Background:
Following World War II, Korea was split, with the northern half
coming under Communist domination and the southern portion becoming
Western-oriented. KIM Chong-il has ruled North Korea since his
father and the country's founder, president KIM Il-song, died in
1994. After decades of mismanagement, the North relies heavily on
international food aid to feed its population while continuing to
expend resources to maintain an army of about 1 million. North
Korea's long-range missile development and research into nuclear,
chemical, and biological weapons and massive conventional armed
forces are of major concern to the international community. In
December 2002, North Korea repudiated a 1994 agreement that shut
down its nuclear reactors and expelled UN monitors, further raising
fears it would produce nuclear weapons.
Geography Korea, North
Location:
Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the
Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea
Geographic coordinates:
40 00 N, 127 00 E
Map references:
Asia
Area:
total: 120,540 sq km
water: 130 sq km
land: 120,410 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Mississippi
Land boundaries: total: 1,673 km border countries: China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km
Coastline:
2,495 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
note: military boundary line 50 NM in the Sea of Japan and the
exclusive economic zone limit in the Yellow Sea where all foreign
vessels and aircraft without permission are banned