The 2010 CIA World Factbook

by United States. Central Intelligence Agency

Jersey
Jersey and the other Channel Islands represent the last
remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy that held sway in both
France and England. These islands were the only British soil
occupied by German troops in World War II. Jersey is a British crown
dependency but is not part of the UK or of the European Union.
However, the UK Government is constitutionally responsible for its
defense and international representation.

Jordan
Following World War I and the dissolution of the Ottoman
Empire, the UK received a mandate to govern much of the Middle East.
Britain separated out a semi-autonomous region of Transjordan from
Palestine in the early 1920s, and the area gained its independence
in 1946; it adopted the name of Jordan in 1950. The country's
long-time ruler was King HUSSEIN (1953-99). A pragmatic leader, he
successfully navigated competing pressures from the major powers
(US, USSR, and UK), various Arab states, Israel, and a large
internal Palestinian population. Jordan lost the West Bank to Israel
in the 1967 war and barely managed to defeat Palestinian rebels who
attempted to overthrow the monarchy in 1970. King HUSSEIN in 1988
permanently relinquished Jordanian claims to the West Bank. In 1989,
he reinstituted parliamentary elections and initiated a gradual
political liberalization; political parties were legalized in 1992.
In 1994, he signed a peace treaty with Israel. King ABDALLAH II, the
son of King HUSSEIN, assumed the throne following his father's death
in February 1999. Since then, he has consolidated his power and
undertaken an aggressive economic reform program. Jordan acceded to
the World Trade Organization in 2000, and began to participate in
the European Free Trade Association in 2001. In 2003, Jordan
staunchly supported the Coalition ouster of Saddam in Iraq and
following the outbreak of insurgent violence in Iraq, absorbed
thousands of displaced Iraqis. Municipal elections were held in July
2007 under a system in which 20% of seats in all municipal councils
were reserved by quota for women. Parliamentary elections were held
in November 2010 and saw independent pro-government candidates win
the vast majority of seats.

Kazakhstan
Ethnic Kazakhs, a mix of Turkic and Mongol nomadic tribes
who migrated into the region in the 13th century, were rarely united
as a single nation. The area was conquered by Russia in the 18th
century, and Kazakhstan became a Soviet Republic in 1936. During the
1950s and 1960s agricultural "Virgin Lands" program, Soviet citizens
were encouraged to help cultivate Kazakhstan's northern pastures.
This influx of immigrants (mostly Russians, but also some other
deported nationalities) skewed the ethnic mixture and enabled
non-ethnic Kazakhs to outnumber natives. Independence in 1991 drove
many of these newcomers to emigrate. Kazakhstan's economy is larger
than those of all the other Central Asian states largely due to the
country's vast natural resources. Current issues include: developing
a cohesive national identity; expanding the development of the
country's vast energy resources and exporting them to world markets;
diversifying the economy outside the oil, gas, and mining sectors;
enhancing Kazakhstan's economic competitiveness; developing a
multiparty parliament and advancing political and social reform; and
strengthening relations with neighboring states and other foreign
powers.

Kenya
Founding president and liberation struggle icon Jomo KENYATTA
led Kenya from independence in 1963 until his death in 1978, when
President Daniel Toroitich arap MOI took power in a constitutional
succession. The country was a de facto one-party state from 1969
until 1982 when the ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU) made
itself the sole legal party in Kenya. MOI acceded to internal and
external pressure for political liberalization in late 1991. The
ethnically fractured opposition failed to dislodge KANU from power
in elections in 1992 and 1997, which were marred by violence and
fraud, but were viewed as having generally reflected the will of the
Kenyan people. President MOI stepped down in December 2002 following
fair and peaceful elections. Mwai KIBAKI, running as the candidate
of the multiethnic, united opposition group, the National Rainbow
Coalition (NARC), defeated KANU candidate Uhuru KENYATTA and assumed
the presidency following a campaign centered on an anticorruption
platform. KIBAKI's NARC coalition splintered in 2005 over the
constitutional review process. Government defectors joined with KANU
to form a new opposition coalition, the Orange Democratic Movement,
which defeated the government's draft constitution in a popular
referendum in November 2005. KIBAKI's reelection in December 2007
brought charges of vote rigging from ODM candidate Raila ODINGA and
unleashed two months of violence in which as many as 1,500 people
died. UN-sponsored talks in late February produced a powersharing
accord bringing ODINGA into the government in the restored position
of prime minister.

Kiribati
The Gilbert Islands became a British protectorate in 1892
and a colony in 1915; they were captured by the Japanese in the
Pacific War in 1941. The islands of Makin and Tarawa were the sites
of major US amphibious victories over entrenched Japanese garrisons
in 1943. The Gilbert Islands were granted self-rule by the UK in
1971 and complete independence in 1979 under the new name of
Kiribati. The US relinquished all claims to the sparsely inhabited
Phoenix and Line Island groups in a 1979 treaty of friendship with
Kiribati.

Korea, North
An independent kingdom for much of its long history,
Korea was occupied by Japan beginning in 1905 following the
Russo-Japanese War. Five years later, Japan formally annexed the
entire peninsula. Following World War II, Korea was split with the
northern half coming under Soviet-sponsored Communist control. After
failing in the Korean War (1950-53) to conquer the US-backed
Republic of Korea (ROK) in the southern portion by force, North
Korea (DPRK), under its founder President KIM Il Sung, adopted a
policy of ostensible diplomatic and economic "self-reliance" as a
check against outside influence. The DPRK demonized the US as the
ultimate threat to its social system through state-funded
propaganda, and molded political, economic, and military policies
around the core ideological objective of eventual unification of
Korea under Pyongyang's control. KIM's son, the current ruler KIM
Jong Il, was officially designated as his father's successor in
1980, assuming a growing political and managerial role until the
elder KIM's death in 1994. After decades of economic mismanagement
and resource misallocation, the DPRK since the mid-1990s has relied
heavily on international aid to feed its population. North Korea's
history of regional military provocations, proliferation of
military-related items, long-range missile development, WMD programs
including tests of nuclear devices in 2006 and 2009, and massive
conventional armed forces are of major concern to the international
community.

Korea, South
An independent Korean state or collection of states has
existed almost continuously for several millennia. Between its
initial unification in the 7th century - from three predecessor
Korean states - until the 20th century, Korea existed as a single
independent country. In 1905, following the Russo-Japanese War,
Korea became a protectorate of imperial Japan, and in 1910 it was
annexed as a colony. Korea regained its independence following
Japan's surrender to the United States in 1945. After World War II,
a Republic of Korea (ROK) was set up in the southern half of the
Korean Peninsula while a Communist-style government was installed in
the north (the DPRK). During the Korean War (1950-53), US troops and
UN forces fought alongside soldiers from the ROK to defend South
Korea from DPRK attacks supported by China and the Soviet Union. An
armistice was signed in 1953, splitting the peninsula along a
demilitarized zone at about the 38th parallel. Thereafter, South
Korea achieved rapid economic growth with per capita income rising
to roughly 17 times the level of North Korea. In 1993, KIM Young-sam
became South Korea's first civilian president following 32 years of
military rule. South Korea today is a fully functioning modern
democracy. President LEE Myung-bak has pursued a policy of global
engagement since taking office in February 2008, highlighted by
Seoul's hosting of the G-20 summit in November 2010. Serious
tensions with North Korea have punctuated inter-Korean relations in
recent years, including the North's sinking of the South Korean
warship Cheonan in March 2010 and its artillery attack on South
Korean soldiers and citizens in November 2010.

Kosovo
Ethnic Serbs migrated to the territories of modern Kosovo in
the 7th century but did not fully incorporate them into the Serbian
realm until the early 13th century. During the medieval period,
Kosovo became the center of a Serbian Empire and saw the
construction of many important Serb religious sites, including many
architecturally significant Serbian Orthodox monasteries. The defeat
of Serbian forces at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 led to five
centuries of Ottoman rule during which large numbers of Turks and
Albanians moved to Kosovo. By the end of the 19th century, Albanians
replaced the Serbs as the dominant ethnic group in Kosovo. Serbia
reacquired control over Kosovo from the Ottoman Empire during the
First Balkan War of 1912. Kosovo became an autonomous province of
Serbia with status almost equivalent to that of a republic under the
1974 Constitution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Despite legislative concessions, Albanian nationalism increased in
the 1980s, which led to riots and calls for Kosovo's independence.
At the same time, Serb nationalist leaders, such as Slobodan
MILOSEVIC, exploited Kosovo Serb claims of maltreatment to secure
votes from supporters, many of whom viewed Kosovo as their cultural
heartland. Under MILOSEVIC's leadership, Serbia instituted a new
constitution in 1989 that revoked Kosovo's status as an autonomous
province of Serbia. Kosovo Albanian leaders responded in 1991 by
organizing a referendum that declared Kosovo independent. Under
MILOSEVIC, Serbia carried out repressive measures against the
Albanians in the early 1990s as the unofficial Kosovo government,
led by Ibrahim RUGOVA, used passive resistance in an attempt to try
to gain international assistance and recognition of an independent
Kosovo. Albanians dissatisfied with RUGOVA's passive strategy in the
1990s created the Kosovo Liberation Army and launched an insurgency.
Starting in 1998, Serbian military, police, and paramilitary forces
conducted a counterinsurgency campaign that resulted in massacres
and massive expulsions of ethnic Albanians. Approximately 800,000
Albanians were forced from their homes in Kosovo during this time.
International attempts to mediate the conflict failed, and
MILOSEVIC's rejection of a proposed settlement led to a three-month
NATO military campaign against Serbia beginning in March 1999 that
forced Serbia to agree to withdraw its military and police forces
from Kosovo. UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999) placed
Kosovo under a transitional administration, the UN Interim
Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), pending a determination of
Kosovo's future status. A UN-led process began in late 2005 to
determine Kosovo's final status. The negotiations ran in stages
between 2006 and 2007, but ended without agreement between Belgrade
and Pristina. On 17 February 2008, the Kosovo Assembly declared
Kosovo independent. Since then, over sixty countries have recognized
Kosovo, and it has joined the International Monetary Fund and World
Bank. Serbia continues to reject Kosovo's independence and it
subsequently sought an advisory opinion from the International Court
of Justice (ICJ) on the legality under international law of Kosovo's
independence declaration. In July 2010 the ICJ ruled that Kosovo's
declaration of independence did not violate international law.

Kuwait
Britain oversaw foreign relations and defense for the ruling
Kuwaiti AL-SABAH dynasty from 1899 until independence in 1961.
Kuwait was attacked and overrun by Iraq on 2 August 1990. Following
several weeks of aerial bombardment, a US-led, UN coalition began a
ground assault on 23 February 1991 that liberated Kuwait in four
days. Kuwait spent more than $5 billion to repair oil infrastructure
damaged during 1990-91. The AL-SABAH family has ruled since
returning to power in 1991 and reestablished an elected legislature
that in recent years has become increasingly assertive. The country
witnessed the historic election in May 2009 of four women to its
National Assembly.

Kyrgyzstan
A Central Asian country of incredible natural beauty and
proud nomadic traditions, most of Kyrgyzstan was formally annexed to
Russia in 1876. The Kyrgyz staged a major revolt against the Tsarist
Empire in 1916 in which almost one-sixth of the Kyrgyz population
was killed. Kyrgyzstan became a Soviet republic in 1936 and achieved
independence in 1991 when the USSR dissolved. Nationwide
demonstrations in the spring of 2005 resulted in the ouster of
President Askar AKAEV, who had run the country since 1990.
Subsequent presidential elections in July 2005 were won
overwhelmingly by former prime minister Kurmanbek BAKIEV. Over the
next few years, the new president manipulated the parliament to
accrue new powers for himself. In July 2009, after months of
harassment against his opponents and media critics, BAKIEV won
re-election in a presidential campaign that the international
community deemed flawed. In April 2010, nationwide protests led to
the resignation and expulsion of BAKIEV. He was replaced by
President Roza OTUNBAEVA who will serve as president until 31
December 2011 according to a presidential decree issued 19 May 2010.
Presidential elections are scheduled to be held in October 2011.
Continuing concerns include: endemic corruption, poor interethnic
relations, and terrorism.