Natural resources: coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower
Land use: arable land: 14% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 61% other: 23% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 14,600 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall
Environment-current issues: localized air pollution attributable to inadequate industrial controls; water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water
Environment-international agreements: party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea
Geography-note: strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated, nearly inaccessible, and sparsely populated
@Korea, North:People
Population: 21,234,387 (July 1998 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 26% (male 2,800,857; female 2,669,250) 15-64 years: 68% (male 7,089,039; female 7,406,901) 65 years and over: 6% (male 387,011; female 881,329) (July 1998 est.)