
North Korea, known officially as the '''Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK'''; Korean language: ''Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk''; Chosongul: 조선민주주의인민공화국; Hanja: 朝鮮民主主義人民共和國), is a country in eastern Asia, covering the northern half of the peninsula of Korea. To the south it borders South Korea with which it formed a single nation until 1948. Its northern border is predominantly with the People's Republic of China, and a small section with Russia. Locally and in mainland China, it is more commonly called ''Pukchosŏn'' ("North Chosŏn"; Hangul; Hanja), a name that associates the country with the Joseon Dynasty. ''Bukhan'' ("North Han"; Hangul; Hanja) is commonly used in South Korea. ==History== Japanese rule of Korea ended after World War II in 1945. Korea was occupied by the Soviet Union north of the 38th Parallel and by the United States south of the 38th parallel, but the United States and the Soviet Union were unable to agree on implementation of Joint Trusteeship over Korea. This led in 1948 to the establishment of separate governments in the north and south, each claiming to be the legitimate government over all of Korea. Growing tensions between the governments in the north and south eventually led to the Korean War, when on June 25 1950 the (North) Korean People's Army crossed the 38th Parallel and attacked in force. The war continued until July 27 1953, when William Harrison Jr., United Nations Command, and Nam Il, Delegation of Korean People's Army and the Chinese People's Volunteers, signed the Korean War Armistice Agreement. The Korean Demilitarized Zone, or DMZ, was established to separate the two countries. North Korea was ruled from 1948 by Kim Il-sung until his death on July 8, 1994. After the death of Kim Il Sung, his son Kim Jong-il was named General Secretary of the Korean Workers' Party on October 8, 1997. In 1998, the legislature reconfirmed him as Chairman of the National Defence Commission of North Korea and declared that position as the "highest office of state." International relations generally improved, and there was a historic North-South summit in June 2000. However, tensions recently increased when North Korea resumed its North Korea nuclear weapons program. During Kim Jong Il's rule during the mid to late 1990s, the country's economy declined significantly, and food shortages developed in many areas. According to aid groups, a significant but unknown number of people in rural areas starved to death due to famine, exacerbated by a collapse in the food distribution system. Large numbers of North Koreans illegally entered the People's Republic of China in search of food, and there were also stories of cannibalism. North Korea has remained one of the most isolated places in the world, with severe restrictions on travelling in or out of the country. North Korea lacks a free press. Juche, created by Kim Il-Sung, is the state endorsed ideology of North Korea. Juche is based on self-reliance. North Korea announced on February 10, 2005 that it has North Korea and weapons of mass destruction. The DPRK withdrew from the six-party talks because the North Koreans claimed that the United States had "hostile intentions" towards their country. It is due to this nuclear capability, the United States has placed North Korea into the Axis of Evil, as the nation is an Outpost of Tyranny. The DPRK wanted removal from this status before resuming talks which are aimed at curbing its WMD programme. On May 7, 2005 the USA announced its spy satellites had discovered possible preparations for North Korea's first test of a nuclear weapon. According to the images, the North Koreans are preparing for an underground test. ''See also: Division of Korea'' ==Politics== North Korea's government is dominated by the Stalinist Korean Workers' Party (KWP), to which all government officials belong. North Korea cannot truly be called communist, however, because it does not follow the Marxist-Leninist approach of democratic centralism within the Party, but instead has set up a new elite bureaucratic ruling class, in the vein of Stalinist Russia. Because this is directly contradictory to the writings of both Karl Marx and V.I. Lenin, North Korea is seen as being a degenerated workers state, or even state capitalist. Minor political parties exist, but not in opposition to KWP-rule. In practice the exact power structure of the country is somewhat unclear, although it is commonly accepted that the nation's regime is a totalitarianism dictatorship. Nominally the Prime Minister is the head of government, but real power lies with Kim Jong Il (the son of the late Kim Il Sung), the head of the Workers' Party and the military. Kim holds a string of official titles, the most important being General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea Chairman of the National Defence Commission and Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army. Within the country he is commonly known by the affectionate title of "Dear Leader", in contrast to Kim Il Sung, who is the "Great Leader". North Korea's 1972 constitution of North Korea was amended in late 1992 and again in 1998. The 1998 constitution states that the late Kim Il Sung is "Eternal President of the Republic," and the post of president was abolished after his death. The Constitution gives much of the functions normally accorded to a head of state to the Supreme People's Assembly Presidium, whose president "represents the State" and receives credentials from foreign ambassadors. The government of the republic is led by the Prime Minister and, in theory, a super cabinet called the Central People's Committee (CPC), the government's top policymaking body. The CPC is headed by the President, who also nominates the other committee members. The CPC makes policy decisions and supervises the Cabinet, or State Administration Council (SAC). SAC is headed by a Premier and is the dominant administrative and executive agency. Officially, the parliament, the Supreme People's Assembly ''Choego Inmin Hoeui''), is the highest organ of state power. Its 687 members are elected every five years by popular vote, although these elections are non-competitive and in practice ceremonial. Usually it holds only two annual meetings, each lasting a few days, but it mostly ratifies decisions made by the ruling KWP (see rubberstamp (politics)). A standing committee elected by the Assembly performs legislative functions when the Assembly is not in session. North Korea is widely held to be a totalitarianism country. One major aspect of totalitarian countries is the presence of a single party which mirrors the structure of the State, and the fact that the power lies not in the State or its institutions, but in the party and its institutions. Thus, in countries such as the DPRK, it is the Chairman of the Communist Party and not the Head of State who is the repository of power. ==Administrative divisions== As of 2005, North Korea consists of two Directly-governed Cities (''Chikhalsi''; 직할시; 直轄市), three special regions with various designations, and nine Provinces (See Provinces of Korea). (Names are romanized according to the McCune-Reischauer system as officially used in North Korea; the editor was also guided by the spellings used on the 2003 National Geographic map of Korea). For historical information, see Provinces of Korea and Special cities of Korea. Directly-governed Cities * Pyongyang Directly-governed City (''P'yŏngyang Chikhalsi''; 평양 직할시; 平壤直轄市) * Rason ''Chikhalsi'' (라선 (라진-선봉) 직할시; 羅先 (羅津-先鋒) 直轄市) ===Special Regions=== * Kaesong Industrial Region (''Kaesŏng Kong-ŏp Chigu;'' 개성 공업 지구; 開城工業地區) * Kumgangsan Tourist Region (''Kŭmgangsan Kwangwang Chigu;'' 금강산 관광 지구; 金剛山觀光地區) * Sinuiju Special Administrative Region (''Sinŭiju T'ŭkbyŏl Haengjeonggu''; 신의주 특별 행정구; 新義州特別行政區) ===Provinces=== * Chagang Province (''Chagang-do;'' 자강도; 慈江道) * North Hamgyong Province (''Hamgyŏng-pukto;'' 함경 북도; 咸鏡北道) * South Hamgyong Province (''Hamgyŏng-namdo;'' 함경 남도; 咸鏡南道) * North Hwanghae Province (''Hwanghae-pukto;'' 황해 북도; 黃海北道) * South Hwanghae Province (''Hwanghae-namdo;'' 황해 남도; 黃海南道) * Kangwon Province (''Kangwŏndo;'' 강원도; 江原道) * North Pyongan Province (''P'yŏngan-pukto;'' 평안 북도; 平安北道) * South Pyongan Province (''P'yŏngan-namdo;'' 평안 남도; 平安南道) * Ryanggang Province (''Ryanggang-do;'' 량강도; 兩江道--sometimes also spelled as 'Yanggang' in English) ===Major Cities=== * Sinuiju * Kaesong * Nampho * Chongjin * Wonsan * Hamhung - Hamnam * Haeju * Kanggye * Hyesan ==Geography== Korea forms a peninsula that extends 1,100 km from the Asian mainland. To the west it borders the Yellow Sea(West Sea) and the Korea Bay; to the east it borders the Sea of Japan (East Sea). The peninsula ends at the Korea Strait (Tsushima Strait) and the East China Sea (South Sea) to the south. It is of political importance, bordering South Korea, China, and Russia. The peninsula's northern part (including North Korea) has mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys in the north and east, and has coastal plains prominently in the west. The highest point in Korea is the Paektu-san at 2,744 m. Major rivers include the Tumen River and the Yalu River that form the northern border with Chinese Manchuria. The local climate is relatively temperate climate, with precipitation (meteorology) heavier in summer during a short rainy season called ''jangma'', and winters that can be bitterly cold on occasion. North Korea's capital and largest city is Pyongyang; other major cities include Kaesong in the south, Sinuiju in the northwest, Wonsan and Hamhung in the east and Chongjin in the northeast. ==Economy== Following the official ideology of Juche (self-reliance) and the central planning mandated by its brand of Stalinism, North Korea's economics has stagnated. The government's refusal to participate in global free markets and its refusal to publicize economic data limit the amount of reliable information available. Publicly-owned industry produces nearly all manufactured goods. The regime continues to focus on heavy military industry at the expense of agriculture. The North Korean military's effect on the economy cannot be overstated. The government spends 22.9% (2003) of the nation's GDP on military (Compared to 3.3% (FY03 est.) for the U.S. and 2.7% (FY03) spent by neighboring South Korea), and has recruited 1.2 million of the healthiest young men into the army. This focus on military spending is unheard of anywhere else in the world, and has severely depressed the North's economy for decades. This is seen as a necessary evil due to the North Korean perception of the threat of military action from the US and South Korea. A series of natural disasters, and the collapse of the Soviet bloc have all caused the economy to stagnate. The agriculture outlook is terrible and food products are deliberately diverted away from citizens and into the military. The combined effects of a reclusive regime, serious fertilizer shortages, successive natural disasters, and structural constraints — such as little arable land and a short growing season — have reduced staple cereal output to more than 1 million tons less than what the country needs to meet even minimum international requirements. North Korea previously received a flow of international food and fuel aid from the People's Republic of China and the United States in exchange for promises not to develop nuclear weapons. This aid has ceased since the North Korean regime revealed that it had been developing nuclear weapons in secret. Some food, which was to be free aid to the population, was captured and sold. Recently, in July 2002, North Korea started running an experiment with capitalism in the Kaesong Industrial Region. A small number of other areas have been designated as Special cities of Korea#North Korea, including Sinuiju Special Administrative Region along the China-North Korea border. Mainland China and South Korea are the biggest trade partners of North Korea, with trade with China going up 38% to $1.02 billion in 2003, and trade with South Korea going up 12% to $724 million in 2003 since the start of the experiment. It is reported that the number of mobile phones in Pyongyang rose from only 3,000 in 2002 to approximately 20,000 during 2004. As of June 2004, however, mobile phones became forbidden again. A small amount 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 amount of open-air farmer markets have increased in Kaesong, P'yŏngyang, as well as the China-North Korea border, bypassing the food rationing system. Critics argue that these market reforms are merely a cover by the North Korea government, while others argue that the reforms indicate a tacit North Korea admission of the successes of a market system. ==Human rights== Reports by human rights organizations regularly accuse the government of failing to protect the human rights of North Koreans; [http://web.amnesty.org/library/eng-prk/index] North Korea receives particular criticism for its policy of preventing citizens from leaving the country freely. North Korea is accused of employing concentration camps (video link)[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4397847/] and severely restricting most freedoms such as freedom of speech. These camps are believed to hold as many as 200,000 inmates, including children whose only crime is having "class enemies" for parents; in some of the camps, the annual mortality rate approaches 25%.[http://www.hrnk.org][http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3071466] A recent BBC documentary [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/this_world/3436701.stm] also reported that in one of these camps, North Korea tests chemical weapons on prisoners in a gas chamber: ---- ''I witnessed a whole family being tested on suffocating gas and dying in the gas chamber,' he said. 'The parents, son and and a daughter. The parents were vomiting and dying, but till the very last moment they tried to save kids by doing mouth-to-mouth breathing.' ''Hyuk has drawn detailed diagrams of the gas chamber he saw. He said: 'The glass chamber is sealed airtight. It is 3.5 metres wide, 3m long and 2.2m high_ [There] is the injection tube going through the unit. Normally, a family sticks together and individual prisoners stand separately around the corners. Scientists observe the entire process from above, through the glass.'''' [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1136440,00.html] ---- Less often discussed are the human rights implications of North Korea's famine,[http://freekorea.blogspot.com/2005/05/one-kwangju-per-day-for-six-years.html] which killed between 600,000[http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2003/11.13/13-koreaeat.html] and 3.5 million people,[http://217.29.194.251/msfinternational/invoke.cfm?objectid=335007FE-29B7-4E69-B88BBDF0379FFE1A&component=toolkit.article&method=full_html&CFID=5514940&CFTOKEN=15148554] mostly during the 1990's. [http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/asiapcf/9808/19/nkorea.famine] By 1999, food and development aid reduced famine deaths. In the spring of 2005, the World Food Program reported that famine conditions were in imminent danger of returing to North Korea,[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4072280.stm] and the regime was reported to have ordered millions of city-dwellers to the countryside to perform farm labor.[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20810F6345D0C728CDDAF0894DD404482] North Korea's society is highly stratified by class, according to a citizen's family and political background.[http://www.brookings.edu/views/testimony/oh20030605.htm] Refugees International,[http://www.refugeesinternational.org/files/5631_file_ActsofBetrayal.pdf] Medicins San Frontieres,[http://217.29.194.251/msfinternational/invoke.cfm?objectid=751B7614-B3D6-11D4-B1FA0060084A6370&component=toolkit.article&method=full_html&CFID=5514940&CFTOKEN=15148554] and Amnesty International[http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engasa240032004] have all accused North Korea of discriminating against those in "hostile" classes in the distribution of basic necessities, including food. In some "closed" areas[http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-01-28-voa54.cfm?renderforprint=1&textonly=1&&TEXTMODE=1&CFID=15682057&CFTOKEN=56096981] that contained a higher concentration of "hostile" class members, the government appears to have prevented the delivery of any significant amounts of food aid at all. Yet during this same period, North Korea maintained a massive military machine and supported an extravagant lifestyle for its leader, Kim Jong-Il. [http://www.time.com/time/asia/news/magazine/0,9754,201976,00.html] The World Food Program currently seeks $200 million in emergency food aid for North Korea,[http://www.wfp.org/newsroom/subsections/search.asp?section=13&countryid=408#] an increase from its FY 2004 request of $171 million.[http://www.wfp.org/country_brief/indexcountry.asp?country=408] By comparison, its FY 2002 defense budget was $5.2 billion.[http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/Military] In 2005, news sources reported that North Korea continued to raise food prices while reducing food rations to the below-subsistence amount of 250 grams per person per day, the equivalent of two medium-sized potatoes.[http://www.command-post.org/nk/2_archives/018642.html#more] North Korea claims that natural disasters caused the famine. Taken together, however, these reports suggest different explanations for North Korea's great famine. At best, it appears to be a program of malign and discriminatory neglect. At worst, it is a program of political classification[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kulak] and cleansing not unlike that used in Soviet Ukraine in the 1930s--political cleansing by engineered famine.[http://www.ditext.com/conquest/intro.html] ==Demographics== North Korea's population is one of the most ethnically and linguistically homogenous in the world, with only very small ethnic Chinese and Japanese communities. The Korean language is not a member of a wider linguistic family, though links to Japanese language and Altaic languages are being considered. The Korean writing system, Hangul, was invented in the 15th century by King Sejong the Great of Joseon to replace the system of Chinese written language, known in Korea as Hanja, which are no longer officially in use in the North. North Korea continues to use the McCune-Reischauer romanization of Korean, in contrast to the South's Revised Romanization of Korean version. North Korea is officially atheism, although it has a Buddhism and Confucianism heritage, with Christianity and traditional Chondogyo ("Heavenly Way") communities. Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, was the center of Christian activity before the Korean War. ==Culture== North Korea's government is perceived by western governments as "extremely reclusive", and as a result few foreigners want to enter the country. In principle any person is allowed to travel to North Korea, and in practice almost no-one is refused entry by North Korea; however visitors are not allowed to travel outside designated tour areas without their Korean guides. The daunting presence of government minders and the negative international reputation of the government discourages many outsiders from visiting. Accounts of travels throughout the region can be found in the ''#External links'' section. [[Image:Panmunjeom2.jpg|thumb|250px|Panmunjeom, Border between South and North Korea, facing DPRK.]] Tourists are not permitted on passports from the United States, and citizens of South Korea require special government permission from both governments to enter North Korea. In recent years, the area around Kumgangsan, a scenic mountain close to the South Korea border, has been designated as a special tourist destination (Kumgangsan Tourist Region), where South Korean citizens do not need special permissions. Tours run by private companies bring thousands of South Koreans to Mount Kŭmgang every year. In July 2004, the Complex of Koguryo Tombs was the first site in North Korea to be included into the UNESCO list of World Heritage. ==See also== *Culture of Korea *List of Koreans *Korean cuisine *Music of Korea ==Miscellaneous topics== * Communications in North Korea * Transportation in North Korea * Military of North Korea * North Korea and weapons of mass destruction * Foreign relations of North Korea * Cities of North Korea * Kimjongilia (national flower) * List of Korea-related topics * Public holidays in North Korea * Korean reunification * Korean friendship association ==Further reading== * Gordon Cucullu, ''Separated At Birth: How North Korea Became The Evil Twin'', Globe Pequot Press (2004), hardcover, 307 pages, ISBN 1592285910 * Bruce Cumings, Korea's Place in the Sun: A Modern History, W.W. Norton & Company, 1998, paperback, 527 pages, ISBN 0393316815 * Bruce Cumings, Origins of the Korean War: Liberation and the Emergence of Separate Regimes, Princeton University Press, 1981, paperback, ISBN 0691101132 * Nick Eberstadt, aka Nicholas Eberstadt, ''The End of North Korea'', American Enterprise Institute Press (1999), hardcover, 191 pages, ISBN 084474087X * John Feffer, North Korea South Korea: U.S. Policy at a Time of Crisis, Seven Stories Press, 2003, paperback, 197 pages, ISBN 1583226036 * Mitchell B. Lerner, The Pueblo Incident: A Spy Ship and the Failure of American Foreign Policy, University Press of Kansas, 2002, hardcover, 408 pages, ISBN 0700611711 * Bradley Martin, ''Under The Loving Care Of The Fatherly Leader: North Korea And The Kim Dynasty'', St. Martins (October, 2004), hardcover, 868 pages, ISBN 0312322216 * Nanchu with Xing Hang, ''In North Korea:An American Travels Through an Imprisoned Nation'', McFarland & Company (July, 2003), trade paperback, ISBN 0786416912 * Oberdorfer, Don. The two Koreas : a contemporary history. Addison-Wesley, 1997. 472 pages. ISBN 0201409275 * Quinones, Dr. C. Kenneth, and Joseph Tragert, ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding North Korea'', Alpha Books, 2004, paperback, 448 pages, ISBN 1592571697 * Sigal, Leon V., ''Disarming Strangers: Nuclear Diplomacy with North Korea'', Princeton University Press, 199, 336 pages, ISBN 0691057974 * Vladimir, ''Cyber North Korea'', Byakuya Shobo, 2003, paperback, 223 pages, ISBN 4893678817 * Norbert Vollertsen, Inside North Korea: Diary of a Mad Place, Encounter Books, 2003, hardcover, 280 pages, ISBN 1893554872 ==External links== * ===Links associated wtih the D.P.R.K. government=== * [http://www.kcna.co.jp The Korean Central News Agency, The DPRK's news service.] * [http://www.kcckp.net/en/ Naenara] ("My country," in Korean) DPRK's Official Web Portal * [http://www.korea-dpr.com/ korea-dpr.com] - Website officially associated with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. * [http://www.korea-dpr.com/library/201.pdf Kim Il Sung]: 10 Point programme for reunification of the country ===Web sites about the D.P.R.K.=== * [http://www.koryogroup.com Tours / Tourism page of the DPRK, with links to other DPRK related sites] * [http://www.pyongyang-metro.com/ Pyongyang Metro System Unofficial Web Site - 1] * [http://uk.geocities.com/hkgalbert/kpmap.htm Korean Tourist Map] * [http://www.nkzone.org/nkzone NKzone] - discussions and information exchange on North Korea * [http://mapage.noos.fr/jeejee/north_korea.html North Korea Resources] - background news and analysis of North Korea * [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1131421.stm BBC News - ''Country Profile: North Korea''] * [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/kn.html CIA World Factbook - ''North Korea''] * [http://www.guardian.co.uk/korea/0,2759,331519,00.html Guardian Unlimited - ''Special Report: North and South Korea''] * [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/kptoc.html Library of Congress - ''Country Studies: North Korea''] data as of June 1993 * [http://search.looksmart.com/p/browse/us1/us317916/us559898/us559967/us559991/ LookSmart - ''North Korea''] directory category * [http://dmoz.org/Regional/Asia/North_Korea/ Open Directory Project - ''North Korea''] directory category * [http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Korea__North/ Yahoo! - ''North Korea''] directory category * [http://news.yahoo.com/fc?cid=34&tmpl=fc&in=World&cat=North_Korea Yahoo! News - ''Full Coverage: North Korea''] ===Web sites criticizing the D.P.R.K.=== * [http://freekorea.blogspot.com One Free Korea] - Blog focusing on human rights conditions in North Korea * [http://times.hankooki.com/special/special_edition1_list.htm Another Korea] - Background stories on North Korea * [http://www.studentsforwar.org Students for War] - Student group calling for invasion of North Korea *[http://travel.independent.co.uk/mideastandasia/asia/story.jsp?story=875 Fancy a round, Dear leader?] - ''The Independent'' (newspaper) journal describing a visit inside North Korea East Asian countries North Korea hi:उत्तर कोरिया li:Noord-Korea lv:Ziemeļkoreja ms:Korea Utara zh-min-nan:Tiâu-sián nds:Noordkorea se:Davvi-Korea th:ประเทศเกาหลีเหนือ
---- Reviewing the first two sections I consider these statements are not from a NPOV. I would counter the statement "The war continued until July 27, 1953, when the United Nations Command, the Chinese People's Volunteers and North Korea signed the Korean War Armistice Agreement" unless there is a reference to support this. Having viewed the Armistice Agreements I would contend they were only signed by North Korea and the United Nations and the statement should be reworded "The war continued until July 27, 1953, when the United Nations Command and North Korea signed the Korean War Armistice Agreement" Re' the statement, "Thus, in Socialist countries such as the DPRK, it is the Chairman of the Communist Party and not the Head of State who is the repository of power." This implies that a Socialist country == DRPK, and ignores deomocratically elected Socialist countries that have no concept of a Chairman of a Communist Party. Suggest this is reworded to the following if there are no objections "Thus, in countries such as the DPRK, it is the Chairman of the Communist Party and not the Head of State who is the repository of power". --User:Duchovny1 12:33, 1 Apr 2005 (UTC) The statement "The war continued until July 27, 1953, when the United Nations Command, the Chinese People's Volunteers and North Korea signed the Korean War Armistice Agreement" All you need to do is look at the Armistace Agreement. Nam Il signed for the Korean People's Army and the Chinese People's volunteers. General William Harrison JR. signed for the United Nations Command. The Republic of Korea refused to allow their representatives name to be added to the agreement. --User:32.97.110.142 18:43, 8 Apr 2005 (UTC) The issue is with the manner this is written in. Your statement "... the United Nations Command, the Chinese People's Volunteers and North Korea signed ..." would indicate 3 signatories. There were only two. William Harrison signed on behalf of the United Nations combatants and Nam Il signed on behalf of the Delegation of Korean People's Army and the Chinese peoples volunteers. Hence I shall make this and my other suggested edit above. Ref : http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/korea/kwarmagr072753.html --User:Duchovny1 16:59, 28 Apr 2005 (UTC) ---- I put the following elit into the article. It was deleted after a short while. Why? Are there some North Koreans who can't stand Free speach? "[edit]THERE ARE RECURRING COMPLAINTS ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN NORTH KOREA. Allegations about vile North Korean human experimentation are yet more examples. " : You are right, this is intolerable. I suggest you add this notice back, on this page and on the United_States page. Of course, any affirmation requires references. So I suggest you have a look at Guantanamo_Bay, Abu_Ghraib_prisoner_abuse, MKULTRA, Tuskegee_syphilis_study and Willowbrook_State_School. Free speech (with references) rules ! ;-) : --User:Nct 21:03, 10 Feb 2005 (UTC) I would very much like to link this article from the Main Page since this nation is at the top of the news right now. But This article is in such sad stubbish form it would be embarrassing for the project if I did link it. Could somebody flesh this out per the WikiProject Countries format? --User:Maveric149 : I looked at your request last night (my time) and thought ''Yes, good idea, I don't know much about Korea, but I have lots of books and know how to use Google to find things out, surely I could add a little to help flesh it out''. I looked at the article and its stubs for a while, somehow didn't see anything that sparked enough interest to prompt me to make a start anywhere, and eventually wandered off to do some other things, feeling vaguely that I'd let the side down, and also that everyone else seemed to feel the same way, at least to judge by the resounding silence this entry has attracted so far. : It was only this morning that I realised ''why'' I felt that way about it (and, it seems, quite a few other people as well): "North Korea" isn't really a country, just an artificial political construction. Sure, there are lots of other places that this applies to in almost equal measure - most of Africa consists of "countries" that got their borders simply because some diplomat in Europe happened to draw a line on a particular part of a map, after all - but this seems more true of North Korea than of many places. I understand that Koreans don't think of themselves as "South Koreans" or "North Koreans", just "Koreans". Korea as a whole has distinct geography, culture, history, and language; "North Korea" does not and probably never will - it is destined, sooner or later, to merge back into Korea as a whole and become a mere footnote to history. : It's always going to be difficult to create a set of pages on North Korea in the standard Wikipedia form, in other words. The case for merging the pages on the two Koreas seems strong. After all, is it better to bend the Wikkipedia to better fit the world, or to bend the world to better fit the Wikipedia? User:Tannin 19:34 Dec 28, 2002 (UTC) Mergeing them is a bad idea. -fonzy North Korea has been an independent nation for more than 50 years. It is as much a country as West Germany, East Germany, Confederate States of America, North Vietnam, or other former nations that no longer exist. At some point, there may be only one country called Korea, as there was prior to 1945, but let's not try to merge together two separate countries with their own governments their own leaders and their own histories until that actually happens. Even then, we should leave the separate articles to indicate what happened when they were separate. -- User:Zoe North Korea is administered by a separate internationally recognized government than South Korea and so it should get its own page. To do otherwise is going to reopen the (unwanted) controversy over the China/Taiwan pages. Besides Hong Kong and Macao get their own Wiki country pages despite having less sovereignty than North Korea does. As far as history goes, one can do what is done with the history of china which goes up to 1949 before being split into history of PRC and history of Taiwan. --User:Roadrunner The article as-is should be good-enough for now. Much more is needed of course. --User:Maveric149 Another note: While people from North and South call themselves "Koreans" they actually use different words! The North Koreans use "Chosun Saram", while South Koreans use "Hanguk Saram" (Saram means People/Persons and Chosun and Hanguk are the short country names. --User:Alain ---- Can someone please check to see that my browser didn't mangle the Korean characters when I edited it? I don't have all the fonts. Thanks. User:Koyaanis Qatsi ---- === Provinces in Hanja === The provinces, as a political division of modern NK, have only Hangul and no official Hanja. Even though they historically have been written in Hanja, and this has been documented on the Provinces of Korea article. They should probably be deleted. -User:Menchi 03:40 8 Jun 2003 (UTC) ---- The listing of government authorities in the table should reflect who is in charge. What's with putting a dead guy there? Officially, the presidency, being occupied by a dead guy, is not the highest state office. It's just an honor. --User:Jiang History
As a country only existing from the 1950s, should N.Korea include history from Korea (giving at least three different (Korea|N.Korea|S.Korea) data-sets to edit when people want to upgrade pre-1950 Korean history), or should it only include information only after 1950? The History of North Korea is a (mostly) good set of post-1950 history detailing information as it relates to North Korea. I'd much rather see that and a (proposed) History of Korea linked (or a link to Korea, with only sparse details in the history section of the North Korea article.
~ender 2003-09-09 21:24:MST :I wrote the original history section just as you suggest but somebody thought it was a good idea to move that to History of North Korea and leave the confused mess you mention. I say we delete the para that isn't about North Korea. --User:Maveric149 04:52, 10 Sep 2003 (UTC) Removed para: :Traditionally said to have been founded in 2333 BC, Korea was divided into the three monarchys of Baekje, Goguryeo, and Silla during the 1st century to 7th century, of which the latter alone remained. It in turn was replaced by the Goryeo Dynasty and Joseon dynasties, during which Korea was under extensive China influence and Buddhism and Confucianism became part of Korean life. Known by the 19th century as the ''Hermit Kingdom'' because of its reclusive attitude, it was forced to open up at the end of that century, and was annexed by Japan in 1910. This isn't about North Korea. --User:Maveric149 04:56, 10 Sep 2003 (UTC) :All of that information appears to be in Korea, so I think it could be deleted. :~ender 2003-09-09 22:22:MST ---- ==Notice== The duplicated notice by User:Sewing was moved to Talk:Dispute over the name Sea of Japan, not to make discussion scattered over Wikipedia. :The above unsigned comment was added by User:Nanshu. --User:Sewing 16:29, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC) ----- ''In June 1950, the North Korean Peoples Army attacked, launching the Korean War.'' :I thought it was unknown who started the conflict. User:Crusadeonilliteracy 19:10, 1 Mar 2004 (UTC) ::I thought so too--User:131.216.163.213 04:48, 23 Apr 2004 (UTC) == Recent edits == Hm. It looks like a slight pro-North Korea government POV has been replaced by an obviously anti-North Korea government POV. I will have to fix this this weekend. Until then please read our NPOV policy. --User:Maveric149 08:23, 3 Mar 2004 (UTC) ---- Bagel, I noticed your "a paranoid and incompetent government" in the North Korea article violates the NPOV policy. I believe the North Korean government is extremely competent as an oppressive, genocidal, quasi-Stalinistic, over-militarized dictatorship. If North Korea was incompetent, why do other nations fear North Korea? --User:Hcheney 19:44, 4 Mar 2004 (UTC) "Due to one one of the highest literacy rates in the world, autonomous religious activities are now almost nonexistent in the North." I take particular issue with the implication that high literacy = low religion. Once people can read, they can grow past religion? Or is it that religious people are illiterate, illogical and ill-prepared to leave the mundane sphere of religion and enter secular society? Someone please explain this fallacious reasoning. Or is this passage indicative of some troubles plaguing Wikipedia at large? Are there movements within the online community to insert such ignorant and offensive language into erstwhile fact-based documents? -lward (Under Culture) Did the U.S. government really ban its citizens from entering North Korea? I haven't heard of any type of prohibition at all. According to the State Department, they don't issue letters for people seeking DPRK visas, but there's no ban as far as I know. (Update: edited page due to U.S. Treasury sanctions document indicating the absence of American travel restrictions.)--User:Bceaglejoe 03:19, 17 Nov 2004 (UTC) ==Format== Could someone with a better grip on formatting issues than mine please do something about the horrible white space at the top of this article? User:Adam Carr 07:36, 31 May 2004 (UTC) ==WPK or KWP?== This page uses the style "Worker's Party of Korea (WPK)", while Politics of North Korea uses "Korean Worker's Party (KWP)". Is there a standard form? If so, both pages should use it. If not, we should choose one and stick with it. For what it is worth, "Workers Party of Korea" gets more hits on Google than does "Korean Workers Party". User:Molinari 02:19, 25 Jun 2004 (UTC) Having in front of me a few books published by the Foreign Languages Publishing House in Pyongyang, I can say that I cannot find one instance of "Korean Workers' Party". It seems that the Kims Il Sung and Jong Il in "For the Victory of the Socialist Cause" and "Selected Works" (respectively) and in all the other English-language Korean material I have both call their party the WPK. Accordingly, I've changed the article. User:Dafyddyoung 14:16, 27 Jan 2005 (UTC) ==Market Trials== I really think that any article about North Korea should include information about the recent market trials. I have attempted to add a paragraph about this with NPOV based on information now widely available about North Korea's market trials. This information is just not very widely reported in North America due to political reasons, but a few have popped up, which you can use as research material for expanding information about North Korea's trials, including a number of articles from reputable sources such as BBC and Washington Post: [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2276471.stm] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3558283.stm] [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48491-2004May22.html] [http://www.iht.com/articles/523173.html] [http://www.usasurvival.org/ck72602.shtml] [http://www.mises.org/freemarket_detail.asp?control=440&sortorder=articledate] User:Mdrejhon 05:53, 17 Aug 2004 (UTC) ==IE Error== Whenever I try to load a page that has to do with Korea (North_Korea, Korea, History of Korea, etc.) I get an IE (version 6.0.2600.00) error (page has created errors) and IE closes. Very strange, I have never seen anything like this. Anyone else the same problem? Perhaps something to do with a font?? User:Pascal 00:45, 16 Oct 2004 (UTC) ==Panmunj(e)om== Why have we changed from 'Panmunjom' to the far less common English spelling 'Panmunjeom'? User:Jongarrettuk 18:56, 5 Nov 2004 (UTC) ---- ==故金日成== I know how silly it is, but, according to North Korean law, Kim Il Sung (deceased) is forever the President of Korea. It sure is cultish, bizarre and freaky, but I don't think we should disregard his official status no matter how absurd it may be. He should be listed on the information box as the president. --User:Ce garcon 19:25, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC) == Developed? == That is absurd, and this article is not to be some sort of a Communist mouthpeice. Have a look at some other encyclopedias on the subject of N Korea... User:Sam_Spade_User_talk:Sam_Spade_Wikipedia:Arbitration_Committee_Elections_December_2004">User:Sam Spade|User:Sam Spade User talk:Sam Spade Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee Elections December 2004 12:04, 24 Nov 2004 (UTC)
:Don't misunderstand me - I don't dispute for a moment that the North Korean economy just fell off a proverbial cliff... I think you haven't grasped all meanings of the word 'develop'. 'Develop' doesn't have to refer to a positive event. Wars, famines and natural catastrophies can all 'develop'. I don't see why you oppose using this word so much. --User:Ce garcon 04:03, 30 Nov 2004 (UTC)
== Can't add a link ==
I've tried to add this link multiple times:
* [http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/cRosett/?id=110002281 Where Is Ms. Cho?] - opinion piece about Cho Sung-hye and other North Koreans who attempt to leave North Korea.
but the system won't let me.User:A2Kafir 01:05, 15 Dec 2004 (UTC)
== Infobox ==
Gzornenplatz, Gzornenplatz, to keep kicking against the goads makes it hard for you.--User:Jerryseinfeld 23:05, 1 Jan 2005 (UTC)
If the article is titled North Korea and the article uses that term freely (common convention in the English language you must agree), then it should be said the DPRK is the official term for the country--User:naryathegreat | User talk:Naryathegreat 02:12, Apr 3, 2005 (UTC)
== about the 'official' dprk website ==
I'm pretty sure it's bogus. Why? A simple whois turned up the following:
domain: korea-dpr.com
status: lock
owner: Alejandro Cao de Benos de Les
email: vientian@hotmail.com
address: Valencia, 555, 3, 3
city: Barcelona
state: Barcelona
postal-code: 08026
country: ES
admin-c: vientian@hotmail.com#0
tech-c: salva@digival.es#80
billing-c: salva@digival.es#0
reseller-1: Visite: www.digival.es
reseller-2: Dominios com, net, org, biz. info. y .es
reseller-3: 1a Empresa Espanola del sector certificado AENOR
reseller-4: Rapido y economico. Visitenos
nserver: a.ns.joker.com 194.176.0.2
nserver: b.ns.joker.com 194.245.101.19
nserver: c.ns.joker.com 194.245.50.1
registrar: JORE-1
created: 2000-08-08 03:51:24 UTC core
modified: 2004-07-08 09:47:36 UTC JORE-1
expires: 2006-08-08 03:51:24 UTC
source: joker.com
db-updated: 2005-04-06 02:15:18 UTC
A spanish guy and joker.com ... doesn't seem very dprk-ish...
''This is infact the Official Webpage of the DPRK, and yes, it is made by a Spanish person known as Alejandro Cao de Benos, who is appointed by the DPRK Government as Special Delegate of the DPRK government. The DNS host provider does not help to convince people that it is an official webpage, but other evidence will prove that it is.
The evidence is clear, do a google for "korea-dpr.com" and see the BBC links. Click on "webpages that link to korea-dpr.com".
About Cao de Benos, see among other this link from NKZONE http://nkzone.typepad.com/nkzone/2004/04/honolulu_pyongy.html where multiple news organizations (Like Yonhap) are referring to his webpage and news of the signing of the "Friendship City" between Honolulu and Pyongyang, See also the Slate article http://slate.msn.com/id/2076686/ about DearLeader.com - Kim Jong-il's fanboy home page.
This should settle the status of www.korea-dpr.com and I am adding it back on the page if its missing. Let this stand for future reference.'' --User:Bjornar 13:53, 20 Apr 2005 (UTC)
== small point ==
Within the article it says:
>and in practice almost no-one is refused entry by North Korea
However in referenced article "Fancy a round, Dear leader?" (Independent), it says:
>The local proverb "seeing is believing" goes some way to explaining why the
>DPRK bothers granting any of its meagre 1,500 tourist visas issued annually
>to Western travellers
I can't see how they don't refuse entry when they only allow 1500 tourist visas. I have changed it, but find the whole section on culture to be lacking. --User:32.97.110.142 18:44, 8 Apr 2005 (UTC) :The small number is due to the lack of people who want to enter North Korea, not because North Korea refuses entry. The many web sites I've seen by people who visited North Korea convinces me that this paragraph about no one being refused entry into North Korea is true. I am putting the information you deleted back into the article. -- User:KittySaturn 07:47, 2005 Apr 14 (UTC) == Suggestion == Regarding the previous comment about 1500 visas, I can confirm that there is officially no fixed amount of visas allowed. That would also contradict other reports of a yearly tourist flow of about 2000-4000 tourists in NK every year, and also that the government of DPRK alledgedly need the "hard cash". Why then should there be a fixed limit? Also, regarding the "Further Reading" list of links. I think it is too long and should be broken into subsections, or maybe even put in their own articles with categories that match some of the links. Because I think right now many of the links presented cover too wide a range. My suggestion is keep the official links, and the bare neccessities, move "Travel accounts" to its own article presenting maybe "Travels to DPRK" or "North Korean Tourism". Move food recipie links to "North Korean Food Recipies" as a subset to "Korean Cuisine". I am sure everyone reading this will agree, that the list of links at the bottom of the article for "North Korea" cover to wide an area, and should therefore be put in its own subset of context. -Bjørnar- Very good the way the links is organized now. --User:Bjornar 23:25, 4 Jun 2005 (UTC) ==Links== I have been bold and tidied the links section. Firstly, the Pedia is not a link collection (readers can engage Google, themselves). Secondly, I couldn't stand the misspelling of ''independent''. Thirdly, which other country has a section of links ''against'' the country? This is so not NPOV... Fourthly, some of the links were dead anyway. I have considered every link before removing. For example, a travel account? We don't have links to travel accounts to the US, do we? OK, North Korea is less of a common destination, but it is possible to visit. A Japanese comedy site with video clips? Not very authoritative, and well, it's got errors there, too. Let's not confuse propaganda with the Pedia... User:Metro0 23:43, 4 Jun 2005 (UTC) ==NPOV issue== I really stumbled when I saw the following sentence: "It is due to this nuclear capability, the United States has placed North Korea into the Axis of Evil, as the nation is an Outpost of Tyranny." I would argue that these phrases represent Bush administration talking points rather than neutral statements of fact. == Change 'East Sea' to 'Sea of Japan' == Isn't wikipedia NPOV? If it is, why are the references to the body of water between Korea and Japan called 'East Sea'? Calling it 'East Sea' is a POV. Calling it 'Sea of Japan' is not. The official name of the body of water is 'Sea of Japan'. If you want to dispute this, there is an entire article devoted to that. if you want to dispute this, do it at Dispute over the name of the Sea of Japan, not here. This is fact only, not point of view. I know if you click on the link 'East Sea' in this article, it takes you to the Sea of Japan page. If you enter 'East Sea' in the search it takes you to five links for East Seas around the world. I am going to change this site back to NPOV and away from POV. If you have a problem with that, take it up on the correct article at Dispute over the name of the Sea of Japan. user:Masterhatch :A vote is needed in regards to the name of the body of water that separates the Koreas and Japan. For more information, see Dispute over the name of the Sea of Japan. Here is the question, answer with 'Yes' or 'No' (feel free to add comments): :*Should all bodies of water on Wikipedia have the same name throughout all pages as to maintain a standard and avoid country specific POV?" :In the event of a 'Yes' win, all bodies of water will be given the same English name and the country specific name will be put in brackets. For example "Sea of Japan" (East Sea). In the event of a 'No' win, all international articles will use the international English name and in country specific articles, it will be the Englishised name with the international name put in brackets. For example on a Korean article: "East Sea" (Sea of Japan). Enter your votes at the talk page here: Dispute over the name of the Sea of Japan. Please vote only once. Thank you, user:Masterhatch
{| class="toccolours" style="margin: 0 2em 0 2em;" !style="background:#ccccff" | Administrative divisions of North Korea | width="1%" | |- |align="center" colspan=2| Directly Governed Cities
Pyongyang | Rason |- |align="center" colspan=2| Former Directly Governed Cities
Chongjin | Hamhung | Kaesong | Nampo |- |align="center" colspan=2| Special Administrative Regions
Kaesong Industrial Region | Kumgangsan Tourist Region | Sinuiju Special Administrative Region |- |align="center" colspan=2| Provinces
Chagang | North Hamgyong | South Hamgyong | North Hwanghae | South Hwanghae | Kangwon | North Pyongan | South Pyongan | Ryanggang |}
#redirect Template:North Korea
This page lists topics specific to North Korea. You may wish to also see :Category:Korea and :Category:South Korea. For a more complete and detailed list of Korea-related topics (including South Korea), please see List of Korea-related topics. Communist states Korea East Asian countries ka:კატეგორია:ჩრდილოეთი კორეა
Why is Primorsky Krai (a Russian subdivision) listed in this category? It has a border with North Korea, but that's about all Primorsky Krai and North Korea have in common.—User:Ezhiki 17:47, Oct 22, 2004 (UTC) :Thanks for taking care of this.—User:Ezhiki 17:34, Nov 9, 2004 (UTC)
#REDIRECT North Korea
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North Korea
North Korea, known officially as the '''Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK'''; Korean language: ''Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk''; Chosongul: 조선민주주의인민공화국; Hanja: 朝鮮民主主義人民共和國), is a country in eastern Asia, covering the northern half of the peninsula of Korea. To the south it borders South Korea with which it formed a single nation until 1948. Its northern border is predominantly with the People's Republic of China, and a small section with Russia. Locally and in mainland China, it is more commonly called ''Pukchosŏn'' ("North Chosŏn"; Hangul; Hanja), a name that associates the country with the Joseon Dynasty. ''Bukhan'' ("North Han"; Hangul; Hanja) is commonly used in South Korea. ==History== Japanese rule of Korea ended after World War II in 1945. Korea was occupied by the Soviet Union north of the 38th Parallel and by the United States south of the 38th parallel, but the United States and the Soviet Union were unable to agree on implementation of Joint Trusteeship over Korea. This led in 1948 to the establishment of separate governments in the north and south, each claiming to be the legitimate government over all of Korea. Growing tensions between the governments in the north and south eventually led to the Korean War, when on June 25 1950 the (North) Korean People's Army crossed the 38th Parallel and attacked in force. The war continued until July 27 1953, when William Harrison Jr., United Nations Command, and Nam Il, Delegation of Korean People's Army and the Chinese People's Volunteers, signed the Korean War Armistice Agreement. The Korean Demilitarized Zone, or DMZ, was established to separate the two countries. North Korea was ruled from 1948 by Kim Il-sung until his death on July 8, 1994. After the death of Kim Il Sung, his son Kim Jong-il was named General Secretary of the Korean Workers' Party on October 8, 1997. In 1998, the legislature reconfirmed him as Chairman of the National Defence Commission of North Korea and declared that position as the "highest office of state." International relations generally improved, and there was a historic North-South summit in June 2000. However, tensions recently increased when North Korea resumed its North Korea nuclear weapons program. During Kim Jong Il's rule during the mid to late 1990s, the country's economy declined significantly, and food shortages developed in many areas. According to aid groups, a significant but unknown number of people in rural areas starved to death due to famine, exacerbated by a collapse in the food distribution system. Large numbers of North Koreans illegally entered the People's Republic of China in search of food, and there were also stories of cannibalism. North Korea has remained one of the most isolated places in the world, with severe restrictions on travelling in or out of the country. North Korea lacks a free press. Juche, created by Kim Il-Sung, is the state endorsed ideology of North Korea. Juche is based on self-reliance. North Korea announced on February 10, 2005 that it has North Korea and weapons of mass destruction. The DPRK withdrew from the six-party talks because the North Koreans claimed that the United States had "hostile intentions" towards their country. It is due to this nuclear capability, the United States has placed North Korea into the Axis of Evil, as the nation is an Outpost of Tyranny. The DPRK wanted removal from this status before resuming talks which are aimed at curbing its WMD programme. On May 7, 2005 the USA announced its spy satellites had discovered possible preparations for North Korea's first test of a nuclear weapon. According to the images, the North Koreans are preparing for an underground test. ''See also: Division of Korea'' ==Politics== North Korea's government is dominated by the Stalinist Korean Workers' Party (KWP), to which all government officials belong. North Korea cannot truly be called communist, however, because it does not follow the Marxist-Leninist approach of democratic centralism within the Party, but instead has set up a new elite bureaucratic ruling class, in the vein of Stalinist Russia. Because this is directly contradictory to the writings of both Karl Marx and V.I. Lenin, North Korea is seen as being a degenerated workers state, or even state capitalist. Minor political parties exist, but not in opposition to KWP-rule. In practice the exact power structure of the country is somewhat unclear, although it is commonly accepted that the nation's regime is a totalitarianism dictatorship. Nominally the Prime Minister is the head of government, but real power lies with Kim Jong Il (the son of the late Kim Il Sung), the head of the Workers' Party and the military. Kim holds a string of official titles, the most important being General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea Chairman of the National Defence Commission and Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army. Within the country he is commonly known by the affectionate title of "Dear Leader", in contrast to Kim Il Sung, who is the "Great Leader". North Korea's 1972 constitution of North Korea was amended in late 1992 and again in 1998. The 1998 constitution states that the late Kim Il Sung is "Eternal President of the Republic," and the post of president was abolished after his death. The Constitution gives much of the functions normally accorded to a head of state to the Supreme People's Assembly Presidium, whose president "represents the State" and receives credentials from foreign ambassadors. The government of the republic is led by the Prime Minister and, in theory, a super cabinet called the Central People's Committee (CPC), the government's top policymaking body. The CPC is headed by the President, who also nominates the other committee members. The CPC makes policy decisions and supervises the Cabinet, or State Administration Council (SAC). SAC is headed by a Premier and is the dominant administrative and executive agency. Officially, the parliament, the Supreme People's Assembly ''Choego Inmin Hoeui''), is the highest organ of state power. Its 687 members are elected every five years by popular vote, although these elections are non-competitive and in practice ceremonial. Usually it holds only two annual meetings, each lasting a few days, but it mostly ratifies decisions made by the ruling KWP (see rubberstamp (politics)). A standing committee elected by the Assembly performs legislative functions when the Assembly is not in session. North Korea is widely held to be a totalitarianism country. One major aspect of totalitarian countries is the presence of a single party which mirrors the structure of the State, and the fact that the power lies not in the State or its institutions, but in the party and its institutions. Thus, in countries such as the DPRK, it is the Chairman of the Communist Party and not the Head of State who is the repository of power. ==Administrative divisions== As of 2005, North Korea consists of two Directly-governed Cities (''Chikhalsi''; 직할시; 直轄市), three special regions with various designations, and nine Provinces (See Provinces of Korea). (Names are romanized according to the McCune-Reischauer system as officially used in North Korea; the editor was also guided by the spellings used on the 2003 National Geographic map of Korea). For historical information, see Provinces of Korea and Special cities of Korea. Directly-governed Cities * Pyongyang Directly-governed City (''P'yŏngyang Chikhalsi''; 평양 직할시; 平壤直轄市) * Rason ''Chikhalsi'' (라선 (라진-선봉) 직할시; 羅先 (羅津-先鋒) 直轄市) ===Special Regions=== * Kaesong Industrial Region (''Kaesŏng Kong-ŏp Chigu;'' 개성 공업 지구; 開城工業地區) * Kumgangsan Tourist Region (''Kŭmgangsan Kwangwang Chigu;'' 금강산 관광 지구; 金剛山觀光地區) * Sinuiju Special Administrative Region (''Sinŭiju T'ŭkbyŏl Haengjeonggu''; 신의주 특별 행정구; 新義州特別行政區) ===Provinces=== * Chagang Province (''Chagang-do;'' 자강도; 慈江道) * North Hamgyong Province (''Hamgyŏng-pukto;'' 함경 북도; 咸鏡北道) * South Hamgyong Province (''Hamgyŏng-namdo;'' 함경 남도; 咸鏡南道) * North Hwanghae Province (''Hwanghae-pukto;'' 황해 북도; 黃海北道) * South Hwanghae Province (''Hwanghae-namdo;'' 황해 남도; 黃海南道) * Kangwon Province (''Kangwŏndo;'' 강원도; 江原道) * North Pyongan Province (''P'yŏngan-pukto;'' 평안 북도; 平安北道) * South Pyongan Province (''P'yŏngan-namdo;'' 평안 남도; 平安南道) * Ryanggang Province (''Ryanggang-do;'' 량강도; 兩江道--sometimes also spelled as 'Yanggang' in English) ===Major Cities=== * Sinuiju * Kaesong * Nampho * Chongjin * Wonsan * Hamhung - Hamnam * Haeju * Kanggye * Hyesan ==Geography== Korea forms a peninsula that extends 1,100 km from the Asian mainland. To the west it borders the Yellow Sea(West Sea) and the Korea Bay; to the east it borders the Sea of Japan (East Sea). The peninsula ends at the Korea Strait (Tsushima Strait) and the East China Sea (South Sea) to the south. It is of political importance, bordering South Korea, China, and Russia. The peninsula's northern part (including North Korea) has mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys in the north and east, and has coastal plains prominently in the west. The highest point in Korea is the Paektu-san at 2,744 m. Major rivers include the Tumen River and the Yalu River that form the northern border with Chinese Manchuria. The local climate is relatively temperate climate, with precipitation (meteorology) heavier in summer during a short rainy season called ''jangma'', and winters that can be bitterly cold on occasion. North Korea's capital and largest city is Pyongyang; other major cities include Kaesong in the south, Sinuiju in the northwest, Wonsan and Hamhung in the east and Chongjin in the northeast. ==Economy== Following the official ideology of Juche (self-reliance) and the central planning mandated by its brand of Stalinism, North Korea's economics has stagnated. The government's refusal to participate in global free markets and its refusal to publicize economic data limit the amount of reliable information available. Publicly-owned industry produces nearly all manufactured goods. The regime continues to focus on heavy military industry at the expense of agriculture. The North Korean military's effect on the economy cannot be overstated. The government spends 22.9% (2003) of the nation's GDP on military (Compared to 3.3% (FY03 est.) for the U.S. and 2.7% (FY03) spent by neighboring South Korea), and has recruited 1.2 million of the healthiest young men into the army. This focus on military spending is unheard of anywhere else in the world, and has severely depressed the North's economy for decades. This is seen as a necessary evil due to the North Korean perception of the threat of military action from the US and South Korea. A series of natural disasters, and the collapse of the Soviet bloc have all caused the economy to stagnate. The agriculture outlook is terrible and food products are deliberately diverted away from citizens and into the military. The combined effects of a reclusive regime, serious fertilizer shortages, successive natural disasters, and structural constraints — such as little arable land and a short growing season — have reduced staple cereal output to more than 1 million tons less than what the country needs to meet even minimum international requirements. North Korea previously received a flow of international food and fuel aid from the People's Republic of China and the United States in exchange for promises not to develop nuclear weapons. This aid has ceased since the North Korean regime revealed that it had been developing nuclear weapons in secret. Some food, which was to be free aid to the population, was captured and sold. Recently, in July 2002, North Korea started running an experiment with capitalism in the Kaesong Industrial Region. A small number of other areas have been designated as Special cities of Korea#North Korea, including Sinuiju Special Administrative Region along the China-North Korea border. Mainland China and South Korea are the biggest trade partners of North Korea, with trade with China going up 38% to $1.02 billion in 2003, and trade with South Korea going up 12% to $724 million in 2003 since the start of the experiment. It is reported that the number of mobile phones in Pyongyang rose from only 3,000 in 2002 to approximately 20,000 during 2004. As of June 2004, however, mobile phones became forbidden again. A small amount 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 amount of open-air farmer markets have increased in Kaesong, P'yŏngyang, as well as the China-North Korea border, bypassing the food rationing system. Critics argue that these market reforms are merely a cover by the North Korea government, while others argue that the reforms indicate a tacit North Korea admission of the successes of a market system. ==Human rights== Reports by human rights organizations regularly accuse the government of failing to protect the human rights of North Koreans; [http://web.amnesty.org/library/eng-prk/index] North Korea receives particular criticism for its policy of preventing citizens from leaving the country freely. North Korea is accused of employing concentration camps (video link)[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4397847/] and severely restricting most freedoms such as freedom of speech. These camps are believed to hold as many as 200,000 inmates, including children whose only crime is having "class enemies" for parents; in some of the camps, the annual mortality rate approaches 25%.[http://www.hrnk.org][http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3071466] A recent BBC documentary [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/this_world/3436701.stm] also reported that in one of these camps, North Korea tests chemical weapons on prisoners in a gas chamber: ---- ''I witnessed a whole family being tested on suffocating gas and dying in the gas chamber,' he said. 'The parents, son and and a daughter. The parents were vomiting and dying, but till the very last moment they tried to save kids by doing mouth-to-mouth breathing.' ''Hyuk has drawn detailed diagrams of the gas chamber he saw. He said: 'The glass chamber is sealed airtight. It is 3.5 metres wide, 3m long and 2.2m high_ [There] is the injection tube going through the unit. Normally, a family sticks together and individual prisoners stand separately around the corners. Scientists observe the entire process from above, through the glass.'''' [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1136440,00.html] ---- Less often discussed are the human rights implications of North Korea's famine,[http://freekorea.blogspot.com/2005/05/one-kwangju-per-day-for-six-years.html] which killed between 600,000[http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2003/11.13/13-koreaeat.html] and 3.5 million people,[http://217.29.194.251/msfinternational/invoke.cfm?objectid=335007FE-29B7-4E69-B88BBDF0379FFE1A&component=toolkit.article&method=full_html&CFID=5514940&CFTOKEN=15148554] mostly during the 1990's. [http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/asiapcf/9808/19/nkorea.famine] By 1999, food and development aid reduced famine deaths. In the spring of 2005, the World Food Program reported that famine conditions were in imminent danger of returing to North Korea,[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4072280.stm] and the regime was reported to have ordered millions of city-dwellers to the countryside to perform farm labor.[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20810F6345D0C728CDDAF0894DD404482] North Korea's society is highly stratified by class, according to a citizen's family and political background.[http://www.brookings.edu/views/testimony/oh20030605.htm] Refugees International,[http://www.refugeesinternational.org/files/5631_file_ActsofBetrayal.pdf] Medicins San Frontieres,[http://217.29.194.251/msfinternational/invoke.cfm?objectid=751B7614-B3D6-11D4-B1FA0060084A6370&component=toolkit.article&method=full_html&CFID=5514940&CFTOKEN=15148554] and Amnesty International[http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engasa240032004] have all accused North Korea of discriminating against those in "hostile" classes in the distribution of basic necessities, including food. In some "closed" areas[http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-01-28-voa54.cfm?renderforprint=1&textonly=1&&TEXTMODE=1&CFID=15682057&CFTOKEN=56096981] that contained a higher concentration of "hostile" class members, the government appears to have prevented the delivery of any significant amounts of food aid at all. Yet during this same period, North Korea maintained a massive military machine and supported an extravagant lifestyle for its leader, Kim Jong-Il. [http://www.time.com/time/asia/news/magazine/0,9754,201976,00.html] The World Food Program currently seeks $200 million in emergency food aid for North Korea,[http://www.wfp.org/newsroom/subsections/search.asp?section=13&countryid=408#] an increase from its FY 2004 request of $171 million.[http://www.wfp.org/country_brief/indexcountry.asp?country=408] By comparison, its FY 2002 defense budget was $5.2 billion.[http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/Military] In 2005, news sources reported that North Korea continued to raise food prices while reducing food rations to the below-subsistence amount of 250 grams per person per day, the equivalent of two medium-sized potatoes.[http://www.command-post.org/nk/2_archives/018642.html#more] North Korea claims that natural disasters caused the famine. Taken together, however, these reports suggest different explanations for North Korea's great famine. At best, it appears to be a program of malign and discriminatory neglect. At worst, it is a program of political classification[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kulak] and cleansing not unlike that used in Soviet Ukraine in the 1930s--political cleansing by engineered famine.[http://www.ditext.com/conquest/intro.html] ==Demographics== North Korea's population is one of the most ethnically and linguistically homogenous in the world, with only very small ethnic Chinese and Japanese communities. The Korean language is not a member of a wider linguistic family, though links to Japanese language and Altaic languages are being considered. The Korean writing system, Hangul, was invented in the 15th century by King Sejong the Great of Joseon to replace the system of Chinese written language, known in Korea as Hanja, which are no longer officially in use in the North. North Korea continues to use the McCune-Reischauer romanization of Korean, in contrast to the South's Revised Romanization of Korean version. North Korea is officially atheism, although it has a Buddhism and Confucianism heritage, with Christianity and traditional Chondogyo ("Heavenly Way") communities. Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, was the center of Christian activity before the Korean War. ==Culture== North Korea's government is perceived by western governments as "extremely reclusive", and as a result few foreigners want to enter the country. In principle any person is allowed to travel to North Korea, and in practice almost no-one is refused entry by North Korea; however visitors are not allowed to travel outside designated tour areas without their Korean guides. The daunting presence of government minders and the negative international reputation of the government discourages many outsiders from visiting. Accounts of travels throughout the region can be found in the ''#External links'' section. [[Image:Panmunjeom2.jpg|thumb|250px|Panmunjeom, Border between South and North Korea, facing DPRK.]] Tourists are not permitted on passports from the United States, and citizens of South Korea require special government permission from both governments to enter North Korea. In recent years, the area around Kumgangsan, a scenic mountain close to the South Korea border, has been designated as a special tourist destination (Kumgangsan Tourist Region), where South Korean citizens do not need special permissions. Tours run by private companies bring thousands of South Koreans to Mount Kŭmgang every year. In July 2004, the Complex of Koguryo Tombs was the first site in North Korea to be included into the UNESCO list of World Heritage. ==See also== *Culture of Korea *List of Koreans *Korean cuisine *Music of Korea ==Miscellaneous topics== * Communications in North Korea * Transportation in North Korea * Military of North Korea * North Korea and weapons of mass destruction * Foreign relations of North Korea * Cities of North Korea * Kimjongilia (national flower) * List of Korea-related topics * Public holidays in North Korea * Korean reunification * Korean friendship association ==Further reading== * Gordon Cucullu, ''Separated At Birth: How North Korea Became The Evil Twin'', Globe Pequot Press (2004), hardcover, 307 pages, ISBN 1592285910 * Bruce Cumings, Korea's Place in the Sun: A Modern History, W.W. Norton & Company, 1998, paperback, 527 pages, ISBN 0393316815 * Bruce Cumings, Origins of the Korean War: Liberation and the Emergence of Separate Regimes, Princeton University Press, 1981, paperback, ISBN 0691101132 * Nick Eberstadt, aka Nicholas Eberstadt, ''The End of North Korea'', American Enterprise Institute Press (1999), hardcover, 191 pages, ISBN 084474087X * John Feffer, North Korea South Korea: U.S. Policy at a Time of Crisis, Seven Stories Press, 2003, paperback, 197 pages, ISBN 1583226036 * Mitchell B. Lerner, The Pueblo Incident: A Spy Ship and the Failure of American Foreign Policy, University Press of Kansas, 2002, hardcover, 408 pages, ISBN 0700611711 * Bradley Martin, ''Under The Loving Care Of The Fatherly Leader: North Korea And The Kim Dynasty'', St. Martins (October, 2004), hardcover, 868 pages, ISBN 0312322216 * Nanchu with Xing Hang, ''In North Korea:An American Travels Through an Imprisoned Nation'', McFarland & Company (July, 2003), trade paperback, ISBN 0786416912 * Oberdorfer, Don. The two Koreas : a contemporary history. Addison-Wesley, 1997. 472 pages. ISBN 0201409275 * Quinones, Dr. C. Kenneth, and Joseph Tragert, ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding North Korea'', Alpha Books, 2004, paperback, 448 pages, ISBN 1592571697 * Sigal, Leon V., ''Disarming Strangers: Nuclear Diplomacy with North Korea'', Princeton University Press, 199, 336 pages, ISBN 0691057974 * Vladimir, ''Cyber North Korea'', Byakuya Shobo, 2003, paperback, 223 pages, ISBN 4893678817 * Norbert Vollertsen, Inside North Korea: Diary of a Mad Place, Encounter Books, 2003, hardcover, 280 pages, ISBN 1893554872 ==External links== * ===Links associated wtih the D.P.R.K. government=== * [http://www.kcna.co.jp The Korean Central News Agency, The DPRK's news service.] * [http://www.kcckp.net/en/ Naenara] ("My country," in Korean) DPRK's Official Web Portal * [http://www.korea-dpr.com/ korea-dpr.com] - Website officially associated with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. * [http://www.korea-dpr.com/library/201.pdf Kim Il Sung]: 10 Point programme for reunification of the country ===Web sites about the D.P.R.K.=== * [http://www.koryogroup.com Tours / Tourism page of the DPRK, with links to other DPRK related sites] * [http://www.pyongyang-metro.com/ Pyongyang Metro System Unofficial Web Site - 1] * [http://uk.geocities.com/hkgalbert/kpmap.htm Korean Tourist Map] * [http://www.nkzone.org/nkzone NKzone] - discussions and information exchange on North Korea * [http://mapage.noos.fr/jeejee/north_korea.html North Korea Resources] - background news and analysis of North Korea * [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1131421.stm BBC News - ''Country Profile: North Korea''] * [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/kn.html CIA World Factbook - ''North Korea''] * [http://www.guardian.co.uk/korea/0,2759,331519,00.html Guardian Unlimited - ''Special Report: North and South Korea''] * [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/kptoc.html Library of Congress - ''Country Studies: North Korea''] data as of June 1993 * [http://search.looksmart.com/p/browse/us1/us317916/us559898/us559967/us559991/ LookSmart - ''North Korea''] directory category * [http://dmoz.org/Regional/Asia/North_Korea/ Open Directory Project - ''North Korea''] directory category * [http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Korea__North/ Yahoo! - ''North Korea''] directory category * [http://news.yahoo.com/fc?cid=34&tmpl=fc&in=World&cat=North_Korea Yahoo! News - ''Full Coverage: North Korea''] ===Web sites criticizing the D.P.R.K.=== * [http://freekorea.blogspot.com One Free Korea] - Blog focusing on human rights conditions in North Korea * [http://times.hankooki.com/special/special_edition1_list.htm Another Korea] - Background stories on North Korea * [http://www.studentsforwar.org Students for War] - Student group calling for invasion of North Korea *[http://travel.independent.co.uk/mideastandasia/asia/story.jsp?story=875 Fancy a round, Dear leader?] - ''The Independent'' (newspaper) journal describing a visit inside North Korea East Asian countries North Korea hi:उत्तर कोरिया li:Noord-Korea lv:Ziemeļkoreja ms:Korea Utara zh-min-nan:Tiâu-sián nds:Noordkorea se:Davvi-Korea th:ประเทศเกาหลีเหนือ
North Korea
---- Reviewing the first two sections I consider these statements are not from a NPOV. I would counter the statement "The war continued until July 27, 1953, when the United Nations Command, the Chinese People's Volunteers and North Korea signed the Korean War Armistice Agreement" unless there is a reference to support this. Having viewed the Armistice Agreements I would contend they were only signed by North Korea and the United Nations and the statement should be reworded "The war continued until July 27, 1953, when the United Nations Command and North Korea signed the Korean War Armistice Agreement" Re' the statement, "Thus, in Socialist countries such as the DPRK, it is the Chairman of the Communist Party and not the Head of State who is the repository of power." This implies that a Socialist country == DRPK, and ignores deomocratically elected Socialist countries that have no concept of a Chairman of a Communist Party. Suggest this is reworded to the following if there are no objections "Thus, in countries such as the DPRK, it is the Chairman of the Communist Party and not the Head of State who is the repository of power". --User:Duchovny1 12:33, 1 Apr 2005 (UTC) The statement "The war continued until July 27, 1953, when the United Nations Command, the Chinese People's Volunteers and North Korea signed the Korean War Armistice Agreement" All you need to do is look at the Armistace Agreement. Nam Il signed for the Korean People's Army and the Chinese People's volunteers. General William Harrison JR. signed for the United Nations Command. The Republic of Korea refused to allow their representatives name to be added to the agreement. --User:32.97.110.142 18:43, 8 Apr 2005 (UTC) The issue is with the manner this is written in. Your statement "... the United Nations Command, the Chinese People's Volunteers and North Korea signed ..." would indicate 3 signatories. There were only two. William Harrison signed on behalf of the United Nations combatants and Nam Il signed on behalf of the Delegation of Korean People's Army and the Chinese peoples volunteers. Hence I shall make this and my other suggested edit above. Ref : http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/korea/kwarmagr072753.html --User:Duchovny1 16:59, 28 Apr 2005 (UTC) ---- I put the following elit into the article. It was deleted after a short while. Why? Are there some North Koreans who can't stand Free speach? "[edit]THERE ARE RECURRING COMPLAINTS ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN NORTH KOREA. Allegations about vile North Korean human experimentation are yet more examples. " : You are right, this is intolerable. I suggest you add this notice back, on this page and on the United_States page. Of course, any affirmation requires references. So I suggest you have a look at Guantanamo_Bay, Abu_Ghraib_prisoner_abuse, MKULTRA, Tuskegee_syphilis_study and Willowbrook_State_School. Free speech (with references) rules ! ;-) : --User:Nct 21:03, 10 Feb 2005 (UTC) I would very much like to link this article from the Main Page since this nation is at the top of the news right now. But This article is in such sad stubbish form it would be embarrassing for the project if I did link it. Could somebody flesh this out per the WikiProject Countries format? --User:Maveric149 : I looked at your request last night (my time) and thought ''Yes, good idea, I don't know much about Korea, but I have lots of books and know how to use Google to find things out, surely I could add a little to help flesh it out''. I looked at the article and its stubs for a while, somehow didn't see anything that sparked enough interest to prompt me to make a start anywhere, and eventually wandered off to do some other things, feeling vaguely that I'd let the side down, and also that everyone else seemed to feel the same way, at least to judge by the resounding silence this entry has attracted so far. : It was only this morning that I realised ''why'' I felt that way about it (and, it seems, quite a few other people as well): "North Korea" isn't really a country, just an artificial political construction. Sure, there are lots of other places that this applies to in almost equal measure - most of Africa consists of "countries" that got their borders simply because some diplomat in Europe happened to draw a line on a particular part of a map, after all - but this seems more true of North Korea than of many places. I understand that Koreans don't think of themselves as "South Koreans" or "North Koreans", just "Koreans". Korea as a whole has distinct geography, culture, history, and language; "North Korea" does not and probably never will - it is destined, sooner or later, to merge back into Korea as a whole and become a mere footnote to history. : It's always going to be difficult to create a set of pages on North Korea in the standard Wikipedia form, in other words. The case for merging the pages on the two Koreas seems strong. After all, is it better to bend the Wikkipedia to better fit the world, or to bend the world to better fit the Wikipedia? User:Tannin 19:34 Dec 28, 2002 (UTC) Mergeing them is a bad idea. -fonzy North Korea has been an independent nation for more than 50 years. It is as much a country as West Germany, East Germany, Confederate States of America, North Vietnam, or other former nations that no longer exist. At some point, there may be only one country called Korea, as there was prior to 1945, but let's not try to merge together two separate countries with their own governments their own leaders and their own histories until that actually happens. Even then, we should leave the separate articles to indicate what happened when they were separate. -- User:Zoe North Korea is administered by a separate internationally recognized government than South Korea and so it should get its own page. To do otherwise is going to reopen the (unwanted) controversy over the China/Taiwan pages. Besides Hong Kong and Macao get their own Wiki country pages despite having less sovereignty than North Korea does. As far as history goes, one can do what is done with the history of china which goes up to 1949 before being split into history of PRC and history of Taiwan. --User:Roadrunner The article as-is should be good-enough for now. Much more is needed of course. --User:Maveric149 Another note: While people from North and South call themselves "Koreans" they actually use different words! The North Koreans use "Chosun Saram", while South Koreans use "Hanguk Saram" (Saram means People/Persons and Chosun and Hanguk are the short country names. --User:Alain ---- Can someone please check to see that my browser didn't mangle the Korean characters when I edited it? I don't have all the fonts. Thanks. User:Koyaanis Qatsi ---- === Provinces in Hanja === The provinces, as a political division of modern NK, have only Hangul and no official Hanja. Even though they historically have been written in Hanja, and this has been documented on the Provinces of Korea article. They should probably be deleted. -User:Menchi 03:40 8 Jun 2003 (UTC) ---- The listing of government authorities in the table should reflect who is in charge. What's with putting a dead guy there? Officially, the presidency, being occupied by a dead guy, is not the highest state office. It's just an honor. --User:Jiang History
As a country only existing from the 1950s, should N.Korea include history from Korea (giving at least three different (Korea|N.Korea|S.Korea) data-sets to edit when people want to upgrade pre-1950 Korean history), or should it only include information only after 1950? The History of North Korea is a (mostly) good set of post-1950 history detailing information as it relates to North Korea. I'd much rather see that and a (proposed) History of Korea linked (or a link to Korea, with only sparse details in the history section of the North Korea article.
~ender 2003-09-09 21:24:MST :I wrote the original history section just as you suggest but somebody thought it was a good idea to move that to History of North Korea and leave the confused mess you mention. I say we delete the para that isn't about North Korea. --User:Maveric149 04:52, 10 Sep 2003 (UTC) Removed para: :Traditionally said to have been founded in 2333 BC, Korea was divided into the three monarchys of Baekje, Goguryeo, and Silla during the 1st century to 7th century, of which the latter alone remained. It in turn was replaced by the Goryeo Dynasty and Joseon dynasties, during which Korea was under extensive China influence and Buddhism and Confucianism became part of Korean life. Known by the 19th century as the ''Hermit Kingdom'' because of its reclusive attitude, it was forced to open up at the end of that century, and was annexed by Japan in 1910. This isn't about North Korea. --User:Maveric149 04:56, 10 Sep 2003 (UTC) :All of that information appears to be in Korea, so I think it could be deleted. :~ender 2003-09-09 22:22:MST ---- ==Notice== The duplicated notice by User:Sewing was moved to Talk:Dispute over the name Sea of Japan, not to make discussion scattered over Wikipedia. :The above unsigned comment was added by User:Nanshu. --User:Sewing 16:29, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC) ----- ''In June 1950, the North Korean Peoples Army attacked, launching the Korean War.'' :I thought it was unknown who started the conflict. User:Crusadeonilliteracy 19:10, 1 Mar 2004 (UTC) ::I thought so too--User:131.216.163.213 04:48, 23 Apr 2004 (UTC) == Recent edits == Hm. It looks like a slight pro-North Korea government POV has been replaced by an obviously anti-North Korea government POV. I will have to fix this this weekend. Until then please read our NPOV policy. --User:Maveric149 08:23, 3 Mar 2004 (UTC) ---- Bagel, I noticed your "a paranoid and incompetent government" in the North Korea article violates the NPOV policy. I believe the North Korean government is extremely competent as an oppressive, genocidal, quasi-Stalinistic, over-militarized dictatorship. If North Korea was incompetent, why do other nations fear North Korea? --User:Hcheney 19:44, 4 Mar 2004 (UTC) "Due to one one of the highest literacy rates in the world, autonomous religious activities are now almost nonexistent in the North." I take particular issue with the implication that high literacy = low religion. Once people can read, they can grow past religion? Or is it that religious people are illiterate, illogical and ill-prepared to leave the mundane sphere of religion and enter secular society? Someone please explain this fallacious reasoning. Or is this passage indicative of some troubles plaguing Wikipedia at large? Are there movements within the online community to insert such ignorant and offensive language into erstwhile fact-based documents? -lward (Under Culture) Did the U.S. government really ban its citizens from entering North Korea? I haven't heard of any type of prohibition at all. According to the State Department, they don't issue letters for people seeking DPRK visas, but there's no ban as far as I know. (Update: edited page due to U.S. Treasury sanctions document indicating the absence of American travel restrictions.)--User:Bceaglejoe 03:19, 17 Nov 2004 (UTC) ==Format== Could someone with a better grip on formatting issues than mine please do something about the horrible white space at the top of this article? User:Adam Carr 07:36, 31 May 2004 (UTC) ==WPK or KWP?== This page uses the style "Worker's Party of Korea (WPK)", while Politics of North Korea uses "Korean Worker's Party (KWP)". Is there a standard form? If so, both pages should use it. If not, we should choose one and stick with it. For what it is worth, "Workers Party of Korea" gets more hits on Google than does "Korean Workers Party". User:Molinari 02:19, 25 Jun 2004 (UTC) Having in front of me a few books published by the Foreign Languages Publishing House in Pyongyang, I can say that I cannot find one instance of "Korean Workers' Party". It seems that the Kims Il Sung and Jong Il in "For the Victory of the Socialist Cause" and "Selected Works" (respectively) and in all the other English-language Korean material I have both call their party the WPK. Accordingly, I've changed the article. User:Dafyddyoung 14:16, 27 Jan 2005 (UTC) ==Market Trials== I really think that any article about North Korea should include information about the recent market trials. I have attempted to add a paragraph about this with NPOV based on information now widely available about North Korea's market trials. This information is just not very widely reported in North America due to political reasons, but a few have popped up, which you can use as research material for expanding information about North Korea's trials, including a number of articles from reputable sources such as BBC and Washington Post: [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2276471.stm] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3558283.stm] [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48491-2004May22.html] [http://www.iht.com/articles/523173.html] [http://www.usasurvival.org/ck72602.shtml] [http://www.mises.org/freemarket_detail.asp?control=440&sortorder=articledate] User:Mdrejhon 05:53, 17 Aug 2004 (UTC) ==IE Error== Whenever I try to load a page that has to do with Korea (North_Korea, Korea, History of Korea, etc.) I get an IE (version 6.0.2600.00) error (page has created errors) and IE closes. Very strange, I have never seen anything like this. Anyone else the same problem? Perhaps something to do with a font?? User:Pascal 00:45, 16 Oct 2004 (UTC) ==Panmunj(e)om== Why have we changed from 'Panmunjom' to the far less common English spelling 'Panmunjeom'? User:Jongarrettuk 18:56, 5 Nov 2004 (UTC) ---- ==故金日成== I know how silly it is, but, according to North Korean law, Kim Il Sung (deceased) is forever the President of Korea. It sure is cultish, bizarre and freaky, but I don't think we should disregard his official status no matter how absurd it may be. He should be listed on the information box as the president. --User:Ce garcon 19:25, 21 Nov 2004 (UTC) == Developed? == That is absurd, and this article is not to be some sort of a Communist mouthpeice. Have a look at some other encyclopedias on the subject of N Korea... User:Sam_Spade_
>DPRK bothers granting any of its meagre 1,500 tourist visas issued annually
>to Western travellers
I can't see how they don't refuse entry when they only allow 1500 tourist visas. I have changed it, but find the whole section on culture to be lacking. --User:32.97.110.142 18:44, 8 Apr 2005 (UTC) :The small number is due to the lack of people who want to enter North Korea, not because North Korea refuses entry. The many web sites I've seen by people who visited North Korea convinces me that this paragraph about no one being refused entry into North Korea is true. I am putting the information you deleted back into the article. -- User:KittySaturn 07:47, 2005 Apr 14 (UTC) == Suggestion == Regarding the previous comment about 1500 visas, I can confirm that there is officially no fixed amount of visas allowed. That would also contradict other reports of a yearly tourist flow of about 2000-4000 tourists in NK every year, and also that the government of DPRK alledgedly need the "hard cash". Why then should there be a fixed limit? Also, regarding the "Further Reading" list of links. I think it is too long and should be broken into subsections, or maybe even put in their own articles with categories that match some of the links. Because I think right now many of the links presented cover too wide a range. My suggestion is keep the official links, and the bare neccessities, move "Travel accounts" to its own article presenting maybe "Travels to DPRK" or "North Korean Tourism". Move food recipie links to "North Korean Food Recipies" as a subset to "Korean Cuisine". I am sure everyone reading this will agree, that the list of links at the bottom of the article for "North Korea" cover to wide an area, and should therefore be put in its own subset of context. -Bjørnar- Very good the way the links is organized now. --User:Bjornar 23:25, 4 Jun 2005 (UTC) ==Links== I have been bold and tidied the links section. Firstly, the Pedia is not a link collection (readers can engage Google, themselves). Secondly, I couldn't stand the misspelling of ''independent''. Thirdly, which other country has a section of links ''against'' the country? This is so not NPOV... Fourthly, some of the links were dead anyway. I have considered every link before removing. For example, a travel account? We don't have links to travel accounts to the US, do we? OK, North Korea is less of a common destination, but it is possible to visit. A Japanese comedy site with video clips? Not very authoritative, and well, it's got errors there, too. Let's not confuse propaganda with the Pedia... User:Metro0 23:43, 4 Jun 2005 (UTC) ==NPOV issue== I really stumbled when I saw the following sentence: "It is due to this nuclear capability, the United States has placed North Korea into the Axis of Evil, as the nation is an Outpost of Tyranny." I would argue that these phrases represent Bush administration talking points rather than neutral statements of fact. == Change 'East Sea' to 'Sea of Japan' == Isn't wikipedia NPOV? If it is, why are the references to the body of water between Korea and Japan called 'East Sea'? Calling it 'East Sea' is a POV. Calling it 'Sea of Japan' is not. The official name of the body of water is 'Sea of Japan'. If you want to dispute this, there is an entire article devoted to that. if you want to dispute this, do it at Dispute over the name of the Sea of Japan, not here. This is fact only, not point of view. I know if you click on the link 'East Sea' in this article, it takes you to the Sea of Japan page. If you enter 'East Sea' in the search it takes you to five links for East Seas around the world. I am going to change this site back to NPOV and away from POV. If you have a problem with that, take it up on the correct article at Dispute over the name of the Sea of Japan. user:Masterhatch :A vote is needed in regards to the name of the body of water that separates the Koreas and Japan. For more information, see Dispute over the name of the Sea of Japan. Here is the question, answer with 'Yes' or 'No' (feel free to add comments): :*Should all bodies of water on Wikipedia have the same name throughout all pages as to maintain a standard and avoid country specific POV?" :In the event of a 'Yes' win, all bodies of water will be given the same English name and the country specific name will be put in brackets. For example "Sea of Japan" (East Sea). In the event of a 'No' win, all international articles will use the international English name and in country specific articles, it will be the Englishised name with the international name put in brackets. For example on a Korean article: "East Sea" (Sea of Japan). Enter your votes at the talk page here: Dispute over the name of the Sea of Japan. Please vote only once. Thank you, user:Masterhatch
North Korea
{| class="toccolours" style="margin: 0 2em 0 2em;" !style="background:#ccccff" | Administrative divisions of North Korea | width="1%" | |- |align="center" colspan=2| Directly Governed Cities
Pyongyang | Rason |- |align="center" colspan=2| Former Directly Governed Cities
Chongjin | Hamhung | Kaesong | Nampo |- |align="center" colspan=2| Special Administrative Regions
Kaesong Industrial Region | Kumgangsan Tourist Region | Sinuiju Special Administrative Region |- |align="center" colspan=2| Provinces
Chagang | North Hamgyong | South Hamgyong | North Hwanghae | South Hwanghae | Kangwon | North Pyongan | South Pyongan | Ryanggang |}
North Korea
#redirect Template:North Korea
North Korea
This page lists topics specific to North Korea. You may wish to also see :Category:Korea and :Category:South Korea. For a more complete and detailed list of Korea-related topics (including South Korea), please see List of Korea-related topics. Communist states Korea East Asian countries ka:კატეგორია:ჩრდილოეთი კორეა
North Korea
North Korea
Why is Primorsky Krai (a Russian subdivision) listed in this category? It has a border with North Korea, but that's about all Primorsky Krai and North Korea have in common.—User:Ezhiki 17:47, Oct 22, 2004 (UTC) :Thanks for taking care of this.—User:Ezhiki 17:34, Nov 9, 2004 (UTC)
North korea
#REDIRECT North Korea
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NA | NB | NC | ND | NE | NF | NG | NH | NI | NJ | NK | NL | NM | NO | NP | NR | NS | NT | NU | NW | NX | NY | NZ |Words begining with North_Korea:
North-Korea
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North_Korea/Communications
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North_Korea/Geography
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North_Korea/History
North_Korea/People
North_Korea/Transnational_issues
North_Korea/Transportation
North_Korean
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North_Korean_abductions_of_Japanese
North_Korean_abductions_of_South_Koreans
North_Korean_abductions_of_South_Koreans
North_Korean_armed_forces
North_Korean_Army
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North_Korean_human_experimentation
North_Korean_music
North_Korean_news_organizations
North_Korean_organizations
North_Korean_people
North_Korean_People's_Army
North_Korean_People's_Army
North_Korean_politicians
North_Korean_sport
North_Korean_Won
North_Korean_won
North_Korea_and_weapons_of_mass_destruction
North_Korea_and_weapons_of_mass_destruction
North_Korea_at_the_1976_Summer_Olympics
North_Korea_at_the_1980_Summer_Olympics
North_Korea_at_the_1992_Summer_Olympics
North_Korea_at_the_2000_Summer_Olympics
North_Korea_at_the_2004_Summer_Olympics
North_Korea_infobox
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North_Korea_nuclear_weapons_program
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North_Korea_zone
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