biggest trade partners of North Korea, HP Pavilion dv5-1104tu Laptop Keyboard
with trade with China increasing 15% to US$1.6 billion in 2005, and trade with South Korea increasing 50% to over 1 billion for the first time in 2005.[212] China is North Korea's closest economic partner, accounting for 73% of North Korea's foreign trade.[213] SAMSUNG NP-Q320-FS01UK Laptop Keyboard
In 2000, the Centre for the Study of the Capitalist System was established.[214] Increasingly more foreign-invested joint ventures have been set up since 2002.[215] The Pyongyang Business School was established by the Swiss government to help teach students business management.[216] ACER Acer Aspire 5742 Laptop Keyboard
A small number of capitalistic elements are gradually spreading from the trial area, including a number of advertising billboards along certain highways. Recent visitors have reported that the number of open-air farmers' markets has increased in Kaesong andPyongyang, as well as along the China-North Korea border, COMPAQ Presario C700 Laptop Keyboard
bypassing the food rationing system. In addition to food aid, China reportedly provides an estimated 80 to 90 percent of North Korea's oil imports at "friendly prices" that are sharply lower than the world market price.[217] DELL Inspiron N5030 Laptop Keyboard
North Korea also has a cartoon animation industry, sub-contracting work from South Korean animation studios.[218]
In 2000, Taiwan began exporting nuclear waste to North Korea for disposal.[219]
European investors have worked alongside North Korea to develop freelance computer programming employment opportunities. The company, Nosotek's homepage, nosotek.com, faced a website defacement in 2013.[220] DELL Latitude D620 Laptop Keyboard
In January 2013, North Korea also purchased 16,000 video cameras from China in order to conduct mass surveillance on citizens.[221]
Tourism in North Korea is organized by the state-owned Korea International Travel Company. All tourists/visitors are constantly accompanied by one or two guides, who usually speak the tourist's native language. While tourism has increased over the last few years, tourists from Western countries remain few. TOSHIBA Satellite A305 Laptop Keyboard
Most visitors come from China, Russia, and Japan. For citizens of South Korea, it is almost impossible to get a visa to North Korea; they can get entry permits to special tourist areas designated for South Koreans, such as Kaesong. Lenovo 3000 Y500 Laptop Keyboard
United States citizens were also subject to visa restrictions, allowed to visit only during the yearly Arirang Festival; these restrictions were lifted in January 2010. Fewer than 2,500 United States citizens have visited North Korea since 1953.[223] HP Mini 110-3131se Laptop Keyboard
In the area of Mount Kumgang, the company Hyundai established and operates a special tourist area. Travel to this area is possible for South Koreans and United States citizens, but only in organized groups from South Korea. A special administrative region, the Mount Kumgang Tourist Region, exists for this purpose. Compaq Presario CQ57 Series Laptop Keyboard
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Trips to the region were suspended after a South Korean woman who wandered into a controlled military zone was shot dead by border guards in late 2008.[224] When tours had not resumed by May 2010, North Korea announced that it would seize South Korean real estate assets in the region.[225] Hp Envy 13-1000 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
There are hotels throughout the country, the largest currently operating being the Yanggakdo International Hotel.[226]
In the 1990s North Korea faced significant economic disruptions, including a series of natural disasters, economic mismanagement and serious resource shortages after the collapse of the Eastern Bloc. Hp Envy 13-1001TX Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
These resulted in a shortfall of staple grain output of more than 1 million tonnes from what the country needs to meet internationally accepted minimum dietary requirements.[227] Hp Envy 13-1002TX Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
The North Korean famine known as the "Arduous March" resulted in the deaths of between 300,000 and 800,000 North Koreans per year during the three-year famine, peaking in 1997.[228] The deaths were most likely caused by famine-related illnesses such aspneumonia, tuberculosis, and diarrhea rather than starvation.[228] Hp Envy 13-1003XX Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
In 2006, Amnesty International reported that a national nutrition survey conducted by the North Korean government, the World Food Programme, and UNICEF found that 7% of children were severely malnourished; 37% were chronically malnourished; 23.4% were underweight; TOSHIBA Satellite L300 Laptop Keyboard
and one in three mothers was malnourished and anaemic as the result of the lingering effect of the famine. The inflation caused by some of the 2002 economic reforms, including the Songun or "Military-first" policy, was cited for creating the increased price of basic foods.[229] DELL Inspiron 1750 Laptop Keyboard
The history of Japanese assistance to North Korea has been marked with challenges; from a large pro-Pyongyang community of Koreans in Japan to public outrage over the 1998 North Korean missile launch and revelations regarding the abduction of Japanese citizens.[230] In June 1995, an agreement was reached that the two countries would act jointly.[230] South Korea would provide 150,000 tonnes of grain in unmarked bags, DELL NSK-DN01D Laptop Keyboard
and Japan would provide 150,000 tonnes gratis and another 150,000 tonnes on concessional terms.[230] In October 1995 and January 1996, North Korea again approached Japan for assistance. On these two occasions, both of which came at crucial moments in the evolution of the famine, opposition from both South Korea and domestic political sources quashed the deals.[230] SONY Vaio SONY PCG-K25 Laptop Keyboard
Beginning in 1997, the U.S. began shipping food aid to North Korea through the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to combat the famine. Shipments peaked in 1999 at nearly 700,000 tonnes making the U.S. the largest foreign aid donor to the country at the time[231]. TOSHIBA Satellite L300 Laptop Keyboard
Under the Bush Administration, aid was drastically reduced year after year from 350,000 tonnes in 2001 to 40,000 in 2004.[232] The Bush Administration took criticism for using "food as a weapon" during talks over the North's nuclear weapons program, but insisted the U.S. IBM Lenovo Thinkpad X201 Laptop Keyboard
Agency for International Development (USAID) criteria were the same for all countries and the situation in North Korea had "improved significantly since its collapse in the mid-1990s." Agricultural production had increased from about 2.7 million tonnes in 1997 to 4.2 million tonnes in 2004.[233] DELL Precision M4500 Laptop Keyboard
In 2013, there were reports of famine returning to parts of North Korea and driving some to cannibalism, with the claims that one man dug up his grandchild's corpse to eat and another boiled his child and ate the flesh.[234] Another man was allegedly executed after murdering his two children for food.[234] However, theWorld Food Program reported malnutrition and food shortages, but not famine.[235] Lenovo 3000 Y500 Laptop Keyboard
The Ministry of People's Security maintains all law enforcement activities at the local level, which includes police and other initiatives. There is also aState Security Department that operates in a similar way to an "Office of the Interior" located in other countries. FUJITSU Lifebook T4220 Laptop Keyboard
North Korean media are under some of the strictest government control in the world. The North Korean constitution provides for freedom of speech and the press, but the government prohibits the exercise of these rights in practice. In its 2013 report, Reporters without Borders ranked freedom of the press in North Korea as 177th out of 178, above only that of Eritrea.[236][237] HP Pavilion dv5-1111ea Laptop Keyboard
Only news that favors the regime is permitted, while news that covers the economic and political problems in the country, and foreign criticism of the government, are not allowed.[238] The media upholds the personality cult of Kim Jong-un, regularly reporting on his daily activities. The main news provider to media in the DPRK is the Korean Central News Agency. ACER TravelMate 3002WTMi Laptop Keyboard
North Korea has 12 principal newspapers and 20 major periodicals, all of varying periodicity and all published in Pyongyang.[239] Newspapers include the Rodong Sinmun, Joson Inmingun, Minju Choson, and Rodongja Sinmum. No private press is known to exist.[240] HP 550 Laptop Keyboard
In January 2012, the Associated Press opened a bureau in Pyongyang for full news coverage within North Korea.[241][242]
A study commissioned by the U. S. State Department shows that, despite extremely strict regulations and draconian penalties, North Koreans, particularly elite elements, have increasing access to news and other media outside the state-controlled media authorized by the government.[243] SONY VAIO VGN-FS742/W Laptop Keyboard
While access to the Internet is tightly controlled, listening to the radio and viewing DVDs is increasing, and receiving television broadcasts from neighbouring states is also possible in border areas.[243][244] HP Pavilion dv3-2106tu Laptop Keyboard
Uriminzokkiri is a Korean news website that frequently posts propaganda including the United States attack video published in 2013.[245] SONY VAIO VGN-FS742/W Laptop Keyboard
It has been reported that North Korea uses "radio jamming" techniques in order to prevent access to non-nationalist broadcasts. However, a group by the name ofFree North Korea Radio conducts numerous activities that focus on providing a free radio station to North Koreans. SONY KFRMBA221A Laptop Keyboard
The broadcasts often include instructions on methods to leave the country and their faction has contact with underground reporters within North Korea. The group primarily consists of numerous North Korean refugees and defectors.[246][247] HP AELX9U00210 Laptop Keyboard
In North Korea, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications maintains the phone systems within the country and oversees the Postal Service. North Korea has an adequate telephone system, SONY Vaio SONY PCG-K23 Laptop Keyboard
with 1.18 million fixed lines available in 2008.[248] However, most phones are only installed for senior government officials. Someone wanting a phone installed must fill out a form indicating their rank, why he wants a phone, and how he will pay for it.[249] The number of mobile phones in Pyongyang rose from 3,000 in 2002 to approximately 20,000 in 2004.[250] DELL UW739 Laptop Keyboard
North Korea has a 3G network for cell phones that provides service to over 1 million subscribers as of February 2012. The service is provided by Koryolink, a venture between the North Korean government and Egypt based Orascom Telecom Holding which is owned by Naguib Sawiris. In May 2010, more than 120,000 North Koreans owned mobile phones;[251] HP Pavilion tx2510us Laptop Keyboard
this number had increased to 301,000 by September 2010,[252] 660,000 by August 2011,[253] and 900,000 by December 2011.[254]Restrictions have included a ban on cell phones from 2004-2008 and the removal of Internet access from individual phones.[255][256] HP Pavilion dv3-2106tu Laptop Keyboard
According to a report, there are an estimated 1.5 million mobile phone users in North Korea in 2013.[257] From 1 March 2013, Koryolink will authorize full internet access on mobile phones for foreign nationals visiting North Korea. Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E520 Laptop Keyboard
North Korea's first Internet café opened in 2002 as a joint venture with a South Korean Internet company, Hoonnet. The former CEO of Hoonnet was Kim Beom-hoon.[258] Ordinary North Koreans do not have access to the global Internet network, but are provided with a nationwide, TOSHIBA Satellite L775D-S7305 Laptop Keyboard
public-use Intranet service calledKwangmyong, which features domestic news, an e-mail service, and censored information from foreign websites (mostly scientific).[259] The computers primarily useRed Star OS as an operating system.[256] DELL V110546AS1 Laptop Keyboard
Two of the few ways to enter North Korea are over the Sino-Korea Friendship Bridge or via Panmunjeom, the former crossing theAmnok River and the latter crossing the Demilitarized Zone. DELL Precision M4500 Laptop Keyboard
On October 13, 2011 a train from the Russian border settlement of Khasan made an inaugural run to Rajin in North Korea. The 54 kilometer newly repaired link of the Trans-Korean Main Line was the first step in an effort to rebuild the Trans-Korean rail and integrate it into the Trans-Siberian railroad.[260] HP Hp Envy 15 Laptop Keyboard
Cars are relatively rare, but as of 2008 some 70% of households used bicycles, which also play an increasingly important role in small-scale private trade.[261] Very few cars and light trucks are made in a joint-venture between Pyeonghwa Motors of South Korea, and the North Korean Ryonbong General Corp at a facility in Nampo North Korea.[262] Another local producer of vehicles is Sungri Motor Plant, which manufactures civilian vehicles and heavy trucks. FUJITSU Siemens M1010 Laptop Keyboard
There is a mix of locally built and imported trolleybuses and trams in urban centers in North Korea. Earlier fleets were obtained in Europe and China, but the trade embargo has forced North Korea to build their own vehicles.[citation needed] ASUS X53S Laptop Keyboard
Choson Cul Minzuzui Inmingonghoagug is the only rail operator in North Korea. It has a network of 5,200 km (3,200 mi) of track with 4,500 km (2,800 mi) in standard gauge.[263] There is a small narrow gauge railway in operation in Haeju peninsula.[263] The railway fleet consists of a mix of electric and steam locomotives. ACER Acer Aspire 5610Z Laptop Keyboard
Cars are mostly made in North Korea using Soviet and Chinese designs. There are some locomotives from Imperial Japan, the United States, and Europe remaining in use. Second-hand Chinese locomotives (early DF4Bs, BJ Hydraulics, etc.) have also been spotted in active service. COMPAQ Presario C700 Laptop Keyboard
People traveling from the capital Pyongyang to other regions in North Korea typically travel by rail. However, in order to travel out of Pyongyang, people need an official travel certificate, ID, and a purchased ticket in advance. Due to lack of maintenance on the road infrastructure and vehicles, the travel time by rail is increasing. It has been reported that the 120 mile (193 km) HP Hp Envy 15 Laptop Keyboard
Water transport on the major rivers and along the coasts plays a growing role in freight and passenger traffic. Except for the Yalu and Taedong rivers, most of the inland waterways, totaling 2,253 kilometres (1,400 mi), are navigable only by small boats. Coastal traffic is heaviest on the eastern seaboard, whose deeper waters can accommodate larger vessels. SAMSUNG N140 Laptop Keyboard
The major ports are Nampho on the west coast and Rajin, Chongjin, Wonsan, and Hamhung on the east coast. The country's harbor loading capacity in the 1990s was estimated at almost 35 million tons[clarification needed] a year.[265] ACER Acer Aspire 5610Z Laptop Keyboard
In the early 1990s, North Korea possessed an ocean-going merchant fleet, largely domestically produced, of 68 ships (of at least 1,000 GRT), totaling 465,801 gross register tons (GRT)/709,442 metric tons deadweight (DWT), which includes 58 cargo ships and 2 tankers. There is a continuing investment in upgrading and expanding port facilities, developing transportation—particularly on the Taedong River—and increasing the share of international cargo by domestic vessels.[266] Lenovo Thinkpad X220T laptop keyboard
There are several North Korean Airports, although international air connections are limited. There are regularly scheduled flights from the Pyongyang Sunan International Airport – 24 kilometres (15 mi) north of Pyongyang – to Moscow, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Bangkok, Beijing, Dalian, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, HP Mini 110-3004tu laptop keyboard
Shenyang along with seasonal services to Singapore and charter flights from Pyongyang to numerous Asian and European destinations including Tokyo and Nagoya. Regular charters to existing scheduled services are operated as per demand. An agreement to initiate a service between Pyongyang and Tokyo was signed in 1990. Internal flights are available between Pyongyang, Hamhung, Haeju, Kaesong,Kanggye, Kilju, Nampho, Sinuiju, Samjiyon, Wonsan, and Chongjin.[267] COMPAQ Presario CQ50-210US laptop keyboard
All civil aircraft are operated by Air Koryo: 38 aircraft in 2010, which were purchased from the Soviet Union and Russia. From 1976 to 1978, four Tu-154 jets were added to the seven propeller-driven An-24s and two Ilyushin Il-18s; afterwards adding 4 long-range Ilyushin Il-62M, three Ilyushin Il-76MD large cargo aircraft. In 2008, a long range Tupolev Tu-204-300 was purchased along with, in 2010, a larger version the Tupolev Tu-204-100B.[265] Packard Bell PEW91 laptop keyboard
North Korea's population of roughly 24 million is one of the most ethnically and linguistically homogeneous in the world, with very small numbers of Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, South Korean, and European expatriate minorities. SONY KFRMBA221A laptop keyboard
According to the CIA World Factbook, North Korea's life expectancy was 63.8 years in 2009, a figure roughly equivalent to that of Pakistan and Burma and slightly lower than Russia.[268] Infant mortality stood at a high level of 51.3, which is 2.5 times higher than that of China, 5 times that of Russia, and 12 times that of South Korea.[269] SONY VAIO VGN-FS940 laptop keyboard
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The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK; Chosŏn'gŭl: 조선민주주의인민공화국; Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk), commonly called North Korea ( listen), is a country in East Asia, in the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital is Pyongyang, the country's largest city by both land area and population. IBM Lenovo Thinkpad X201 Laptop Keyboard
The Amnok River and the Tumen River form the international border between North Korea and thePeople's Republic of China. A small section of the Tumen River also lies along the border between North Korea and the Russian Federation, technically following the river's thalweg.[7] The Korean Demilitarized Zone is the boundary between North Korea and South Korea. DELL 9J.N6782.A01 Laptop Keyboard
The Korean peninsula was governed by the Korean Empire from the late 19th century to the early 20th century, until it was annexed by the Empire of Japan in 1910. After the surrender of Japan at the end of World War II, Japanese rule ceased. The Korean peninsula was divided into two occupied zones in 1945, Compaq Presario CQ57 Series Laptop Keyboard
with the northern half of the peninsula occupied by the Soviet Union and the southern half by the United States. A United Nations–supervised election held in 1948 led to the creation of separate Korean governments for the two occupation zones: the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the north, HP Pavilion dv6-2155tx Laptop Keyboard
and the Republic of Korea in the south. North Korea and South Korea each claimed sovereignty over the entire Korean peninsula, which led to the start of theKorean War in 1950. An armistice in 1953 committed both to a cease-fire, but the two countries remain officially at war because a formal peace treaty was never signed.[8] Both states were accepted into the United Nations in 1991.[9] DELL XPS M1530 Laptop Keyboard
The country's government follows the Juche ideology of self-reliance, initiated by the country's firstPresident, Kim Il-sung. After his death, Kim Il-sung was declared the country's Eternal President. Juchebecame the official state ideology, replacing Marxism–Leninism, when the country adopted a new constitutionin 1972.[10][11] In 2009, references to Communism (Chosŏn'gŭl: 공산주의) were removed from the country'sconstitution.[12] TOSHIBA Satellite L300 Laptop Keyboard
North Korea political parties includes Workers' Party of Korea, Korean Social Democratic Party and theChondoist Chongu Party (also there are some independent deputies). The three political parties participates in the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland led by the Workers' Party of Korea.[13] Electionsare held every five years to elect representatives to city, county, provincial and national "people's assemblies".[14] HP Envy 15 Laptop Keyboard
Education in North Korea is universal and free of charge (it is one of the most literate countries in the world, with an average literacy rate of 99%).[15] The country has a national medical service and health insurance system which are offered for free.[15] Housing and food rations traditionally have been heavily subsidized.[15] The means of production are owned by the state through state-run enterprises and collectivized farms.[15] HP Pavilion dv6-2112sa Laptop Keyboard
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il adopted Songun, or "military-first" policy in order to strengthen the country and its government.[16] North Korea is the world's most militarized country, with a total of 9,495,000 active, reserve, and paramilitary personnel. Its active duty army of 1.21 million is the 4th largest in the world, after China, the U.S., and India.[17] It is a nuclear-weapons state and has an active space program.[18][19][20] HP Pavilion G6-1223TX Laptop Keyboard
With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, North Korea lost a major trading partner and strategic ally. Combined with a series of natural disasters, this led to the North Korean famine, which lasted from 1994 to 1998 and killed an estimated 240,000 to 1,000,000 people.[21][22] TOSHIBA A000014900 Laptop Keyboard
As a result of its isolation it is sometimes known as the "Hermit kingdom",[23] a name once given to its predecessor, the Korean Empire. Although North Korea is officially a socialist republic[24] and elections are held, it has been described by the mass media as a totalitarian and Stalinistdictatorship[25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34] with an elaborate cult of personality around the Kim family. ACER Aspire 5742 Laptop Keyboard
Also, the Economist Intelligence Unit, a private business based in the United Kingdom, ranked it as the lowest country in the Democracy Index. Finally, Amnesty International[35][36] and Human Rights Watch[37][38] report of severe restrictions on human rights but the government rejects these claims.[39][40][41] HP G62-229WM Laptop Keyboard
Korean history began with the founding of the Gojoseon Dynasty in 2333 BC by Dangun, according to Korean foundation mythology.[42] Gojoseon expanded until it controlled northern Korean Peninsula and some parts of Manchuria. After many conflicts with the Chinese Han Dynasty, Gojoseon disintegrated, leading to theProto–Three Kingdoms of Korea period. TOSHIBA Satellite L300 Laptop Keyboard
This saw the kingdoms of Buyeo, Okjeo, Dongye, and the Samhan confederacy occupying the peninsula along with southern Manchuria. Of the various states, Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla grew to control the peninsula as the Three Kingdoms of Korea. The unification of the Three Kingdoms by Silla in 676 led to the North South States Period, in which much of the Korean Peninsula was controlled by Silla. HP Probook 4710S Laptop Keyboard
Under the rule of Unified Silla, relationships between Korea and China remained relatively peaceful. However, Silla weakened under internal strife, and eventually was defeated by Emperor Taejo of Goryeo of the Goryeo Dynasty in 935. After a long period of rule, the Mongol invasions in the 13th century greatly weakened Goryeo. SONY VAIO PCG-FRV25 Laptop Keyboard
Nearly 30 years of war later, Goryeo continued to rule Korea, though as a tributary ally to the Mongols. After the Mongol Empire collapsed, severe political strife followed and the Goryeo Dynasty was replaced in 1388 by the long-lasting Joseon Dynasty, whose rule over the peninsula would last until 1897. GATEWAY AEMA2TAU015 Laptop Keyboard
The latter years of the Joseon Dynasty were marked by an increasing dependence on China for external affairs and isolation from the outside world. The Joseon Dynasty tried to protect itself against Western imperialism, but was eventually forced to open trade. HP pavilion DV7-1000 Laptop Keyboard
From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, the Korean peninsula was governed by the newly established Korean Empire, whose continued isolationist policies earned it the name of the "Hermit Kingdom". After the First Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, Korea was annexed by the Empire of Japan in 1910, leading to 35 years of military rule. Compaq Presario CQ57 Series Laptop Keyboard
After the surrender of Japan at the end of World War II, Japanese rule was brought to an end. The Korean peninsula was divided into two occupied zones in 1945 along the 38th parallel, HP Pavilion dv6-2106ea Laptop Keyboard
with the northern half of the peninsula occupied by the Soviet Union and the southern half by the United States, in accordance with a prior arrangement between world powers, whereUnited Nations–supervised elections were intended to be held for the entire peninsula shortly after the war. HP Mini 110-3536tu laptop keyboard
In August 1945, the Soviet Army established a Soviet Civil Authority to rule the northern portion of the Korean Peninsula until a domestic regime, friendly to the USSR, could be established. ASUS X88S laptop keyboard
This became governed by the Provisional People's Committee for North Korea through 1948. After the departure of Soviet forces in 1948, the main agenda in the following years was unification of Korea until the consolidation of the Syngman Rhee regime in the South and a Jeju Uprising/brutal crackdown on Communist sympathizers under his presidency. Lenovo 0A62075 laptop keyboard
In 1949, a military intervention into South Korea was considered by Kim Il-sung, but failed to receive support from the Soviet Union, which had played a key role in the establishment of the country.[43] Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E520 laptop keyboard
The withdrawal of most of the American forces from the South in June dramatically weakened the Southern regime and encouraged Kim Il-sung to rethink an invasion plan against the South.[43] SONY V-0702BIAS1-US laptop keyboard
The war proposals were rejected several times by Joseph Stalin, but along with the development of Soviet nuclear weapons, Mao Zedong's victory in China, and the Chinese indication that it would send troops and other support to North Korea, Stalin approved the invasion which led to the start of the Korean War in June 1950.[44] HP Mini 210-1199DX laptop keyboard
After Korea was divided by the UN, the two Korean powers both tried to control the whole peninsula under their respective governments. This led to escalating border conflicts on the 38th parallel and attempts to negotiate elections for the whole of Korea.[45] These attempts ended when the military of North Korea invaded the South on June 25, 1950, leading to a full-scale civil war. HP Pavilion dv6-2143ca laptop keyboard
With endorsement from the United Nations, countries allied with the United States intervened on behalf of South Korea. After rapid advances in a South Korean counterattack, North-allied Chinese forces intervened on behalf of North Korea, shifting the balance of the war. TOSHIBA Satellite L550-ST5701 laptop keyboard
Fighting ended on July 27, 1953, with an armistice that approximately restored the original boundaries between North and South Korea. More than one million civilians and soldiers were killed in the war. SONY VAIO VGN-N350N laptop keyboard
Although some have referred to the conflict as a civil war, other important factors were involved.[46] The Korean War was also the first armed confrontation of the Cold War and set the standard for many later conflicts. It created the idea of a proxy war, where the two superpowers would fight in another country, forcing the people in that country to suffer most of the destruction and death involved in a war between such large nations. HP Mini 110-3135dx Laptop Keyboard
The superpowers avoided descending into an all-out war against one another, as well as the mutual use of nuclear weapons. It also expanded the Cold War, which to that point had mostly been concerned with Europe. A heavily guarded demilitarized zone on the 38th parallel still divides the peninsula, and an anti-Communist and anti-North Korea sentiment remains in South Korea. TOSHIBA Satellite L300 Laptop Keyboard
Since the Armistice in 1953, relations between the North Korean government and South Korea, the European Union, Canada, the United States, and Japan have remained tense, and hostile incidents occur often.[47][page needed] North and South Korea signed the June 15th North-South Joint Declarationin 2000, IBM Thinkpad R61i Laptop Keyboard
in which they promised to seek peaceful reunification.[48] On October 4, 2007, the leaders of North and South Korea pledged to hold summit talks to officially declare the war over and reaffirmed the principle of mutual non-aggression.[49] On March 13, 2013, North Korea confirmed it ended the 1953 Armistice and declared North Korea "is not restrained by the North-South declaration on non-aggression".[50] HP Pavilion dm3-1040EV Laptop Keyboard
Late 20th century
Main article: Korean Demilitarized Zone
The relative peace between the south and the north following the armistice was interrupted by border skirmishes and assassination attempts. The North failed in several assassination attempts on South Korean leaders, most notably in 1968, 1974 and the Rangoon bombing in 1983; HP G56-118CA Laptop Keyboard
tunnels were frequently found under the DMZ and war nearly broke out over the Axe Murder Incident at Panmunjeom in 1976.[51] In 1973, extremely secret, high-level contacts began to be conducted through the offices of the Red Cross, but ended after the Panmunjeom incident with little progress having been made and the idea that the two Koreas would join international organisations separately.[52] DELL Vostro PP37L Laptop Keyboard
North Korea remained closely aligned to China and the Soviet Union until the mid-1960s. Recovery from the war was quick – by 1957 industrial production reached 1949 levels. Until the 1960s, economic growth was higher than in South Korea, and North Korean GDP per capita was equal to that of its southern neighbor as late as 1976.[53][54] The last Chinese troops withdrew from the country in October 1958.[55] SAMSUNG N140 Laptop Keyboard
In the late 1990s, with the South having transitioned to liberal democracy, the success of the Nordpolitik policy, and power in the North having been taken up by Kim Il-sung's son Kim Jong-il, the two nations began to engage publicly for the first time, with the South declaring its Sunshine Policy.[56][57] HP Mini 210-2030ew Laptop Keyboard
In January 2002, U.S. president George W. Bush labeled North Korea part of an "axis of evil" and an "outpost of tyranny". The highest-level contact the government has had with the United States was with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who made a visit to Pyongyang in 2000,[58] but the two countries do not have formal diplomatic relations.[59] HP Compaq G50-118NR Laptop Keyboard
By 2006, approximately 37,000 American soldiers remained in South Korea, although by June 2009 this number had fallen to around 30,000.[60][61] Kim Jong-il privately stated his acceptance of U.S. troops on the peninsula, even after a possible reunification.[62] Publicly, North Korea strongly demands the removal of American troops from South Korea.[62] HP Pavilion tx2627cl laptop keyboard
On June 13, 2009, the Associated Press reported that in response to new U.N. sanctions, North Korea declared it would progress with its uranium enrichmentprogram. This marked the first time the DPRK has publicly acknowledged that it is conducting a uranium enrichment program.[63] ACER Extensa 5235 laptop keyboard
In August 2009, former U.S. president Bill Clinton met with Kim Jong-il to secure the release of two American journalists, who had been sentenced for entering the country illegally.[64]Current U.S. President Barack Obama's position towards North Korea has been to resist making deals with North Korea for the sake of defusing tension, a policy known as "strategic patience."[65] TOSHIBA Satellite L755-S5242BN laptop keyboard
On November 23, 2010, North Korea fired about 170 rounds of artillery on Yeonpyeong Island and the surrounding waters near the Yellow Sea border, with some 90 shells landing on the island. The attack resulted in the deaths of two marines and two civilians on the South Korean side, Packard Bell Easynote TK85 laptop keyboard
and fifteen marines and at least three civilians wounded.[66] South Korean forces fired back 80 shells, although the results remain unclear. North Korean news sources alleged that the North Korean actions, described as "a prompt and powerful physical strike", were in response to provocation from South Korea that had held an artillery exercise in the disputed waters south of the island.[67] SONY AEGD1U00020 laptop keyboard
On the December 17, 2011 the Supreme Leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-il died from a heart attack.[68] His death was reported by the Korean Central News Agencyaround 08:30 local time with the newscaster announcing his youngest son Kim Jong-un as his successor. SONY VAIO VGN-FS415M laptop keyboard
The announcement placed South Korean and United States troops on high alert, with many politicians from the global community stating that Kim's death leaves a great deal of uncertainty in the country's future.[69] North Korea was put into a state of semi-alert, with foreigners put under suspicion and asked to leave.[70] Packard Bell Easynote TK85 laptop keyboard
On January 24, 2013, North Korea announced its intentions to target the United States in its missile and nuclear programs. The statement called the United States, the "sworn enemy of the Korean people".[71] SAMSUNG N150 laptop keyboard
On March 8, 2013, the North Korean government announced that it was withdrawing from all non-aggression pacts with South Korea in response to UN Resolution 2094.[72][73][74] The announcement said it was closing its joint border crossing with South Korea and cutting off the hotline to the South.[72][73][74] HP G56 laptop keyboard
On March 13, 2013, North Korea confirmed it ended the 1953 Armistice and declared North Korea "is not restrained by the North-South declaration on non-aggression.[50]Confirmation of the severing of the hotline between the North and the South—the last remaining communication link between the two countries at that time—was publicly announced on March 27, 2013, SAMSUNG NP-NB30-JP01 laptop keyboard
the same date that the hotline was cut off. According to the Korean Central News Agency, a senior North Korean military official stated: "Under the situation where a war may break out any moment, there is no need to keep up North-South military communications" prior to the cessation of the communication channel.[75][76] HP Mini 110-3102st laptop keyboard
On March 30, 2013, the North Korean government declared it was in 'a state of war' with South Korea. A North Korean statement promised "stern physical actions" against "any provocative act". Lenovo 04W0872 laptop keyboard
The North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared that rockets were ready to be fired at American bases in the Pacific in response to the US flying two nuclear-capable B2 stealth bombers over the Korean peninsula. Packard Bell Easynote TK85 laptop keyboard
The United States warned North Korea that the rapidly escalating military confrontation would lead to further isolation, as The Pentagon declared that the US was 'fully capable' of defending itself and its allies against a missile attack.[77] [78] [79] HP Mini 110-3040ss laptop keyboard
North Korea occupies the northern portion of the Korean Peninsula, lying between latitudes 37° and 43°N, and longitudes124° and 131°E. It covers an area of 120,540 square kilometres (46,541 sq mi). North Korea shares land borders with China and Russia to the north, SONY Vaio VGN-FW139E laptop keyboard
and borders South Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone. To its west are the Yellow Sea andKorea Bay, and to its east lies Japan across the Sea of Japan (East Sea of Korea). The highest point in North Korea is Baekdu Mountain at 2,744 metres (9,003 ft). Acer Aspire 1414WLMi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
The longest river is the Amnok River which flows for 790 kilometres (491 mi).[80] The capital and largest city is Pyongyang; other major cities include Kaesong in the south, Sinuiju in the northwest, Wonsan andHamhung in the east and Chongjin in the northeast. Acer Aspire 1415 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
In 2013, internet users were encouraged to participate in a community based event on Google Maps. These users could useGoogle Map Maker along with Cartography and Telemetry skills that eventually led to a virtual map of Pyongyang.[81] In addition, the Google Map of North Korea includes political prison camp locations such as Camp 22.[82] Acer Aspire 1415LMi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Early European visitors to Korea remarked that the country resembled "a sea in a heavy gale" because of the many successivemountain ranges that crisscross the peninsula.[83] Some 80% of North Korea is composed of mountains and uplands, separated by deep and narrow valleys, Acer Aspire 1640 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
with all of the peninsula's mountains with elevations of 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) or more located in North Korea. The coastal plains are wide in the west and discontinuous in the east. A great majority of the population lives in the plains and lowlands. Acer Aspire 1640LC Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
The highest point in North Korea is Baekdu Mountain which is a volcanic mountain near the Chinese border with basalt lavaplateau with elevations between 1,400 and 2,744 metres (4,600 and 9,003 ft) above sea level.[83] The Hamgyong Range, located in the extreme northeastern part of the peninsula, has many high peaks including Gwanmosan at approximately 1,756 m (5,761 ft). Acer Aspire 1640Z Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Other major ranges include the Rangrim Mountains, which are located in the north-central part of North Korea and run in a north-south direction, making communication between the eastern and western parts of the country rather difficult; Acer Aspire 1641LM Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
and theKangnam Range, which runs along the North Korea–China border. Mount Kumgang, or Diamond Mountain, (approximately 1,638 metres or 5,374 feet) in the Taebaek Range, which extends into South Korea, is famous for its scenic beauty.[83] Acer Aspire 1641LMi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
For the most part, the plains are small. The most extensive are the Pyongyang and Chaeryong plains, each covering about 500 square kilometres (190 sq mi). Because the mountains on the east coast drop abruptly to the sea, the plains are even smaller there than on the west coast. Unlike neighboring Japan or northern China, North Korea experiences few severe earthquakes. Acer Aspire 1641WLMi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
North Korea has a continental climate with four distinct seasons.[84] Long winters bring bitter cold and clear weather interspersed with snow storms as a result of northern and northwestern winds that blow from Siberia. Average snowfall is 37 days during the winter. The weather is likely to be particularly harsh in the northern, mountainous regions. Acer Aspire 1642WLMi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Summer tends to be short, hot, humid, and rainy because of the southern and southeastern monsoon winds that bring moist air from the Pacific Ocean. Typhoons affect the peninsula on an average of at least once every summer.[84] Acer Aspire 1650 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Spring and autumn are transitional seasons marked by mild temperatures and variable winds and bring the most pleasant weather. Natural hazards include late spring droughts which often are followed by severe flooding. There are occasional typhoonsduring the early fall. Acer Aspire 1651NWLCi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
North Korea's climate is relatively temperate. Most of the country is classified as type Dwa in the Köppen climate classification scheme, with warm summers and cold, dry winters. In summer there is a short rainy season called changma.[85] On August 7, 2007, the most devastating floods in 40 years caused the North Korean government to ask for international help. NGOs, such as the Red Cross, asked people to raise funds because they feared a humanitarian catastrophe.[86] Acer Aspire 1651WLCi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
North Korea is a self-described Juche (self-reliant) state,[87] described by some observers as a de facto absolute monarchy[88][89][90] or "hereditary dictatorship"[91] with a pronounced cult of personality organized around Kim Il-sung (the founder of North Korea and the country's only president) and his late son, Kim Jong-il. Acer Aspire 1651WLMi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
North Korea uses a government system that also utilizes a Departmentalization system of Ministries. There are also those who reject the view that North Korea is a socialist state espousing communism, instead claiming that the North Korean leadership uses communism as a justification for their rule.[92][93] Acer Aspire 1652WLMi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
More recent research based on North Korea’s domestic documents and not propaganda for the international audience, popularized in 2009 byBrian R. Myers and his book The Cleanest Race and later supported by further academics[94][95] even characterizes North Korea as a far-right national-socialist country heavily influenced by Japan of the 1930s.[96][97] Acer Aspire 1654WLMi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Following Kim Il-sung's death in 1994, he was not replaced but instead received the designation of "Eternal President", and was entombed in the vast Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in central Pyongyang.[98] COMPAQ Presario CQ60-150EP Laptop Keyboard
Although the office of the President is ceremonially held by the deceased Kim Il-sung,[99][100][101] the Supreme Leader until his death in December 2011 was Kim Jong-il, who was General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and Chairman of the National Defence Commission of North Korea. SONY PCG-GR5F/BP Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
The legislature of North Korea is the Supreme People's Assembly, currently led by Chairman Kim Yong-nam. The other senior government figure is Premier Choe Yong-rim. Acer Aspire 1412LC Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
The structure of the government is described in the Constitution of North Korea, the latest version of which is from 2009 and officially rejects North Korea's founding ideology of communism.[102] The governing party by law is theDemocratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland, Acer Aspire 1412LCi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
a coalition of the Workers' Party of Korea and two other smaller parties, the Korean Social Democratic Party and the Chondoist Chongu Party. These parties nominate all candidates for office and hold all seats in the Supreme People's Assembly. They have negligible power, as the leader holds autocratic control over the nation's affairs. Acer Aspire 1412LM Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
In June 2009, it was reported in South Korean media that intelligence indicated that the country's next leader would be Kim Jong-un, the youngest of Kim Jong-il's three sons.[103] This was confirmed on 19 December 2011, following Kim Jong-il's death.[68][104] Acer Aspire 1412LMi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
According to Cheong Seong-chang of Sejong Institute, speaking on June 25, 2012, there is some possibility that the new leader Kim Jong-un, who has greater visible interest in the welfare of his people and engages in greater interaction with them than his father did, will consider economic reforms and regularization of international relations.[105] Acer Aspire 1412WLMi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Political expression is tightly controlled in North Korea. Supporters of the government who deviate from the government line are subject to reeducation in sections of labor camps set aside for that purpose. Those who are successfully rehabilitated may reassume responsible government positions on their release.[106] Troublesome political dissidents, Acer Aspire 1413 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
factionalists and class enemies, who are considered irredeemable are incarcerated together with any close family members or children born in the camp in "Total Control Zones" for life at hard labor. Labor camps in North Korea are actually areas of the country set aside for that purpose, Acer Aspire 1413LC Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Camp 22(also known as Kwan-li-so No.22 Haengyong) is 31 miles by 25 miles with a population of about 50,000. Those who attempt to escape or violate camp rules are executed or sent to a separate prison within the camp. The labor camps are reserved for political prisoners; common criminals are incarcerated in a separate system.[107] There are 6 such areas in the northern and northeastern portion of North Korea.[108] Acer Aspire 1413LM Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
North Korea has long maintained close relations with the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Russia. The fall of communismin eastern Europe in 1989, and the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, resulted in a devastating drop in aid to North Korea from Russia, although China continues to provide substantial assistance. North Korea continues to have strong ties with its socialist southeast Asian allies in Vietnam and Laos, as well as with Cambodia.[109] Acer Aspire 1413LMi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
North Korea has started installing aconcrete and barbed wire fence on its northern border, in response to China's wish to curb an overflow of illegal refugees from North Korea. Previously, the border between China and North Korea had only been lightly patrolled.[110] Acer Aspire 1413WLMi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
As a result of the North Korean nuclear weapons program, the six-party talks were established to find a peaceful solution to the growing tension between the two Korean governments, the Russian Federation, the People's Republic of China, Japan, and the United States. Acer Aspire 1414 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
On July 17, 2007, United Nations inspectors verified the shutdown of five North Korean nuclear facilities, according to the February 2007 agreement.[111] On October 4, 2007, South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il signed an 8-point peace agreement, on issues of permanent peace, high-level talks, economic cooperation, renewal of train, highway and air travel, and a joint Olympic cheering squad.[49] Acer Aspire 1414L Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
The United States and South Korea previously designated the North as a state sponsor of terrorism.[112] The 1983 bombing that killed members of the South Korean government and the destruction of a South Korean airliner have been attributed to North Korea.[113] Acer Aspire 1414LC Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
North Korea has also admitted responsibility for the kidnapping of 13 Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s, five of whom were returned to Japan in 2002.[114] On October 11, 2008, the United States removed North Korea from its list of states that sponsor terrorism.[115] Acer Aspire 1414LM Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
In 2009, relationships between North and South Korea increased in intensity; North Korea had been reported to have deployed missiles,[116] ended its former agreements with South Korea,[117] and threatened South Korea and the United States not to interfere with a satellite launch it had planned.[118] Acer Aspire 1414LMi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
North and South Korea are still technically at war (having never signed a peace treaty after the Korean War) and share the world’s most heavily fortified border.[119] On May 27, 2009, North Korean media declared that the Korean Armistice was no longer valid due to the South Korean government's pledge to "definitely join" theProliferation Security Initiative.[citation needed] Acer Aspire 1414WLCi Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
To further complicate and intensify strain between the two nations, the sinking of the South Korean warshipCheonan in March 2010, killing 46 seamen, is as of May 20, 2010 claimed by a multi-national research team[120] to have been caused by a North Korean torpedo, which the North denies. SONY PCG-GR300K Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
South Korea agreed with the findings from the research group and President Lee Myung-bak declared in May 2010 that Seoul would cut all trade with North Korea as part of measures primarily aimed at striking back at North Korea diplomatically and financially.[121] As a result of this, SONY PCG-GR315MP Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
North Korea severed all ties, completely abrogated the previous pact of non aggression and expelled all South Koreans from a joint industrial zone in Kaesong.[122] On November 23, 2010, North Korea attacked Yeonpyeong Island, further deteriorating the diplomatic relations with the South and other nations.[123] SONY PCG-GR37 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Most of the foreign embassies connecting with diplomatic ties to North Korea are located in Beijing (Capital of China) rather than in Pyongyang (Capital of DPRK).[124] SONY PCG-GR370 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
The North Korean government claims all citizens are equal and denies any discrimination on the basis of family background.[125] According to North Korean documents and refugee testimonies,[126] however, all North Koreans are sorted into groups according to their Songbun, an ascribed status system. SONY PCG-GR370K Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Based on their own behavior and the political, social, and economic background of their family for three generations as well as behavior by relatives within that range, Songbun is allegedly used to determine whether an individual is trusted with responsibility, given opportunities,[127] or even receives adequate food.[126][128] SONY PCG-GR370P Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Songbun allegedly affects access to educational and employment opportunities and particularly whether a person is eligible to join North Korea's ruling party.[127] There are 3 main classifications and about 50 sub-classifications. According to Kim Il-sung, speaking in 1958, the loyal "core class" constituted 25% of the North Korean population, the "wavering class" 55%, SONY PCG-GR390 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
and the "hostile class" 20%.[126] The highest status is accorded to individuals descended from those who participated with Kim Il-sung in the resistance against Japanese occupation during and before World War II and to those who were factory workers, laborers or peasants as of 1950.[129] SONY PCG-GR390K Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
While some analysts believe private commerce recently changed the Songbun system to some extent,[130] most North Korean refugees say it remains a commanding presence in everyday life.[126] SONY PCG-GR390P Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Main article: Human rights in North Korea
Many international human rights organizations accuse North Korea of having one of the worst human rights records of any nation.[131]Amnesty International reports of severe restrictions on the freedom of association, expression and movement, arbitrary detention, torture and other ill-treatment resulting in death, and executions.[35] The organization demands the closure of prison camps, SONY PCG-GR3BP Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
where 200,000 political prisoners and their families exist in “the most inhuman conditions imaginable”.[36] North Koreans have been referred to as "some of the world's most brutalized people" by Human Rights Watch, due to the severe restrictions placed on theirpolitical and economic freedoms.[37][38] SONY PCG-GR3F Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
In the 1990s just listening to South Korean radio could result in capital punishment[citation needed]. Some were also allegedly sent to prison camps for singing a South Korean song.[132]
law enforcement and allegedly maintain various prison camps. North Korean defectors have testified to the existence of prisons and concentration camps[133] including "total control zones", (SONY PCG-GR3F/BP Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Kwan-li-so : 관리소), where political undesirables are imprisoned for life at hard labor and are subjected to reported torture, starvation, rape, murder, medical experimentation, forced labour, and forced abortions.[134] According to Amnesty International, based on satellite images and anonymous testimonies, around 200,000 prisoners (about 0.85% of the population) are held in six large political prison camps,[135] SONY PCG-GR3N Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
being in operation since the 1950s. They are forced to work in conditions approaching slavery and are frequently subjected to torture and other cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment.[136] Camp 14 in Kaechon,[137] Camp 15 in Yodok[138] and Camp 18 in Bukchang[139] are described in detailed testimonies.[134] People suspected not to be loyal to the regime, e.g. SONY PCG-GR3N/BP Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
because they are Christians or because they criticized the leadership,[135] are deported to these camps without trial,[140] often with their whole family and mostly without any chance to be released.[141] The International Coalition to Stop Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea (ICNK) estimates that over 10,000 people die in North Korean prison camps every year.[142] SONY PCG-GR5BP Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
According to R.J. Rummel, forced labor, executions, and concentration camps were responsible for over one million deaths in North Korea from 1948 to 1987;[143] others have estimated 400,000 deaths in concentration camps alone.[144] SONY PCG-GR5E Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
The North Korean government exercises control over many aspects of the nation's culture, and this control is used to perpetuate a cult of personalitysurrounding Kim Il-sung,[145] and, to a lesser extent, Kim Jong-il.[146] While visiting North Korea in 1979, journalist Bradley Martin noted that nearly all music, SONY PCG-GR5E/BP Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
art, and sculpture that he observed glorified "Great Leader" Kim Il-sung, whose personality cult was then being extended to his son, "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-il.[147] Bradley Martin also reported that there is even widespread belief that Kim Il-sung "created the world", and Kim Jong-il could "control the weather".[147] Such reports, however, are contested by North Korea researcher Brian R. Myers: "SONY PCG-GR5F Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
divine powers have never been attributed to either of the two Kims. In fact, the propaganda apparatus in Pyongyang has generally been careful not to make claims that run directly counter to citizens’ experience or common sense."[148] He further explains that the state propaganda painted Kim Jong-il as someone whose expertise lay in military matters and that the famine of the 1990s was partially caused by natural disasters out of Kim Jong-il's control.[149] Hp Envy 13-1099EO Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
The song "No Motherland Without You" (당신이없으면 조국도없다), sung by the North Korean Army Choir, was created especially for Kim Jong-il and is one of the most popular tunes in the country. Kim Il-sung is still officially revered as the nation's "Eternal President". Several landmarks in North Korea are named for Kim Il-sung, including Kim Il-sung University, Hp Envy 13-1099XL Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Kim Il-sung Stadium, and Kim Il-sung Square. Defectors have been quoted as saying that North Korean schools deify both father and son.[150] Kim Il-sung rejected the notion that he had created a cult around himself, and accused those who suggested this of "factionalism".[147Hp Envy 13-1100 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
] Following the death of Kim Il-Sung, North Koreans were prostrating and weeping to a bronze statue of him in an organized event;[151] similar scenes were broadcast by state television following the death of Kim Jong-il. Hp Envy 13-1940EZ Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Critics maintain this Kim Jong-il personality cult was inherited from his father, Kim Il-sung. Kim Jong-il was often the center of attention throughout ordinary life in the DPRK. His birthday is one of the most important public holidays in the country. On his 60th birthday (based on his official date of birth), mass celebrations occurred throughout the country.[152] Hp Envy 13t-1000 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Kim Jong-il's personality cult, although significant, was not as extensive as his father's. One point of view is that Kim Jong-il's cult of personality was solely out of respect for Kim Il-sung or out of fear of punishment for failure to pay homage.[23] Media and government sources from outside of North Korea generally support this view,[153][154][155][156][157] while North Korean government sources say that it is genuine hero worship.[158] Hp Envy 14 Series Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
B.R. Myers also argues that the worship is real and not unlike worship of Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany.[159] In a more recent event – on June 11, 2012 – a 14-year-old North Korean schoolgirl drowned while attempting to rescue portraits of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il from a Hp Envy 14-1000wx Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
North Korea's policy is to seek reunification without what it sees as outside interference, through a federal structure retaining each side's leadership and systems. In 2000, both North and South Korea signed the June 15th North–South Joint Declaration in which both sides made promises to seek out a peaceful reunification.[161] Hp Envy 14-1000xx Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
The Democratic Federal Republic of Korea is a proposed state first mentioned by then North Korean president Kim Il-sung on October 10, 1980, proposing a federation between North and South Korea in which the respective political systems would initially remain.[162] Hp Envy 14-1001tx Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
The Ministry of the People's Armed Forces maintains the Korean People's Army (KPA), which serves as the military force of the country. The Korean People's Army (KPA) is the name for the collective armed personnel of the North Korean military. It has five branches: Ground Force, Naval Force, Hp Envy 14-1002tx Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Air Force, Special Operations Force, and Rocket Force. According to the U.S. Department of State, North Korea has the fourth-largest army in the world, at an estimated 1.21 million armed personnel, with about 20% of men aged 17–54 in the regular armed forces.[17] North Korea has the highest percentage of military personnel per capita of any nation in the world, Hp Envy 14-1003tx Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
with approximately one enlisted soldier for every 25 citizens.[18][163] North Korea also has a Defense Industry that is responsible for engineering military equipment. In 1994, North Korea received 10 Golf II Class Submarines from Russia.[164] Hp Envy 14-1004tx Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Military strategy is designed for insertion of agents and sabotage behind enemy lines in wartime,[17] with much of the KPA's forces deployed along the heavily fortified Korean Demilitarized Zone. The Korean People's Army operates a very large amount of equipment, including 4,060 tanks, Hp Envy 14-1005tx Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
2,500 APCs, 17,900 artillery pieces, 11,000 air defense guns and some 10,000 MANPADS and anti-tank guided missiles[165] in the Ground force; at least 915 vessels in the Navy and 1,748 aircraft in the Air Force,[166] of which 478 are fighters and 180 are bombers.[167] North Korea also has the largest special forces in the world, as well as the largest submarine fleet.[168] Hp Envy 14-1006tx Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
The equipment is a mixture of World War II vintage vehicles and small arms, widely proliferated Cold War technology, and more modern Soviet or locally produced weapons. In line with its asymmetric warfare strategy, North Korea employs a wide range of unconventional techniques and equipment, such as GPS jammers,[169] stealth paint,[170] midget submarines and human torpedoes,[171] Hp Envy 14-1007tx Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
a vast array of chemical and biological weapons,[172] and blinding laser weapons.[173] According to official North Korean media, military expenditures for 2010 amount to 15.8% of the state budget.[174] Hp Envy 14-1008tx Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
North Korea has active nuclear and ballistic missile weapons programs and has been subject to United Nations Security Council resolutions 1695 of July 2006,1718 of October 2006, and 1874 of June 2009, for carrying out both missile and nuclear tests. North Korea probably has fissile material for up to nine nuclear weapons,[175] Hp Envy 14-1009tx Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
and has the capability to deploy nuclear warheads on intermediate-range ballistic missiles.[176] The launch of a North Korean satellite in December 2012 was seen as a weapons development step by South Korea and its allies[177] and condemned by the UN Security Council.[178] SONY PCG-GR300 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
In North Korea, weapons are manufactured in roughly 180 underground defense industry plants in Jagang-do. The plants are responsible for producing; 200,000Kalashnikov rifles annually, 3,000 heavy guns, 200 battle tanks, 400 armored cars and amphibious crafts in addition to several other weapons.[179] Hp Envy 13-1004TX Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
In the 1990s, North Korea sold medium-sized nuclear capable missiles to Pakistan in a deal facilitated by China.[180] In 2005, North Korea admitted to having nuclear weapons but vowed to close their nuclear programs.[181][182] The promise of a reduction in nuclear programs has also been reinforced at various Inter-Korean Summit meetings between North and South Korea since the year 2000. Hp Envy 13-1005TX Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
However, nuclear plants in North Korea have caused international concern since the 1950s as they are capable of assisting in the development of nuclear arms. International issues involving North Korea's refusal to discontinue nuclear projects have prevented Russia based Gazprom from developing a $2.5 billion pipeline to South Korea through Pyongyang. The revenue generated from Gazprom is intended to provide North Korea with $100 million per year in transit fees.[183][184] Hp Envy 13-1006TX Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
The Japan Meteorological Agency has been able to use technological advances in seismology to detect various nuclear weapons tests.[185]
The economy of North Korea operates under the Central Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and issues the North Korean won. North Korea has an industrialised, near-autarkic, highly centralized command economy. Hp Envy 13-1007EV Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
North Korea is one of only two states (along with Cuba) with an almost entirely government-planned, state-owned economy. The Central Planning Committee prepares, supervises and implements economic plans, while a General Bureau of Provincial Industry in each region is responsible for the management of local manufacturing facilities, production, resource allocation and sales.[186] Hp Envy 13-1007LA Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
North Korea's isolation policy means that international trade is highly restricted. North Korea passed a law in 1984 allowing for foreign investment through joint ventures,[189] but failed to attract any significant investment. In 1991, it established the Rason Economic Special Zone,[190] Hp Envy 13-1007TX Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
in an attempt to attract foreign investment from China and Russia. Chinese and Russian companies have purchased rights to use the ports at Rason. Chinese investors are renovating a road from Rason to China,[191] and Russian railway workers are renovating the railway from Rason to Russia, from where it continues onto the Trans-Siberian Railway.[192] Hp Envy 13-1008TX Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Until 1998, the United Nations published HDI and GDP per capita figures for North Korea, which stood at a medium level of human development at 0.766 (ranked 75th) and a GDP per capita of $4,058.[193] The average salary was about $47 per month in 2004.[194] The average official salary in 2011 was equivalent to $2 per month while the actual monthly income seems to be around $15 because most North Koreans earn money in illegal small businesses: Hp Envy 13-1010ER Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
trade, subsistence farming, and handicrafts. The illegal economy is dominated by women because men have to attend their places of official work even though most of the factories are non-functioning.[195] It is estimated that in the early 2000s, the average North Korean family drew some 80% of its income from small businesses that are legal in market economies but illegal in North Korea.[196] Hp Envy 13-1015ER Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Despite substantial economic problems, quality of life was improving and wages were rising steadily in 2007.[197] Small-scale private markets, known as janmadang, exist throughout the country and provide the population with imported food and commodities ranging from cosmetics to motorcycles in exchange for money.[198][199] Hp Envy 13-1030CA Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
In 2009, the government carried out a currency redenomination with the aim to curb free market activity across the country, but the attempt failed, causing inflation rates to skyrocket, and eventually led to the lifting of the ban on free market trade.[200] Hp Envy 13-1030NR Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Food rations, housing, healthcare, and education are offered from the state for free,[201] and the payment of taxes has been abolished since April 1, 1974.[202] In order to increase productivity from agriculture and industry, since the 1960s the North Korean government has introduced a number of management systems such as the Taean work system.[203] In the 21st century, Hp Envy 13-1050EA Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
following a recovery in 1999, North Korea's GDP growth was slow but steady until 2005. Between 2006 and 2011 the majority of years have had negative growth.[204] In 2012 the Bank of Korea published the following estimates of North Korea's GDP growth:[205][206] Hp Envy 13-1050EF Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
According to estimates from 2002, the dominant sector in the North Korean economy is industry (43.1%), followed by services(33.6%) and agriculture (23.3%). In 2004, it was estimated that agriculture employed 37% of the workforce while industry and services employed the remaining 63%.[59] Major industries include military products, machine building, electric power, Hp Envy 13-1050EG Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
chemicals, mining, metallurgy, textiles, food processing and tourism. Iron ore and coal production are among the few sectors where North Korea performs significantly better than its southern neighbour – the DPRK produces about 10 times larger amounts of each resource.[207] Hp Envy 13-1050ES Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
Rice yields are about 2.8 tonnes per hectare, about half that in most countries, with soil degradation, lack of fertilisers, and limited mechanisation blamed.[208] In 2005, North Korea was ranked by the FAO as an estimated 10th in the production of fresh fruit[209] and as an estimated 19th in the production of apples.[210] DELL Inspiron 6400 Laptop Keyboard
It has substantial natural resources and is the world's 18th largest producer of iron and zinc, having the 22nd largest coal reserves in the world. It is also the 15th largest fluorite producer and 12th largest producer of copper and salt in Asia. Other major natural resources in production include lead, tungsten, graphite, magnesite, gold, pyrites, fluorspar, and hydropower.[59] Compaq Presario CQ57 Series Laptop Keyboard
In 1991, North Korea started experimenting with private capitalism in the Rajin-Sonbong Economic Special Zone, and in 2002 also set up the Kaesong Industrial Region.[211] A small number of other areas have been designated as Special Administrative Regions. China and South Korea are the biggest trade partners of North Korea, HP Pavilion dv5-1104tu Laptop Keyboard
with trade with China increasing 15% to US$1.6 billion in 2005, and trade with South Korea increasing 50% to over 1 billion for the first time in 2005.[212] China is North Korea's closest economic partner, accounting for 73% of North Korea's foreign trade.[213] SAMSUNG NP-Q320-FS01UK Laptop Keyboard
In 2000, the Centre for the Study of the Capitalist System was established.[214] Increasingly more foreign-invested joint ventures have been set up since 2002.[215] The Pyongyang Business School was established by the Swiss government to help teach students business management.[216] ACER Acer Aspire 5742 Laptop Keyboard
A small number of capitalistic elements are gradually spreading from the trial area, including a number of advertising billboards along certain highways. Recent visitors have reported that the number of open-air farmers' markets has increased in Kaesong andPyongyang, as well as along the China-North Korea border, COMPAQ Presario C700 Laptop Keyboard
bypassing the food rationing system. In addition to food aid, China reportedly provides an estimated 80 to 90 percent of North Korea's oil imports at "friendly prices" that are sharply lower than the world market price.[217] DELL Inspiron N5030 Laptop Keyboard
North Korea also has a cartoon animation industry, sub-contracting work from South Korean animation studios.[218]
In 2000, Taiwan began exporting nuclear waste to North Korea for disposal.[219]
European investors have worked alongside North Korea to develop freelance computer programming employment opportunities. The company, Nosotek's homepage, nosotek.com, faced a website defacement in 2013.[220] DELL Latitude D620 Laptop Keyboard
In January 2013, North Korea also purchased 16,000 video cameras from China in order to conduct mass surveillance on citizens.[221]
Tourism in North Korea is organized by the state-owned Korea International Travel Company. All tourists/visitors are constantly accompanied by one or two guides, who usually speak the tourist's native language. While tourism has increased over the last few years, tourists from Western countries remain few. TOSHIBA Satellite A305 Laptop Keyboard
Most visitors come from China, Russia, and Japan. For citizens of South Korea, it is almost impossible to get a visa to North Korea; they can get entry permits to special tourist areas designated for South Koreans, such as Kaesong. Lenovo 3000 Y500 Laptop Keyboard
United States citizens were also subject to visa restrictions, allowed to visit only during the yearly Arirang Festival; these restrictions were lifted in January 2010. Fewer than 2,500 United States citizens have visited North Korea since 1953.[223] HP Mini 110-3131se Laptop Keyboard
In the area of Mount Kumgang, the company Hyundai established and operates a special tourist area. Travel to this area is possible for South Koreans and United States citizens, but only in organized groups from South Korea. A special administrative region, the Mount Kumgang Tourist Region, exists for this purpose. Compaq Presario CQ57 Series Laptop Keyboard
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Trips to the region were suspended after a South Korean woman who wandered into a controlled military zone was shot dead by border guards in late 2008.[224] When tours had not resumed by May 2010, North Korea announced that it would seize South Korean real estate assets in the region.[225] Hp Envy 13-1000 Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
There are hotels throughout the country, the largest currently operating being the Yanggakdo International Hotel.[226]
In the 1990s North Korea faced significant economic disruptions, including a series of natural disasters, economic mismanagement and serious resource shortages after the collapse of the Eastern Bloc. Hp Envy 13-1001TX Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
These resulted in a shortfall of staple grain output of more than 1 million tonnes from what the country needs to meet internationally accepted minimum dietary requirements.[227] Hp Envy 13-1002TX Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
The North Korean famine known as the "Arduous March" resulted in the deaths of between 300,000 and 800,000 North Koreans per year during the three-year famine, peaking in 1997.[228] The deaths were most likely caused by famine-related illnesses such aspneumonia, tuberculosis, and diarrhea rather than starvation.[228] Hp Envy 13-1003XX Laptop CPU Cooling Fan
In 2006, Amnesty International reported that a national nutrition survey conducted by the North Korean government, the World Food Programme, and UNICEF found that 7% of children were severely malnourished; 37% were chronically malnourished; 23.4% were underweight; TOSHIBA Satellite L300 Laptop Keyboard
and one in three mothers was malnourished and anaemic as the result of the lingering effect of the famine. The inflation caused by some of the 2002 economic reforms, including the Songun or "Military-first" policy, was cited for creating the increased price of basic foods.[229] DELL Inspiron 1750 Laptop Keyboard
The history of Japanese assistance to North Korea has been marked with challenges; from a large pro-Pyongyang community of Koreans in Japan to public outrage over the 1998 North Korean missile launch and revelations regarding the abduction of Japanese citizens.[230] In June 1995, an agreement was reached that the two countries would act jointly.[230] South Korea would provide 150,000 tonnes of grain in unmarked bags, DELL NSK-DN01D Laptop Keyboard
and Japan would provide 150,000 tonnes gratis and another 150,000 tonnes on concessional terms.[230] In October 1995 and January 1996, North Korea again approached Japan for assistance. On these two occasions, both of which came at crucial moments in the evolution of the famine, opposition from both South Korea and domestic political sources quashed the deals.[230] SONY Vaio SONY PCG-K25 Laptop Keyboard
Beginning in 1997, the U.S. began shipping food aid to North Korea through the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to combat the famine. Shipments peaked in 1999 at nearly 700,000 tonnes making the U.S. the largest foreign aid donor to the country at the time[231]. TOSHIBA Satellite L300 Laptop Keyboard
Under the Bush Administration, aid was drastically reduced year after year from 350,000 tonnes in 2001 to 40,000 in 2004.[232] The Bush Administration took criticism for using "food as a weapon" during talks over the North's nuclear weapons program, but insisted the U.S. IBM Lenovo Thinkpad X201 Laptop Keyboard
Agency for International Development (USAID) criteria were the same for all countries and the situation in North Korea had "improved significantly since its collapse in the mid-1990s." Agricultural production had increased from about 2.7 million tonnes in 1997 to 4.2 million tonnes in 2004.[233] DELL Precision M4500 Laptop Keyboard
In 2013, there were reports of famine returning to parts of North Korea and driving some to cannibalism, with the claims that one man dug up his grandchild's corpse to eat and another boiled his child and ate the flesh.[234] Another man was allegedly executed after murdering his two children for food.[234] However, theWorld Food Program reported malnutrition and food shortages, but not famine.[235] Lenovo 3000 Y500 Laptop Keyboard
The Ministry of People's Security maintains all law enforcement activities at the local level, which includes police and other initiatives. There is also aState Security Department that operates in a similar way to an "Office of the Interior" located in other countries. FUJITSU Lifebook T4220 Laptop Keyboard
North Korean media are under some of the strictest government control in the world. The North Korean constitution provides for freedom of speech and the press, but the government prohibits the exercise of these rights in practice. In its 2013 report, Reporters without Borders ranked freedom of the press in North Korea as 177th out of 178, above only that of Eritrea.[236][237] HP Pavilion dv5-1111ea Laptop Keyboard
Only news that favors the regime is permitted, while news that covers the economic and political problems in the country, and foreign criticism of the government, are not allowed.[238] The media upholds the personality cult of Kim Jong-un, regularly reporting on his daily activities. The main news provider to media in the DPRK is the Korean Central News Agency. ACER TravelMate 3002WTMi Laptop Keyboard
North Korea has 12 principal newspapers and 20 major periodicals, all of varying periodicity and all published in Pyongyang.[239] Newspapers include the Rodong Sinmun, Joson Inmingun, Minju Choson, and Rodongja Sinmum. No private press is known to exist.[240] HP 550 Laptop Keyboard
In January 2012, the Associated Press opened a bureau in Pyongyang for full news coverage within North Korea.[241][242]
A study commissioned by the U. S. State Department shows that, despite extremely strict regulations and draconian penalties, North Koreans, particularly elite elements, have increasing access to news and other media outside the state-controlled media authorized by the government.[243] SONY VAIO VGN-FS742/W Laptop Keyboard
While access to the Internet is tightly controlled, listening to the radio and viewing DVDs is increasing, and receiving television broadcasts from neighbouring states is also possible in border areas.[243][244] HP Pavilion dv3-2106tu Laptop Keyboard
Uriminzokkiri is a Korean news website that frequently posts propaganda including the United States attack video published in 2013.[245] SONY VAIO VGN-FS742/W Laptop Keyboard
It has been reported that North Korea uses "radio jamming" techniques in order to prevent access to non-nationalist broadcasts. However, a group by the name ofFree North Korea Radio conducts numerous activities that focus on providing a free radio station to North Koreans. SONY KFRMBA221A Laptop Keyboard
The broadcasts often include instructions on methods to leave the country and their faction has contact with underground reporters within North Korea. The group primarily consists of numerous North Korean refugees and defectors.[246][247] HP AELX9U00210 Laptop Keyboard
In North Korea, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications maintains the phone systems within the country and oversees the Postal Service. North Korea has an adequate telephone system, SONY Vaio SONY PCG-K23 Laptop Keyboard
with 1.18 million fixed lines available in 2008.[248] However, most phones are only installed for senior government officials. Someone wanting a phone installed must fill out a form indicating their rank, why he wants a phone, and how he will pay for it.[249] The number of mobile phones in Pyongyang rose from 3,000 in 2002 to approximately 20,000 in 2004.[250] DELL UW739 Laptop Keyboard
North Korea has a 3G network for cell phones that provides service to over 1 million subscribers as of February 2012. The service is provided by Koryolink, a venture between the North Korean government and Egypt based Orascom Telecom Holding which is owned by Naguib Sawiris. In May 2010, more than 120,000 North Koreans owned mobile phones;[251] HP Pavilion tx2510us Laptop Keyboard
this number had increased to 301,000 by September 2010,[252] 660,000 by August 2011,[253] and 900,000 by December 2011.[254]Restrictions have included a ban on cell phones from 2004-2008 and the removal of Internet access from individual phones.[255][256] HP Pavilion dv3-2106tu Laptop Keyboard
According to a report, there are an estimated 1.5 million mobile phone users in North Korea in 2013.[257] From 1 March 2013, Koryolink will authorize full internet access on mobile phones for foreign nationals visiting North Korea. Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E520 Laptop Keyboard
North Korea's first Internet café opened in 2002 as a joint venture with a South Korean Internet company, Hoonnet. The former CEO of Hoonnet was Kim Beom-hoon.[258] Ordinary North Koreans do not have access to the global Internet network, but are provided with a nationwide, TOSHIBA Satellite L775D-S7305 Laptop Keyboard
public-use Intranet service calledKwangmyong, which features domestic news, an e-mail service, and censored information from foreign websites (mostly scientific).[259] The computers primarily useRed Star OS as an operating system.[256] DELL V110546AS1 Laptop Keyboard
Two of the few ways to enter North Korea are over the Sino-Korea Friendship Bridge or via Panmunjeom, the former crossing theAmnok River and the latter crossing the Demilitarized Zone. DELL Precision M4500 Laptop Keyboard
On October 13, 2011 a train from the Russian border settlement of Khasan made an inaugural run to Rajin in North Korea. The 54 kilometer newly repaired link of the Trans-Korean Main Line was the first step in an effort to rebuild the Trans-Korean rail and integrate it into the Trans-Siberian railroad.[260] HP Hp Envy 15 Laptop Keyboard
Cars are relatively rare, but as of 2008 some 70% of households used bicycles, which also play an increasingly important role in small-scale private trade.[261] Very few cars and light trucks are made in a joint-venture between Pyeonghwa Motors of South Korea, and the North Korean Ryonbong General Corp at a facility in Nampo North Korea.[262] Another local producer of vehicles is Sungri Motor Plant, which manufactures civilian vehicles and heavy trucks. FUJITSU Siemens M1010 Laptop Keyboard
There is a mix of locally built and imported trolleybuses and trams in urban centers in North Korea. Earlier fleets were obtained in Europe and China, but the trade embargo has forced North Korea to build their own vehicles.[citation needed] ASUS X53S Laptop Keyboard
Choson Cul Minzuzui Inmingonghoagug is the only rail operator in North Korea. It has a network of 5,200 km (3,200 mi) of track with 4,500 km (2,800 mi) in standard gauge.[263] There is a small narrow gauge railway in operation in Haeju peninsula.[263] The railway fleet consists of a mix of electric and steam locomotives. ACER Acer Aspire 5610Z Laptop Keyboard
Cars are mostly made in North Korea using Soviet and Chinese designs. There are some locomotives from Imperial Japan, the United States, and Europe remaining in use. Second-hand Chinese locomotives (early DF4Bs, BJ Hydraulics, etc.) have also been spotted in active service. COMPAQ Presario C700 Laptop Keyboard
People traveling from the capital Pyongyang to other regions in North Korea typically travel by rail. However, in order to travel out of Pyongyang, people need an official travel certificate, ID, and a purchased ticket in advance. Due to lack of maintenance on the road infrastructure and vehicles, the travel time by rail is increasing. It has been reported that the 120 mile (193 km) HP Hp Envy 15 Laptop Keyboard
Water transport on the major rivers and along the coasts plays a growing role in freight and passenger traffic. Except for the Yalu and Taedong rivers, most of the inland waterways, totaling 2,253 kilometres (1,400 mi), are navigable only by small boats. Coastal traffic is heaviest on the eastern seaboard, whose deeper waters can accommodate larger vessels. SAMSUNG N140 Laptop Keyboard
The major ports are Nampho on the west coast and Rajin, Chongjin, Wonsan, and Hamhung on the east coast. The country's harbor loading capacity in the 1990s was estimated at almost 35 million tons[clarification needed] a year.[265] ACER Acer Aspire 5610Z Laptop Keyboard
In the early 1990s, North Korea possessed an ocean-going merchant fleet, largely domestically produced, of 68 ships (of at least 1,000 GRT), totaling 465,801 gross register tons (GRT)/709,442 metric tons deadweight (DWT), which includes 58 cargo ships and 2 tankers. There is a continuing investment in upgrading and expanding port facilities, developing transportation—particularly on the Taedong River—and increasing the share of international cargo by domestic vessels.[266] Lenovo Thinkpad X220T laptop keyboard
There are several North Korean Airports, although international air connections are limited. There are regularly scheduled flights from the Pyongyang Sunan International Airport – 24 kilometres (15 mi) north of Pyongyang – to Moscow, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Bangkok, Beijing, Dalian, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, HP Mini 110-3004tu laptop keyboard
Shenyang along with seasonal services to Singapore and charter flights from Pyongyang to numerous Asian and European destinations including Tokyo and Nagoya. Regular charters to existing scheduled services are operated as per demand. An agreement to initiate a service between Pyongyang and Tokyo was signed in 1990. Internal flights are available between Pyongyang, Hamhung, Haeju, Kaesong,Kanggye, Kilju, Nampho, Sinuiju, Samjiyon, Wonsan, and Chongjin.[267] COMPAQ Presario CQ50-210US laptop keyboard
All civil aircraft are operated by Air Koryo: 38 aircraft in 2010, which were purchased from the Soviet Union and Russia. From 1976 to 1978, four Tu-154 jets were added to the seven propeller-driven An-24s and two Ilyushin Il-18s; afterwards adding 4 long-range Ilyushin Il-62M, three Ilyushin Il-76MD large cargo aircraft. In 2008, a long range Tupolev Tu-204-300 was purchased along with, in 2010, a larger version the Tupolev Tu-204-100B.[265] Packard Bell PEW91 laptop keyboard
North Korea's population of roughly 24 million is one of the most ethnically and linguistically homogeneous in the world, with very small numbers of Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, South Korean, and European expatriate minorities. SONY KFRMBA221A laptop keyboard
According to the CIA World Factbook, North Korea's life expectancy was 63.8 years in 2009, a figure roughly equivalent to that of Pakistan and Burma and slightly lower than Russia.[268] Infant mortality stood at a high level of 51.3, which is 2.5 times higher than that of China, 5 times that of Russia, and 12 times that of South Korea.[269] SONY VAIO VGN-FS940 laptop keyboard
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