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 and sparsely populated
@Korea:People
Population: 21,687,550 (July 2000 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 26% (male 2,843,250; female 2,705,206) 15-64 years: 68% (male 7,223,364; female 7,502,094) 65 years and over: 6% (male 448,242; female 965,394) (2000 est.)