1
edit
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 1:
Line 1: − + − + − + − + − + − + − + − − − − − |gdp-year =$22.85 billion (2006) − − − + − It was ruled by self-absorbed dictator and "Dear Leader" [[Kim Jong Il]], who succeeded his father the "Great Leader" [[Kim Il Sung]]. Upon Kim Jong-Il's death, his son [[Kim Jong-un]] officially took over.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/02/world/asia/packaging-of-Kim-Jong-un-in-north-korea.html?pagewanted=all New York Times; 1 February; To Sell a New Leader, North Korea Finds a Mirror Is Handy]</ref> − Its official name is '''Democratic People's Republic of Korea''', but its government does not follow Western ideas of [[democracy]] ([[French Revolution]] aside). Rather, it is organized along [[Stalinism|Stalinist]] lines. Its Supreme People's Assembly is merely a rubber-stamp parliament.<ref>https://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2010/05/21/North-Korea-slammed-over-Cheonan-sinking/UPI-48941274459460/</ref>+ − The official North Korean ideology is known as [[Juche]] (which roughly translates as "national self-reliance"), and since the mid 1990s, [[Songun]] ("military first"). A cult-like devotion to the "Great Leader" and "Dear Leader" is expected of citizens, and heavily promoted in the North Korean news media which has little actual news and mostly consists of effusive praise toward [[Kim Jong Un]], grandiose and unsubstantiated claims about great feats by him and his father, and repetitious admonitions that the Korean people are totally united as one behind his leadership. In contrast between 600,000 and 3.5 million North Koreans have died of starvation in recent years because the Kim government has so mismanaged the economy, particularly agriculture, and has hampered outside efforts at relief.<ref>https://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071009/COMMENTARY/110090010/1012&template=nextpage</ref>+ − + − − *Population (2006): 23.1 million. − *Annual growth rate: About +0.98%. − *Ethnic groups: [[Korean]]; small ethnic Chinese and Japanese populations. − *Religions: [[Buddhism]], [[Confucianism]], [[Shamanism]], [[Chongdogyo]], [[Christian]]; autonomous religious activities have been virtually nonexistent since 1945. − *Language: Korean. − *Education: Years compulsory—11. Attendance—3 million (primary, 1.5 million; secondary, 1.2 million; tertiary, 0.3 million). Literacy—99%. − *Health (1998): Medical treatment is free; one doctor for every 700 inhabitants; one hospital bed for every 350; there are severe shortages of medicines and medical equipment. Infant mortality rate—23.29 /1,000 (2006 est.). Life expectancy—males 68 yrs., females 74 yrs. (2006 est.) − − Amnesty International published a report in June 2010 which alleges that the North Korean health care system is "in shambles". Interviews with 40 individuals who defected from that country indicate a widespread shortage of medicine and medical implements; a lack of ambulatory services in major cities; the use of unsterilized needles; major operations and amputations done without anesthesia, on a system which spends the equivalent of one dollar per person per year on health care. This discrepancy is compounded by the fact that many citizens are forced to endure a starvation diet by subsisting on grass, tree bark and roots.<ref>http://www.news-medical.net/news/20100715/Amnesty-International-reveals-the-rotting-health-care-system-in-North-Korea.aspx</ref><ref>http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100715/ap_on_re_as/as_nkorea_crumbling_health_care</ref> − − ==Religion== − {{Main|Religion and Atheism in North Korea}} − − North Korea practices [[state atheism]] and belief in [[God]] is actively discouraged.<ref>Elizabeth Raum. North Korea. Series: Countries Around the World. Heinemann, 2012. ISBN 1432961330. p. 28: «North Korea is an atheist state. This means that people do not pray in public or attend places of worship. Buddhist temples exist from earlier times. They are now preserved as historic buildings, but they are not used for worship. A few Christian churches exist, but few people attend services. North Koreans do not celebrate religious holidays.»</ref> Open Doors, an organization based in the United States, has put North Korea at the very top of its list of countries where [[Christianity|Christians]] face significant persecution - for 12 years in a row.<ref>[http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-10-22/repressive-atheist-north-korea-has-surprising-relationship-christian-missionaries Repressive, atheist North Korea has a surprising relationship with Christian missionaries]</ref> − − The 2007 KINU White Paper indicated that the regime utilizes authorized religious entities for external propaganda and political purposes, and that citizens are strictly barred from entering places of worship. Ordinary citizens consider such sites to be primarily sightseeing spots for foreigners. KINU concluded that the lack of churches or religious facilities in the provinces indicates that ordinary citizens do not enjoy religious freedom. − − Little is known about the day-to-day life of religious persons in the country. Members of government-controlled religious groups did not appear to suffer discrimination. Some reports claimed, and circumstantial evidence suggested, that many, if not most of these groups, have been organized by the regime for propaganda and political purposes, including meeting with foreign religious visitors. − − The number of religious believers is unknown but was estimated by the Government to be 10,000 Protestants, 10,000 Buddhists, and 4,000 Catholics. Estimates by South Korean and international church-related groups were considerably higher. In addition, the Chondogyo Young Friends Party, a government-approved group based on a traditional religious movement, had approximately 40,000 practitioners, according to the Government.<ref>See [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108410.htm U.S. State Department "International Religious Freedom Report 2008"]</ref> − − In Pyongyang there were reportedly four state-controlled Christian churches: two Protestant churches under lay leadership (Bongsu and Chilgol Churches), the Changchung Roman Catholic Church, and the Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church. The Chilgol Church is dedicated to the memory of former leader Kim Il-sung's mother, Kang Pan-sok, who was a Presbyterian deaconess. The number of congregants regularly worshiping at these churches is unknown. − − The Presbyterian Church of Korea in the South was partnering with the Christian Association in North Korea to rebuild Bongsu Church. In the fall of 2006, a delegation of 90 Christians from South Korea visited the Bongsu church to celebrate completion of its first phase of renovation. According to religious leaders who traveled to the country, there were Protestant pastors at these churches, although it was not known if they were resident or visiting. − − In its July 2002 report to the U.N. Human Rights Committee, the Government reported the existence of 500 "family worship centers." However, according to the 2007 Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU) White Paper, defectors interviewed were unaware of any such centers. Observers stated that "family worship centers" may be part of the state-controlled Korean Christian Federation, while an unknown number of "underground churches" operate apart from the Federation and are not recognized by the Government. Some NGOs and academics estimate there may be up to several hundred thousand underground Christians in the country. Others question the existence of a large-scale underground church or conclude that no reliable estimate of the number of underground religious believers exists. Individual underground congregations are reportedly very small and confined to private homes. At the same time, some NGOs reported that the individual churches are connected to each other through well-established networks. The regime has not allowed outsiders the access necessary to confirm such claims. − − There were an estimated 300 Buddhist temples. Most were regarded as cultural relics, but religious activity was permitted in some. A few Buddhist temples and relics have been renovated or restored in recent years under a broad effort aimed at "preserving the Korean nation's cultural heritage." In 2007 reconstruction was completed on the Shingye or Singyesa (Holy Valley) Temple, which was destroyed during the Korean War. The Republic of Korea (ROK) Government and foreign tourists funded the reconstruction. A South Korean monk, the first to permanently reside in North Korea, has lived at the temple since 2004 but serves primarily as a guide for visiting tourists rather than as a pastor caring for Buddhists living in the area. − − The Government announced in June 2007 that 500 monks and Buddhist followers were making day-long pilgrimages to the recently renovated Ryongthong temple in Kaesong strictly for religious purposes. Foreign diplomats in Pyongyang who visited the temple were told that the two monks living there may be joined by more. State-controlled press reported on several occasions that Buddhist ceremonies had been carried out in various locations. Official reporting also linked descriptions of such ceremonies with the broader theme of Korean unification. − − The Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church opened in Pyongyang in 2006. The church was reportedly commissioned by Kim Jong-il after he visited an Orthodox cathedral in Russia in 2002. Two North Koreans who studied at the Russian Orthodox Seminary in Moscow have been ordained as priests and are serving at the church. The purported aim of the church was primarily to provide pastoral care of Russians in the country, but one religious leader with access to the country speculated that the church likely extended pastoral care to all Orthodox Koreans as well. Similar to other religious groups, no reliable data exists on the number of Orthodox believers. − − Several foreigners residing in Pyongyang attended Korean-language services at the Christian churches on a regular basis. Some foreigners who visited the country stated that church services appeared staged and contained political content supportive of the regime, in addition to religious themes. Foreign legislators attending services in Pyongyang in previous years noted that congregations arrived at and departed services as groups on tour buses, and some observed that they did not include any children. Other foreigners noted that they were not permitted to have contact with congregants. Foreign observers had limited ability to ascertain the level of government control over these groups, but it was generally assumed they were monitored closely. According to the 2007 KINU White Paper, defectors reported being unaware of any recognized religious organizations that maintained branches outside of Pyongyang. − − Several schools for religious education exist. There are 3-year colleges for training Protestant and Buddhist clergy. A religious studies program also was established at Kim Il-sung University in 1989; its graduates usually worked in the foreign trade sector. In 2000 a Protestant seminary was reopened with assistance from foreign missionary groups. Critics, including at least one foreign sponsor, charged that the Government opened the seminary only to facilitate reception of assistance funds from foreign faith-based NGOs. The Chosun Christian Federation, a religious group believed to be controlled by the Government, contributed to the curriculum used by the seminary. The Chosun Christian League operates the Pyongyang Theological Academy, a graduate institution that trains pastors affiliated with the Korean Christian Federation. − − ==Government and Political Conditions== − North Korea has a centralized government under the rigid control of the communist [[Workers' Party of Korea]] (WPK), to which all government officials belong. A few minor political parties are allowed to exist in name only. Kim Il-sung ruled North Korea from 1948 until his death in July 1994. Kim served both as Secretary General of the WPK and as President of North Korea. − − Little is known about the actual lines of power and authority in the North Korean Government despite the formal structure set forth in the constitution. Following the death of Kim Il-sung, his son—Kim Jong-il—inherited supreme power. Kim Jong-il was named General Secretary of the KWP in October 1997, and in September 1998, the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) reconfirmed Kim Jong-il as Chairman of the National Defense Commission and declared that position as the "highest office of state." However, the President of the Presidium of the National Assembly, Kim Yong-nam, serves as the nominal head of state. North Korea's 1972 constitution was amended in late 1992 and in September 1998. − − The constitution designates the Central People's Committee (CPC) as the government's top policymaking body. The CPC makes policy decisions and supervises the cabinet, or State Administration Council (SAC). The SAC is headed by a premier and is the dominant administrative and executive agency. − − Officially, the legislature, the SPA, is the highest organ of state power. Its members are elected every four years. Usually only two meetings are held annually, each lasting a few days. A standing committee elected by the SPA performs legislative functions when the Assembly is not in session. In reality, the Assembly serves only to ratify decisions made by the ruling KWP. − − North Korea's judiciary is "accountable" to the SPA and the president. The SPA's standing committee also appoints judges to the highest court for four-year terms that are concurrent with those of the Assembly. − − Administratively, North Korea is divided into nine provinces and four provincial-level municipalities--[[Pyongyang]], [[Chongjin]], [[Nampo]], and [[Kaesong]]. It also appears to be divided into nine military districts. − − ===Principal Party and Government Officials=== − *Kim Il-Sung—Eternal President (deceased since 1995) − *Kim Jong-un—First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, First Chairman of the National Defense Commission, Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission; grandson of North Korea's founder Kim Il-sung − *Kim Yong-nam—President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly; titular head of state − *Pak Gil-yon—Ambassador to DPRK Permanent Mission to the UN − *Pak Ui-chun—Minister of Foreign Affairs − − ===Propaganda=== − − The DPRK is notorious for its heavy use of political propaganda, revisionist history and [[cult of personality]] surrounding Kim Jong-un, Kim Jong-il and Kim il-Sung. The media is heavily controlled and only state-controlled radio and television broadcasts are permitted for public consumption. This control allows the regime to propagate its many lies and perceptions of the country. − − ==== Cult of Personality ==== − − The North Korean state maintains an intense cult of personality surrounding Kim, his son, Kim Jong-il and his grandson Kim Jong-un. All North Koreans wear badges with an image of either (or both) Kims and portraits of the deceased leader are voluminous both in cities and the countryside. The capital city of Pyonyang has over 600 statues of Kim, including a 25-metre bronze statue built in 1972 for his sixtieth birthday. − − Kim's personality cult is largely based on historical revisionism and many absurd "facts" to emphasize his "divine" abilities and power. Among these: − − *He was born under a double rainbow on the sacred Baektul Mountain in 1942. At the moment of his birth, a bright star lit up the sky, the seasons spontaneously changed from winter to spring and a double rainbow appeared in the sky.(In truth, he was born in Vyatskoye, Siberia in 1941.)<ref>http://asianhistory.about.com/od/profilesofasianleaders/p/BioKimJongil.htm</ref> − − *During the Japanese colonial rule of Korea, he fought in more than 100,000 battles in 15 years (over 20 battles a day). (While Kim was in the Soviet army, he never participated in actual combat.)<ref>http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/champion/65/pers_cult.htm</ref> − − *He scored eleven holes-in-one the first time he ever played a game of golf.<ref>https://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/02/16/kim.birthday.reut/</ref> − − *He invented the hamburger.<ref>http://listverse.com/2010/05/30/top-10-crazy-facts-about-kim-jong-il/</ref> − − *He scored a perfect 300 the first time he went bowling.<ref>https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2011/1222/Kim-Jong-il-Legendary-golfer-and-mythical-powers-even-in-death</ref> − − *When he died, "the skies glowed red above Mount Paektu and the impenetrable sheet of ice at the heart of the mystical volcano cracked with a deafening roar." <ref>https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/22/kim-jong-il-dies-myths_n_1164755.html</ref> − − In large part because of this cult of personality aspect to propaganda, the various propaganda films for North Korea, in the exact opposite of how state propaganda is generally used to uphold the people of a nation, usually depicts the North Korean people as being weak while the enemy was depicted as strong to reinforce the need of the Kim Dynasty. A notable example of this is in the animated North Korean propaganda film ''Squirrel and Hedgehog'', where the protagonists (representing North Koreans) are depicted largely as effeminate squirrels and ducks and other assorted prey animals that constantly cry, while the antagonists, demonic wolves (representing Americans) were depicted as extremely competent and given a very imposing appearance. − − ====Revisionist history==== − − Despite overwhelming historical and historiographical evidence, North Korean media and schools maintain the myth that the South as well as the United States attacked the North first. They thus responded by counter-attacking to liberate the nation in the "Fatherland Liberation War".<ref>https://www.voanews.com/content/north-koreas-war-history-is-mirror-opposite-world-view-96978424/165902.html</ref> They also claim that the North was victorious despite the face that there is no peace treaty and no historical evidence to back such a claim. − − ====Anti-American and other propaganda ==== − − As well as the state-sponsored propaganda served up to its own citizens, the DPRK attempts to push its message onto South Koreans as well. − − The best examples are found on the North Korean side of the DMZ, where massive hillside signs point to the U.S. as an enemy of reunification and boast of a prosperous life in the North. More absurd is Jikong-dong, also known as "Propaganda village," a fake town intended to show the fine living conditions in the North.<ref>http://www.nickspics.net/v/Travel/South_Korea_2009/IMG_2075_5DMK2.JPG.html</ref> The town is devoid of human life and was quickly exposed as a sham when Southern officials noticed that all city lights turned on and off at the same time each day, most windows contained no glass and there was no evident civilian life. The town also boasts the world's tallest flagpole, bearing a North Korean flag weighing 600 pounds.<ref>https://www.flickr.com/photos/aaronbrownphotos/3514929586/</ref> − − ===Censorship=== − − The North Korean government—which controls and owns all [[mainstream media|media]] and news outlets within its boundaries—censors information going into and out of the country. Television sets and radios distributed within North Korea are set to only allow watching and listening to state controlled programming.<ref name=cjfe>https://cjfe.org/resources/features/north-korea-exposed-censorship-world’s-most-secretive-state</ref> The non-governmental organization Freedom House has rated the regime as "not free" and labeled it as "repressive", due to its censorship of information within its borders.<ref>https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2013/north-korea#.VJn5qaANAA</ref> − Within North Korea, access to the internet is limited to a select few people.<ref name=cjfe/> Other residents of North Korea who are privileged enough to have access to computers can only access a local intranet called Kwangmyong, meaning "bright". Content hosted on the Kwangmyong is tightly restricted, and the email and chat messages sent on it are monitored.<ref>http://globalnews.ca/news/1124882/surfing-the-intranet-north-koreas-authoritarian-alternative-to-the-world-wide-web/</ref>+ − + − North Korea's relationship with the South has determined much of its post-[[World War II]] history and still undergirds much of its foreign policy. North and South Korea have had a difficult and acrimonious relationship from the Korean War. In recent years, North Korea has pursued a mixed policy—seeking to develop economic relations with South Korea and to win the support of the South Korean public for greater North-South engagement while at the same time continuing to denounce the R.O.K.'s security relationship with the United States and maintaining a threatening conventional force posture on the DMZ and in adjacent waters. Technically, neither the North or the South recognizes its counterpart as an official nation, and both declare themselves to be the sole legitimate government of the Korean peninsula. − + − During the postwar period, both Korean governments have repeatedly affirmed their desire to reunify the Korean Peninsula, but until 1971 the two governments had no direct, official communications or other contact. + − + − In August 1971, North and South Korea held talks through their respective Red Cross societies with the aim of reuniting the many Korean families separated following the division of Korea and the Korean War. In July 1972, the two sides agreed to work toward peaceful reunification and an end to the hostile atmosphere prevailing on the peninsula. Officials exchanged visits, and regular communications were established through a North-South coordinating committee and the Red Cross. These initial contacts broke down in 1973 following South Korean President Park Chung-hee's announcement that the South would seek separate entry into the United Nations, and after the kidnapping of South Korean opposition leader Kim Dae-jung—perceived as friendly to unified entry into the UN—by South Korean intelligence services. There was no other significant contact between North and South Korea until 1984. − Dialogue was renewed in September 1984, when South Korea accepted the North's offer to provide relief goods to victims of severe flooding in South Korea. Red Cross talks to address the plight of separated families resumed, as did talks on economic and trade issues and parliamentary-level discussions. However, the North then unilaterally suspended all talks in January 1986, arguing that the annual U.S.-ROK "Team Spirit" military exercise was inconsistent with dialogue. There was a brief flurry of negotiations that year on co-hosting the upcoming 1988 Seoul Olympics, which ended in failure and was followed by the 1987 bombing of a South Korean commercial aircraft (KAL 858) by North Korean agents. + − In July 1988, South Korean President Roh Tae-woo called for new efforts to promote North-South exchanges, family reunification, inter-Korean trade, and contact in international forums. Roh followed up this initiative in a UN General Assembly speech in which South Korea offered for the first time to discuss security matters with the North. Initial meetings that grew out of Roh's proposals started in September 1989. In September 1990, the first of eight prime minister-level meetings between North Korean and South Korean officials took place in Seoul. The prime ministerial talks resulted in two major agreements: the Agreement on Reconciliation, Nonaggression, Exchanges, and Cooperation (the "Basic Agreement") and the Declaration on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula (the "Joint Declaration"). + + − The Basic Agreement, signed on December 13, 1991, called for reconciliation and nonaggression and established four joint commissions. These commissions—on South-North reconciliation, South-North military affairs, South-North economic exchanges and cooperation, and South-North social and cultural exchange—were to work out the specifics for implementing the basic agreement. Subcommittees to examine specific issues were created, and liaison offices were established in Panmunjom, but in the fall of 1992 the process came to a halt because of rising tension over North Korea's nuclear program. + − − The Joint Declaration on denuclearization was initialized on December 31, 1991. It forbade both sides from testing, manufacturing, producing, receiving, possessing, storing, deploying, or using nuclear weapons and forbade the possession of nuclear reprocessing and uranium enrichment facilities. A procedure for inter-Korean inspection was to be organized and a North-South Joint Nuclear Control Commission (JNCC) was mandated to verify the denuclearization of the peninsula. − − On January 30, 1992, the D.P.R.K. finally signed a nuclear safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as it had pledged to do in 1985 when it acceded to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). This safeguards agreement allowed IAEA inspections to begin in June 1992. In March 1992, the JNCC was established in accordance with the Joint Declaration, but subsequent meetings failed to reach agreement on the main issue of establishing a bilateral inspection regime. − − As the 1990s progressed, concern over the North's nuclear program became a major issue in North-South relations and between North Korea and the United States. The lack of progress on implementation of the Joint Declaration's provision for an inter-Korean nuclear inspection regime led to reinstatement of the U.S.-R.O.K. Team Spirit military exercise for 1993. The situation worsened rapidly when North Korea, in January 1993, refused IAEA access to two suspected nuclear waste sites and then announced in March 1993 its intent to withdraw from the NPT. During the next two years, the United States held direct talks with the D.P.R.K. that resulted in a series of agreements on nuclear matters, including the 1994 Agreed Framework (which broke down in 2002 when North Korea was discovered to be pursuing a uranium enrichment program for nuclear weapons—see below, Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula). − − At his inauguration in February 1998, R.O.K. President Kim Dae-jung enunciated a new policy of engagement with the D.P.R.K., dubbed "the Sunshine Policy." The policy had three fundamental principles: no tolerance of provocations from the North, no intention to absorb the North, and the separation of political cooperation from economic cooperation. Private sector overtures would be based on commercial and humanitarian considerations. The use of government resources would entail reciprocity. This policy set the stage for the first inter-Korean summit, held in Pyongyang June 13–15, 2000. − − R.O.K. President Roh Moo-hyun, following his inauguration in February 2003, has continued his predecessor's policy of engagement with the North, though he abandoned the name "Sunshine Policy." The United States supports President Roh's engagement policy and North-South dialogue and cooperation. Major economic reunification projects have included a tourism development in Mt. Geumgang, the re-establishment of road and rail links across the demilitarized zone (DMZ) and a joint North-South industrial park near the North Korean city of Kaesong (see further information below in the section on the Economy). In August 2007, the R.O.K. and D.P.R.K. announced plans to hold a second inter-Korean summit, scheduled for October 2–4 in Pyongyang. − − ===Relations Outside the Korean Peninsula=== − Throughout the Cold War, North Korea balanced its relations with China and the Soviet Union to extract the maximum benefit from the relationships at minimum political cost. In the 1970s and early 1980s, the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and China, the Soviet-backed Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia, and the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan created strains between China and the Soviet Union and, in turn, in North Korea's relations with its two major communist allies. North Korea tried to avoid becoming embroiled in the Sino-Soviet split, obtaining aid from both the Soviet Union and China and trying to avoid dependence on either. Following Kim Il-sung's 1984 visit to Moscow, there was an improvement in Soviet-D.P.R.K. relations, resulting in renewed deliveries of Soviet weaponry to North Korea and increases in economic aid. − − The establishment of diplomatic relations by South Korea with the Soviet Union in 1990 and with China in 1992 seriously strained relations between North Korea and its traditional allies. Moreover, the fall of communism in eastern Europe in 1989 and the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991 resulted in a significant drop in communist aid to North Korea. Despite these changes and its past reliance on this military and economic assistance, North Korea continued to proclaim a militantly independent stance in its foreign policy in accordance with its official ideology of "juche," or self-reliance. − − Both North and South Korea became parties to the Biological Weapons Convention in 1987. (North Korea is not a member of the Chemical Weapons Convention, nor is it a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime, or MTCR.) − − North Korea has maintained membership in some multilateral organizations. It became a member of the UN in September 1991. North Korea also belongs to the Food and Agriculture Organization; the International Civil Aviation Organization; the International Postal Union; the UN Conference on Trade and Development; the International Telecommunications Union; the UN Development Program; the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization; the World Health Organization; the World Intellectual Property Organization; the World Meteorological Organization; the International Maritime Organization; the International Committee of the Red Cross; and the Nonaligned Movement. − − In the mid-1990s, when the economic situation worsened dramatically and following the death of D.P.R.K. founder Kim Il-sung, the North abandoned some of the more extreme manifestations of its "self reliance" ideology to accept foreign humanitarian relief and create the possibility, as noted below, for foreign investment in the North. In subsequent years, the D.P.R.K. has continued to pursue a tightly restricted policy of opening to the world in search of economic aid and development assistance. However, this has been matched by an increased determination to counter perceived external and internal threats by a self-proclaimed "military first" ("Songun") policy. − − During the present period of limited, extremely cautious opening, North Korea has sought to broaden its formal diplomatic relationships. In July 2000, North Korea began participating in the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), with Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun attending the ARF ministerial meeting in Bangkok. The D.P.R.K. also expanded its bilateral diplomatic ties in that year, establishing diplomatic relations with Italy, Australia, the Philippines, Australia, Canada, the U.K., Germany, and many other European countries. − − In the September 19, 2005 Joint Statement issued at the end of the fourth round of Six-Party Talks, the United States and the D.P.R.K. committed to undertake steps to normalize relations (see below, Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula). The D.P.R.K. and Japan also agreed to take steps to normalize relations and to discuss outstanding issues of concern, such as abductions. The U.S.-D.P.R.K. and Japan-D.P.R.K. bilateral working groups on normalization of relations met in March and September 2007. − − ====Terrorism==== − North Korea is not officially known to have sponsored terrorist acts since the 1987 bombing of KAL flight 858. Pyongyang continues to provide sanctuary to members of the Japanese Communist League-Red Army Faction (JRA) who participated in the hijacking of a Japan Airlines flight to North Korea in 1970. It has also supplied training, help and weapons to [[Hezbollah]] and other Islamic terrorist groups and maintains relations with Islamic dictatorship and state sponsor of terrorism [[Iran]].<ref>[https://www.forbes.com/sites/claudiarosett/2014/05/12/eyes-wide-shut-to-north-koreas-terror-ties/ Eyes Wide Shut to North Korea's Terror Ties] at Forbes.com</ref><ref>[https://www.weeklystandard.com/north-korea-sponsors-terrorism/article/ North Korea Sponsors Terrorism] at the ''Weekly Standard''</ref> − − North Korea has made several statements claiming to condemning terrorism. In October 2000, the United States and North Korea issued a joint statement on terrorism in which "the two sides agreed that international terrorism poses an unacceptable threat to global security and peace, and that terrorism should be opposed in all its forms." The United States and North Korea agreed to support the international legal regime combating international terrorism and to cooperate with each other to fight terrorism. North Korea became a signatory to the Convention for the Suppression of Financing of Terrorism and a party to the Convention Against the Taking of Hostages in November 2001. In the February 13, 2007 Initial Actions agreement, the [[United States of America]] agreed to begin the process of removing the designation of North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism. On Saturday October 11, 2008. The United States officially removed North Korea from the Terrorism Watch List.<ref>[https://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,436382,00.html North Korea no longer a recognized Terrorist sponsor.]</ref> − − ====Abductions==== − In the past, the D.P.R.K. has also been involved in the abduction of foreign citizens. In 2002, Kim Jong-il acknowledged to Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi the involvement of D.P.R.K. "special institutions" in the kidnapping of Japanese citizens between 1977 and 1983 and said that those responsible had been punished. While five surviving victims and their families were allowed to leave the D.P.R.K. and resettle in Japan in October 2002, 12 other cases remain unresolved and continue to be a major issue in D.P.R.K.-Japanese relations. In October 2005, the D.P.R.K. acknowledged for the first time having kidnapped R.O.K. citizens in previous decades, claiming that several abductees, as well as several POWs from the Korean War, were still alive. In June 2006, North Korea allowed Kim Young-nam, a South Korean abducted by the North in 1978, to participate in a family reunion. − − In 2001, a series of articles in foreign and Russian Federation newspapers, resting on reports from Russian Federation human rights activists and Amnesty International and the New York-based Human Rights Watch alleged the D.P.R.K. abduction of up to 30,000 North Korean dissidents as well as common citizens to work in the Siberian labor and forestry camps in a scheme to pay off billions owed by North Korea to the Russia of both Soviet and Federation times. This forced labor was similar in nature and form to the gulags of Soviet Russia (see [[Essay: KAL 007 Survivors and Gulags of Russia]]). − − ==== North Korea and cyber crime ==== − − See: [[Atheistic North Korea and cyber crime|North Korea and cyber crime]] − − ===United States policy towards North Korea=== − ====U.S. Support for North-South Dialogue and Reunification==== − The United States supports the peaceful reunification of Korea on terms acceptable to the Korean people and recognizes that the future of the Korean Peninsula is primarily a matter for them to decide. The United States believes that a constructive and serious dialogue between the authorities of North and South Korea is necessary to resolve outstanding problems, including the North's nuclear program and human rights abuses, and to encourage the North's integration with the rest of the international community. − − ====Efforts to Denuclearize the Korean Peninsula==== − [[File:DPKR camps and nukes.png|right|200px|thumb|Locations of major hard-labor/re-education camps where the inmate population exceeds 20,000 each, nuclear-related facilities, and the test bomb site]] − North Korea joined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a non-nuclear weapons state in 1985. North and South Korean talks begun in 1990 resulted in the 1992 Joint Declaration for a Non-Nuclear Korean Peninsula (see, under Foreign Relations, Reunification Efforts Since 1971). However, the international standoff over the North's failure to implement an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency for the inspection of the North's nuclear facilities led Pyongyang to announce in March 1993 its intention to withdraw from the NPT. A UN Security Council Resolution in May 1993 urged the D.P.R.K. to cooperate with the IAEA and to implement the 1992 North-South Denuclearization Statement. It also urged all UN Member States to encourage the D.P.R.K. to respond positively to this resolution and to facilitate a solution to the nuclear issue. − − The United States opened talks with the D.P.R.K. in June 1993 and eventually reached agreement in October 1994 on a diplomatic roadmap, known as the Agreed Framework, for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The Agreed Framework called for the following steps: − *North Korea agreed to freeze its existing nuclear program and allow monitoring by the IAEA. − *Both sides agreed to cooperate to replace the D.P.R.K.'s graphite-moderated reactors with light-water reactor (LWR) power plants, by a target date of 2003, to be financed and supplied by an international consortium (later identified as the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization or KEDO). − *As an interim measure, the United States agreed to provide North Korea with 500,000 tons of heavy fuel oil annually until the first reactor was built. − *The United States and D.P.R.K. agreed to work together to store safely the spent fuel from the five-megawatt reactor and dispose of it in a safe manner that did not involve reprocessing in the D.P.R.K. − *The two sides agreed to move toward full normalization of political and economic relations. − *The two sides agreed to work together for peace and security on a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. − *The two sides agreed to work together to strengthen the international nuclear non-proliferation regime. − In accordance with the terms of the Agreed Framework, in January 1995 the U.S. Government eased economic sanctions against North Korea in response to North Korea's freezing its graphite-moderated nuclear program under United States and IAEA verification. North Korea agreed to accept the decisions of KEDO, the financier and supplier of the LWRs, with respect to provision of the reactors. KEDO subsequently identified Sinpo as the LWR project site and held a groundbreaking ceremony in August 1997. In December 1999, KEDO and the (South) Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) signed the Turnkey Contract (TKC), permitting full-scale construction of the LWRs. − − In January 1995, as called for in the 1994 Agreed Framework, the United States and D.P.R.K. negotiated a method to store safely the spent fuel from the D.P.R.K.'s five-megawatt nuclear reactor. Under this method, United States and D.P.R.K. operators worked together to can the spent fuel and store the canisters in a spent fuel pond; canning began in 1995. In April 2000, canning of all accessible spent fuel rods and rod fragments was completed. − − In 1998, the United States identified an underground site in Kumchang-ni, North Korea, which it suspected of being nuclear-related. In March 1999, after several rounds of negotiations, the United States and D.P.R.K. agreed that the United States would be granted "satisfactory access" to the underground site at Kumchang-ni. In October 2000, during D.P.R.K. Special Envoy Marshal Jo Myong-rok's visit to Washington, and after two visits to the site by teams of U.S. experts, the United States announced in a Joint Communiqué with the D.P.R.K. that U.S. concerns about the site had been resolved. − − As called for in former Defense Secretary William Perry's official review of U.S. policy toward North Korea, the United States and the D.P.R.K. launched Agreed Framework Implementation Talks in May 2000 The United States and the D.P.R.K. also began negotiations for a comprehensive missile agreement, pursuant to the Perry recommendations. − − In January 2001, the Bush Administration discontinued nuclear and missile talks, specifying that it intended to review the United States' North Korea policy. The Administration announced on June 6, 2001, that it was prepared to resume dialogue with North Korea on a broader agenda of issues—including North Korea's conventional force posture, missile development and export programs, human rights practices, and humanitarian issues. − − In October 2002, a U.S. delegation confronted North Korea with the assessment that the D.P.R.K. was pursuing a uranium enrichment program, in violation of North Korea's obligations under the NPT and its commitments in the 1992 North-South Joint Declaration on Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the Agreed Framework. North Korean officials asserted to the U.S. delegation, headed by then-Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James A. Kelly, the D.P.R.K.'s "right" to a uranium enrichment program and indicated that that it had such a program. The U.S. side stated that North Korea would have to terminate the program before any further progress could be made in U.S.-D.P.R.K. relations. The United States also made clear that if this program were verifiably eliminated, it would be prepared to work with North Korea on the development of a fundamentally new relationship. Subsequently, the D.P.R.K. has denied the existence of a uranium enrichment program. In November 2002, the member countries of KEDO's Executive Board agreed to suspend heavy fuel oil shipments to North Korea pending a resolution of the nuclear dispute. − − In late 2002 and early 2003, North Korea terminated the freeze on its existing plutonium-based nuclear facilities at Yongbyon, expelled IAEA inspectors, removed seals and monitoring equipment at Yongbyon, announced its withdrawal from the NPT, and resumed reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel to extract plutonium for weapons purposes. North Korea announced that it was taking these steps to provide itself with a deterrent force in the face of U.S. threats and U.S. "hostile policy." Beginning in mid-2003, the North repeatedly claimed to have completed reprocessing of the spent fuel rods previously frozen at Yongbyon and publicly said that the resulting fissile material would be used to bolster its "nuclear deterrent force." There is no independent confirmation of North Korea's claims. The KEDO Executive Board suspended work on the LWR Project beginning December 1, 2003. − − President Bush has made clear that the United States has no intention to invade or attack North Korea. The President has also stressed that the United States seeks a peaceful end to North Korea's nuclear program in cooperation with North Korea's neighbors, who are directly affected by the threat the nuclear program poses to regional stability and security. − − In early 2003, the United States proposed multilateral talks on the North Korean nuclear issue. North Korea initially opposed such a process, maintaining that the nuclear dispute was purely a bilateral matter between the United States and the D.P.R.K. However, under pressure from its neighbors and with the active involvement of China, North Korea agreed to three-party talks with China and the United States in Beijing in April 2003 and to Six-Party Talks with the United States, China, R.O.K., Japan and Russia in August 2003, also in Beijing. During the August 2003 round of Six-Party Talks, North Korea agreed to the eventual elimination of its nuclear programs if the United States were first willing to sign a bilateral "non-aggression treaty" and meet various other conditions, including the provision of substantial amounts of aid and normalization of relations. The North Korean proposal was unacceptable to the United States, which insisted on a multilateral resolution to the issue and opposed provision of benefits before the D.P.R.K.'s complete denuclearization. In October 2003, President Bush said he would consider a multilateral written security guarantee in the context of North Korea's complete, verifiable, and irreversible elimination of its nuclear weapons program. − − China hosted a second round of Six-Party Talks in Beijing in February 2004. The United States saw the results as positive, including the announced intention of all parties to hold a third round by the end of June and to form a working group to maintain momentum between plenary sessions. − − At the third round of Six-Party Talks in Beijing, in June 2004, the United States tabled a comprehensive and substantive proposal aimed at resolving the nuclear issue. All parties agreed to hold a fourth round of talks by the end of September 2004. Despite its commitment, the D.P.R.K. refused to return to the table, and in the months that followed issued a series of provocative statements. In a February 10, 2005, Foreign Ministry statement, the D.P.R.K. declared that it had "manufactured nuclear weapons" and was "indefinitely suspending" its participation in the Six-Party Talks. In Foreign Ministry statements in March, the D.P.R.K. said it would no longer be bound by its voluntary moratorium on ballistic missile launches, and declared itself a nuclear weapons state. − − Following intense diplomatic efforts by the United States and other parties, the fourth round of Six-Party Talks were held in Beijing over a period of 20 days from July–September 2005, with a recess period in August. Discussions resulted in all parties agreeing to a Joint Statement of Principles. In the September 19, 2005 Joint Statement, the six parties unanimously reaffirmed the goal of verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner. The D.P.R.K. for the first time committed to abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs and to return, at an early date, to the NPT and to IAEA safeguards. The other parties agreed to provide economic cooperation and energy assistance. The United States and the D.P.R.K. agreed to take steps to normalize relations subject to bilateral policies, which for the United States includes our concerns over North Korea's ballistic missile programs and deplorable human rights conditions. While the Joint Statement provides a vision of the end-point of the Six-Party process, much work lies ahead to implement the elements of the agreement. − − A fifth round of talks began in November 2005, but ended inconclusively as the D.P.R.K. began a boycott of the Six-Party Talks, citing the "U.S.' hostile policy" and specifically U.S. law enforcement action that had led in September to a freeze of North Korean accounts in Macau's Banco Delta Asia (BDA). The United States held discussions in Kuala Lumpur (July 2006) and New York in (September 2006) with other Six-Party partners, except North Korea, along with representatives from other regional powers in the Asia-Pacific region, to discuss Northeast Asian security issues, including North Korea. On July 4–5, 2006 (local Korea time), the D.P.R.K. launched seven ballistic missiles, including six short- and medium-range missiles and one of possible intercontinental range. In response, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1695 on July 15, which demands that the D.P.R.K. suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile program and reestablish existing commitments to a moratorium on missile launching. The resolution also requires all UN Member States, in accordance with their national legal authorities and consistent with international law, to exercise vigilance and prevent missile and missile-related items, materials, goods and technology from being transferred to the D.P.R.K.'s missile or weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs, prevent the procurement of missiles or related items, materials, goods and services from the D.P.R.K., and the transfer of any financial resources in relation to the D.P.R.K.'s missile or WMD programs. The D.P.R.K. immediately rejected the resolution. − − On October 9, 2006, North Korea announced the successful test of a nuclear explosive device, verified by the United States on October 11. In response, the United Nations Security Council, citing Chapter VII of the UN Charter, unanimously passed Resolution 1718, condemning North Korea and imposing sanctions on certain luxury goods and trade of military units, WMD and missile-related parts, and technology transfers.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6032525.stm</ref> − − The Six-Party Talks resumed in December 2006 after a 13-month hiatus. Following a bilateral meeting between the United States and D.P.R.K. in Berlin in January 2007, another round of Six-Party Talks was held in February 2007. On February 13, 2007, the parties reached an agreement on "Initial Actions for the Implementation of the Joint Statement" in which North Korea agreed to shut down and seal its Yongbyon nuclear facility, including the reprocessing facility and to invite back IAEA personnel to conduct all necessary monitoring and verification of these actions as agreed between the IAEA and the D.P.R.K. The other five parties agreed to provide emergency energy assistance to North Korea in the amount of 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil (HFO) in the initial phase and the equivalent of 950,000 tons of HFO in the next phase of North Korea's denuclearization. The six parties also established five working groups to form specific plans for implementing the Joint Statement in the following areas: denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, normalization of D.P.R.K.-U.S. relations, normalization of D.P.R.K.-Japan relations, economic and energy cooperation, and a Northeast Asia peace and security mechanism. All parties agreed that the working groups would meet within 30 days of the agreement, which they did. The agreement also envisions the directly-related parties negotiating a permanent peace regime on the Korean Peninsula at an appropriate separate forum. As part of the initial actions, North Korea invited IAEA Director General ElBaradei to Pyongyang in early March for preliminary discussions on the return of the IAEA to the D.P.R.K. − − The sixth round of Six-Party Talks took place on March 19–23, 2007. The parties reported on the first meetings of the five working groups. At the invitation of the D.P.R.K., Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill visited Pyongyang in June 2007 as part of ongoing consultations with the six parties on implementation of the Initial Actions agreement. In July 2007, the D.P.R.K. shut down the Yongbyon nuclear facility, as well as an uncompleted reactor at Taechon, and IAEA personnel returned to the D.P.R.K. to monitor and verify the shut-down and to seal the facility. In July 2007, the R.O.K. provided the first shipment of 50,000 tons of HFO under the Initial Actions agreement. The Six-Party Heads of Delegation met July 18–20, 2007 to discuss implementation of the D.P.R.K.'s next phase commitments, including the D.P.R.K.'s provision of a complete declaration of all nuclear programs and disablement of existing nuclear facilities. All five working groups met in August and September to discuss detailed plans for implementation of the next phase of the Initial Actions agreement, and will report the results of those discussions to the next Six-Party plenary meeting. As part of the denuclearization process, the D.P.R.K. invited a team of experts from the United States, China, and Russia to visit the Yongbyon nuclear facility in September 2007 to discuss specific steps that could be taken to disable the facility. − − === North Korea and torture === − − ''See also:'' [[Atheistic communism and torture]] − − The ''Christian Post'' published an article entitled ''North Korean Defector Who Spent 28 Years in Prison Camp Details Hunger, Torture, and Cannibalism in the DPRK'' which stated: − {{cquote|More than 200,000 North Koreans, including children, are imprisoned in camps where many perish from forced labor, inadequate food, and abuse by guards, according to Human Rights Watch. The isolated, secretive nation has no media, functioning civil society, or religious freedom, and pervasive problems include arbitrary arrest, lack of due process, and torture.<ref>[http://www.christianpost.com/news/north-korean-defector-who-spent-28-years-in-prison-camp-details-starvation-torture-and-cannibalism-in-the-dprk-138746/ ''North Korean Defector Who Spent 28 Years in Prison Camp Details Hunger, Torture, and Cannibalism in the DPRK'']</ref>}} − − ==Military== − − Although North Korea has no enemies, its government says it needs nuclear weapons as a deterrent against "the U.S. nuclear threat".<ref>[http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100409/ap_on_re_as/as_nkorea_parliament North Korea denounces new Obama nuclear strategy]"</ref> − − North Korea now has the fourth-largest army in the world. It has an estimated 1.21 million armed personnel, compared to about 680,000 in the South. Military spending is estimated at as much as a quarter of GNP, with about 20% of men ages 17–54 in the regular armed forces. North Korean forces have a substantial numerical advantage over the South (between 2 and 3 to 1) in several key categories of offensive weapons—tanks, long-range artillery, and armored personnel carriers. The North has perhaps the world's second-largest special operations force, designed for insertion behind the lines in wartime. While the North has a relatively impressive fleet of submarines, its surface fleet has a very limited capability. Its air force has twice the number of aircraft as the South, but, except for a few advanced fighters, the North's air force is obsolete.<ref>[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/dprk/air-force-equipment.htm North Korea Air Force Equipment]</ref> The North deploys the bulk of its forces well forward, along the demilitarized zone (DMZ). Several North Korean military tunnels under the DMZ were discovered in the 1970s. − − Over the last several years, North Korea has moved more of its rear-echelon troops to hardened bunkers closer to the DMZ. Given the proximity of Seoul to the DMZ (some 25 miles), South Korean and U.S. forces are likely to have little warning of any attack. The United States and South Korea continue to believe that the U.S. troop presence in South Korea remains an effective deterrent. North Korea's nuclear weapons program has also been a source of international tension (see below, Reunification Efforts Since 1971; Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula). − − In 1953, the Military Armistice Commission (MAC) was created to oversee and enforce the terms of the armistice. Over the past decade, North Korea has sought to dismantle the MAC in a push for a new "peace mechanism" on the peninsula. In April 1994, it declared the MAC void and withdrew its representatives. − − === North Korea the Nuclear-Weapon State: A Likely [[Nuclear target structures|Nuclear Target Structure]]=== − − North Korea is considered a "nuclear-weapon state" (NWS) since it has [[nuclear weapon]] capabilities making it one of the [[Nuclear target structures#Primary Targets|primary targets]] among the world's major [[nuclear target structures]] in a possible [[nuclear war]].<ref>[http://www.nti.org/country-profiles/north-korea/nuclear/ ''Nuclear Country Profile''], [[Washington, DC]]: Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), Last updated: May, 2014. Accessed January 15, 2015</ref> − − ===Ballistic missiles=== − On 7 February 2016, North Korea successfully launched a long-range rocket, carrying the satellite Kwangmyongsong-4, from the Sahoe launching station.<ref>{{Cite web|title = DPRK announces successful launch of Kwangmyongsong-4 satellite - CCTV News - CCTV.com English|url = http://english.cntv.cn/2016/02/07/ARTI98lx135UGjmMIJwXw1FB160207.shtml|website = english.cntv.cn|access-date =}}</ref> Critics suggest that the real purpose of the launch was test a [[ballistic missile]]. The launch was strongly condemned by the [[United Nations Security Council|UN Security Council.]]<ref>{{Cite web|title = UN Security Council vows new sanctions after N Korea's rocket launch|url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-35518058|website = BBC News|access-date = 2016-02-07}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = U.N. Security Council condemns North Korea launch - CNN.com|url = https://www.cnn.com/2016/02/07/asia/north-korea-rocket-launch-window/index.html|website = CNN|access-date =}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title = North Korea rocket launch: UN security council condemns latest violation|url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/07/north-korea-launches-long-range-rocket-it-claims-is-carrying-a-satellite|newspaper = The Guardian|date = 2016-02-07|access-date = 2016-02-07|issn = 0261-3077|language = en-GB|first = Justin McCurry Damien|last = Gayle|last2 = agencies}}</ref> A statement broadcast on Korean Central Television said that a new Earth observation satellite, Kwangmyongsong-4, had successfully been put into orbit less than 10 minutes after lift-off from the Sohae space centre in North Phyongan province. North Korea's National Aerospace Development Administration stated the launch was "an epochal event in developing the country's science, technology, economy and defence capability by legitimately exercising the right to use space for independent and peaceful purposes".<ref>{{Cite web|title = North Korean rocket puts object into space, angers neighbours, U.S.|url = http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-northkorea-satellite-idUKKCN0VG00L|website = Reuters UK|access-date =}}</ref> The launch prompted South Korea and the United States to discuss the possibility of placing an advanced missile defence system in South Korea,<ref>{{Cite web|title = China worried over US-South Korea plans to deploy THAAD missile system - The Economic Times|url = http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/china-worried-over-us-south-korea-plans-to-deploy-thaad-missile-system/articleshow/50892130.cms|website = The Economic Times|access-date = }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = Korea says THAAD 'helpful' to security|url = http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2016/01/205_196787.html|website = koreatimes|access-date =}}</ref> a move strongly opposed by both China and Russia. − − North Korea has fired a number of well-publicized intercontinental ballistic missiles since the beginning of the Trump presidency. Some were aimed at US territory, such as Guam, although they fell harmlessly into the ocean. A couple flew high over Japan. − * The U.S. military has not attempted to shoot down ballistic missiles test-launched by North Korea because they have not been on a trajectory to hit U.S. or allies’ territory.<ref> [https://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-u-s-hasn-t-yet-seen-the-need-to-1505768696-htmlstory.html U.S. hasn't yet seen the need to shoot down North Korean missiles] L.A. Times</ref> − + − North Korean industry is operating at only a small fraction of capacity due to lack of fuel, spare parts, and other inputs. Agriculture is now 30% of GDP, even though agricultural output has not recovered to early 1990 levels. The infrastructure is generally poor and outdated, and the energy sector has collapsed. About 80% of North Korea's terrain consists of moderately high mountain ranges and partially forested mountains and hills separated by deep, narrow valleys and small, cultivated plains. The most rugged areas are the north and east coasts. Good harbors are found on the eastern coast. Pyongyang, the capital, near the country's west coast, is located on the Taedong River. + − *GNI (2004 estimate): $20.8 billion; 26.7% in agriculture and fishery, 27.2% in mining, 13.7% in manufacturing, 32.3% in services (2004). − *Per capita GNI (2004): $914. − *Agriculture: Products--[[rice]], [[potato]]es, [[soybean]]s, [[cattle]], [[pig]]s, [[pork]] and [[egg]]s. − *Mining and manufacturing: Types—military products; machine building; chemicals; mining (gold, coal, iron ore, limestone, magnesite, etc.); metallurgy; textiles; food processing; tourism. − *Trade (2006): Exports--$1.47 billion: minerals, non-ferrous metals, garments, machinery, electric and electronic products, chemicals, precious metals, wood products, and shellfish products. The D.P.R.K. is also thought to earn hundreds of millions of dollars from the unreported sale of missiles, narcotics and counterfeit cigarettes, and other illicit activities. Imports--$2.88 billion: minerals, petroleum, machinery, textiles, chemicals, non-ferrous metals, and animal products. − *Major trading partners (2006): (1) China, (2) R.O.K., (3) Thailand, (4) Russia and (5) Japan. − North Korea experienced a severe famine following record floods in the summer of 1995 and continues to suffer from chronic food shortages and malnutrition. The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) provided substantial emergency food assistance beginning in 1995 (2 million tons of which came from the United States), but the North Korean Government suspended the WFP emergency program at the end of 2005. It has since permitted the WFP to resume operations on a greatly reduced scale through a Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation. External food aid now comes primarily from China and South Korea in the form of grants and long-term concessional loans. South Korea also donates fertilizer and other materials, while China provides energy. South Korea suspended food and fertilizer shipments to the North in response to North Korea's missile launches in July 2006. However, when severe floods later that month threatened to produce another humanitarian crisis, South Korea announced a one-time donation of 100,000 tons of food, matching contributions from South Korean non-governmental organizations (NGOs). South Korea resumed fertilizer shipments to North Korea in late March 2007. In early July, South Korea announced that it would provide $20 million worth of food assistance to the D.P.R.K. through the World Food Program. South Korea also resumed bilateral food aid in June 2007. Following severe flooding in North Korea in August 2007, South Korea announced that it would provide $7.5 million worth of emergency aid materials to North Korea, and $3.2 million to NGOs providing flood assistance in North Korea. The R.O.K. also provided $39.4 million in construction materials to the D.P.R.K. to assist with reconstruction efforts following the floods. The United States provided $100,000 to two U.S. NGOs for antibiotics in the wake of the floods. The United States also announced that is was prepared to engage in discussions with the D.P.R.K. of monitoring arrangements to provide additional substantial humanitarian assistance, including food aid, to the country. + − ====Development Policy====+ − In 1991, following the collapse of the Soviet Union and termination of subsidized trade arrangements with Russia, other former Communist states, and China, North Korea announced the creation of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the northeast regions of Najin (sometime rendered "Rajin"), Chongjin, and Sonbong. Problems with infrastructure, bureaucracy, and uncertainties about investment security and viability have hindered growth and development of this SEZ. The government announced in 2002 plans to establish a Special Administrative Region (SAR) in Sinuiju, at the western end of the North Korea-China border. However, the government has taken few concrete steps to establish the Sinuiju SAR, and its future is uncertain. In addition, North Korea and South Korea have established a special economic zone near the city of Kaesong, where about 20 South Korean companies operate manufacturing facilities employing North Korean workers (see further information under North-South Economic Ties). − North Korea implemented limited micro- and macroeconomic reforms in 2002, including increases in prices and wages, changes in foreign investment laws, a steep currency devaluation, and reforms in industry and management. Though the changes have failed to stimulate recovery of the industrial sector, there are reports of changed economic behavior at the enterprise and individual level. One unintended consequence of the 2002 changes has been severe inflation. An increasing number of North Koreans now try to work in the informal sector to cope with growing hardship and reduced government support. + − ====North-South Economic Ties====+ − Two-way trade between North and South Korea, legalized in 1988, had risen to more than $1 billion by 2005, much of it related to out-processing or assembly work undertaken by South Korean firms in the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC). A significant portion of the total also includes donated goods provided to the North as humanitarian assistance or as part of inter-Korean cooperation projects. Although business-based and processing-on-commission transactions continued to grow, the bulk of South Korean exports to North Korea in 2006 was still non-commercial. − Since the June 2000 North-South summit, North and South Korea have reconnected their east and west coast railroads and roads where they cross the DMZ and are working to improve these transportation routes. North and South Korea conducted tests of the east and west coast railroads on May 17, 2007. Much of the work done in North Korea has been funded by the South. The west coast rail and road are complete as far north as the KIC (six miles north of the DMZ), but little work is being done north of Kaesong. On the east coast, the road is complete but the rail line is far from operational. Since 2003, tour groups have been using the east coast road to travel from South Korea to Mt. Geumgang in North Korea, where cruise ship-based tours had been permitted since 1998. + + + + − As of August 2007, 26 South Korean firms were manufacturing goods in the KIC, employing nearly 17,000 North Korean workers. Most of the goods are sold in South Korea; a small quantity is being exported to foreign markets. Ground was broken on the complex in June 2003, and the first products were shipped from the KIC in December 2004. Plans envision 250 firms employing 350,000 workers by 2012.+ + − ==History==+ − The Korean Peninsula was first populated by peoples of a Tungusic branch of the Ural-Altaic language family, who migrated from the northwestern regions of Asia. Some of these peoples also populated parts of northeast China (Manchuria); Koreans and Manchurians still show physical similarities. Koreans are racially and linguistically homogeneous. Although there are no indigenous minorities in North Korea, there is a small Chinese community (about 50,000) and some 1,800 Japanese wives who accompanied the roughly 93,000 Koreans returning to the North from Japan between 1959 and 1962. Although dialects exist, the Korean spoken throughout the peninsula is mutually comprehensible. In North Korea, the Korean alphabet (hangul) is used exclusively. − + + + + + + + + + + − By the first century AD, the Korean Peninsula was divided into the kingdoms of Shilla, Koguryo, and Paekche. In 668 AD, the Shilla kingdom unified the peninsula. The Koryo dynasty—from which Portuguese missionaries in the 16th century derived the Western name "Korea"—succeeded the Shilla kingdom in 935. The Choson dynasty, ruled by members of the Yi clan, supplanted Koryo in 1392 and lasted until Japan annexed Korea in 1910. + − Throughout its history, Korea has been invaded, influenced, and fought over by its larger neighbors. Korea was under Mongolian occupation from 1231 until the early 14th century. The unifier of Japan, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, launched major invasions of Korea in 1592 and 1597. When Western powers focused "gunboat" diplomacy on Korea in the mid-19th century, Korea's rulers adopted a closed-door policy, earning Korea the title of "Hermit Kingdom." Though the Choson dynasty recognized China's hegemony in East Asia, Korea was independent until the late 19th century. At that time, China sought to block growing Japanese influence on the Korean Peninsula and Russian pressure for commercial gains there. The competition produced the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95 and the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05. Japan emerged victorious from both wars and in 1910 annexed Korea as part of the growing Japanese empire. Japanese colonial administration was characterized by tight control from Tokyo and ruthless efforts to supplant Korean language and culture. Organized Korean resistance during the colonial era was generally unsuccessful, and Japan remained firmly in control of the Peninsula until the end of World War II in 1945. The surrender of Japan in August 1945 led to the immediate division of Korea into two occupation zones, with the United States administering the southern half of the peninsula and the U.S.S.R. taking over the area to the north of the 38th parallel. This division was meant to be temporary until the United States, U.K., Soviet Union, and China could arrange a trusteeship administration. + − In December 1945, a conference was convened in Moscow to discuss the future of Korea. A five-year trusteeship was discussed, and a joint Soviet-American commission was established. The commission met intermittently in Seoul but deadlocked over the issue of establishing a national government. In September 1947, with no solution in sight, the United States submitted the Korean question to the UN General Assembly. Initial hopes for a unified, independent Korea quickly evaporated as the politics of the Cold War and domestic opposition to the trusteeship plan resulted in the 1948 establishment of two separate nations with diametrically opposed political, economic, and social systems. Elections were held in the South under UN observation, and on August 15, 1948, the Republic of Korea (R.O.K.) was established in the South. Syngman Rhee, a nationalist leader, became the Republic's first president. On September 9, 1948, the North established the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (D.P.R.K.) headed by then-Premier Kim Il-sung, who had been cultivated and supported by the U.S.S.R. + − Soviet supervision over the setting up and initial administration of the North Korean government was vested in a Soviet Civil Administration Bureau which carried out policies formulated in the Politburo and passed down through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Political Administration Department of the Sovie [[Red Army]]. Through ministrations of this agency, a veritable flood of Soviet advisors permeated the governmental, economic, social and educational structures of North Korea. Although outwardly maintaining an advisory status, Soviet advisors, in fact, exercised control and supervision over all policy matters. In this manner the USSR created a satellite state which was politically subservient and subject to economic manipulation.+ + − By 1949 nationalization of banking, heavy industry and communications, the agrarian [[redistribution]] program and the political monopoly of unions had taken place and the new regime demonstrated a willingness to lower the standard of living of its people by exporting vitally needed foodstuffs and raw materials in order to obtain the instruments of war.+ − + − ====Korean War of 1950-53====+ − + − Almost immediately after establishment of the D.P.R.K., guerrilla warfare, border clashes, and naval battles erupted between the two Koreas. North Korean forces launched a massive surprise attack and invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950. The United Nations, in accordance with the terms of its Charter, engaged in its first collective action and established the UN Command (UNC), to which 16 member nations sent troops and assistance. Next to South Korea, the United States contributed the largest contingent of forces to this international effort. − − North Korean forces quickly overran Southern ones, capturing almost the entire peninsula save the southern city of Busan. To relieve the Busan perimeter, U.S. General [[Douglas MacArthur]] led a massive amphibious landing at Inchon, over 100 miles behind the North Korean flanks. Kim's forces were pushed back and the battle line fluctuated north and south, and after large numbers of Chinese "People's Volunteers" intervened to assist the North, the battle line stabilized north of Seoul near the 38th parallel. − − Armistice negotiations began in July 1951, but hostilities continued until July 27, 1953. On that date, at Panmunjom, the military commanders of the North Korean People's Army, the Chinese People's Volunteers, and the UNC signed an armistice agreement. Neither the United States nor South Korea is a signatory to the armistice per se, although both adhere to it through the UNC. No comprehensive peace agreement has replaced the 1953 armistice pact. − − ====Atrocities of the Korean War==== − [[Fred Schwarz]] wrote: − :''When the Communists retreated in North Korea, they took with them all the able-bodied personnel to serve as laborers. Those who could not stand the rigors of the northward journey-- old men and women, pregnant women, very young children and babies-- they massacred and buried in a [[mass grave]] if they belonged to the untrustworthy social classes. The advancing American troops time and again found mass graves filled with the bodies of those murdered by the Communists.''<ref>[http://www.schwarzreport.org/yct/01ycttc.htm You Can Trust the Communists - To Be Communists] − </ref> − == North Korea and dog meat eating == − − ''See also:'' [[Atheists and dog meat eating]] − − In 2018, ''USA Today'' published an article entitled '''It's healthier than other kinds of meat': North Koreans eat dog meat to beat the heat''.<ref>[https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/07/25/north-koreans-dog-meat-summer-heat/839246002/ '''It’s healthier than other kinds of meat': North Koreans eat dog meat to beat the heat''], USA Today, July 25, 2018</ref> The ''USA Today'' article declares: "In North Korea, summer is not a good time to be a dog."<ref>[https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/07/25/north-koreans-dog-meat-summer-heat/839246002/ '''It’s healthier than other kinds of meat': North Koreans eat dog meat to beat the heat''], USA Today, July 25, 2018</ref> − − ==Books== − *''The Aquariums of Pyong Yang'' by Kang Chol-hwan − *''Eyes of the Tailless Animals'' (1999) by Soon Ok Lee − *''North Korea'' by Bruce Cuming − *[http://www.time.com/time/columnist/arnold/article/0,9565,1108801,00.html ''Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea''] (graphic novel) by Guy Deslisle − *[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/124221.Don_Oberdorfer ''The Two Koreas''] by Don Oberdorfer − *''Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes On the World'' (2006) by Gordon G. Chang − − ==See also== − * [[Communism]] − * [[Nuclear target structures]] − * [[Big government]] [[Welfare state]] leads to [[Nanny state]], leads to [[Police state]] − * [[Liberal totalitarianism]] − − == References == − {{Reflist}} − − − *[http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/korea_north/index.html Korea, North - 2007] Geographic.org − *[http://www.worldchristianministries.org/idop/idop3.asp Testimony of a high-ranking defector] − *[http://bertschlossberg.blogspot.com/ An Open Secret: the Gulags of the Russian Federation (the North Korean camps on Russian territory)] − − <!--{{Copyright Details (US Government)}} − source= [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2792.htm]--> − {{Asian Countries}} − {{communism}} − [[Category:Dictatorships]] − [[Category:Communist States]] − [[Category:Korea]] − [[Category:Police State]] − [[Category:Oppression]] − [[Category:Anti-American]] − [[Category:Atheism]] − [[Category:Liberalism]] − [[Category:Welfare State]] − [[Category:Threats]]
no edit summary
{{Country
{{Infobox country
|name =조선민주주의인민공화국<br> Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk <br> ''Democratic People's Republic of Korea''
| englishname = Democratic People's Republic of Korea
|map =Korea north rel 2005.jpg
| nativename = 조선민주주의인민공화국
|map2 =NorthKorea location.png
| shortname = DPRK
|flag =Flag of North Korea.png
| mapfile = [[File:DPRK_map.svg.png|300px|frameless|Map of DPRK]]
|arms =Arms of North Korea.png
| flagfile = [[File:Flag_of_the_DPRK.svg.png|125x63px|frameless|Flag of the DPRK]]
|capital =Pyongyang
| emblemfile = [[File:Emblem_of_the_DPRK.svg.png|85x88px|frameless|Emblem of the DPRK]]
|government =Communist totalitarian state
|language =Korean
|area =46,526 sq mi
|pop =25,750,000 (2020)
|gdp-pc =$1,300 (2016)
|currency = North Korean won
}}
}}
'''North Korea''' is the world's most severe [[communist]] [[dictatorship]] and one of the poorest and most [[famine]]-stricken nations on earth. It lies in eastern Asia and occupies the Korean peninsula north of a line that roughly follows the 38th parallel.
The '''Democratic People’s Republic of Korea''' ('''DPRK'''), unofficially known as '''North Korea''', is a [[people’s republic]] in Asia established in 1948. It rests on the northern part of the Korean peninsula, bordering by [[South Korea]] to its south. On their border is the heavily-fortified Korean Demilitarized Zone. North Korea, like South Korea, claims to be the sole legitimate government of the peninsula and adjacent islands. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang.
Getting reliable information out of North Korea is rather difficult, given how secretive the nation is. This facilitates the foreign propaganda efforts against North Korea, however they can still be demonstrated to be false by various means, including comparing contradicting claims or piecing together various bits of evidence.
==History==
Having settled the sovereignty of Japanese rule over the Korean peninsula with the Russian Empire and the United States in 1905, the [[Japanese Empire]] forced a treaty upon Korea, stating that all foreign relations of Korea were to be directly managed by Japan, effectively rendering Korea a Japanese colonial protectorate. After gradually dissolving the Korean army, police, and other previously independent Korean institutions, yet another treaty was signed in 1910, officially annexing Korea.
==People==
From 1910 to 1945, Korea was a direct colony of the Japanese Empire. The Japanese anticommunists coerced the Korean workers into harvesting resources like minerals and food for the Empire. Korean workers themselves subsisted on meager meals. During this period, Korea was still largely preindustrial, and the industry that existed was generally quite simple.<ref>{{safesubst:cite book|last1=Brun|first1=Ellen|last2=Hersh|first2=Jacques|chapter=2|title=Socialist Korea: A Case Study in the Strategy of Economic Development|location=New York|publisher=Monthly Review Press|year=1976|page=58|isbn=0-85345-386-1}}</ref> The average Korean man had to work ten hours a day, whereas women and youths had to work about eleven hours.<ref>{{safesubst:cite book|last1=Brun|first1=Ellen|last2=Hersh|first2=Jacques|chapter=2|title=Socialist Korea: A Case Study in the Strategy of Economic Development|location=New York|publisher=Monthly Review Press|year=1976|page=59|isbn=0-85345-386-1}}</ref> In school they forced Koreans to recite a pledge of allegiance to the Empire, and the anticommunists slowly attempted eradication of their native language.<ref>{{safesubst:cite book|last1=Brun|first1=Ellen|last2=Hersh|first2=Jacques|chapter=2|title=Socialist Korea: A Case Study in the Strategy of Economic Development|location=New York|publisher=Monthly Review Press|year=1976|page=62|isbn=0-85345-386-1}}</ref> When the workers protested their conditions or specifically protested the colonisation itself, the anticommunist occupants acted quite brutally towards them.<ref>{{safesubst:cite book|last1=Brun|first1=Ellen|last2=Hersh|first2=Jacques|chapter=3|title=Socialist Korea: A Case Study in the Strategy of Economic Development|location=New York|publisher=Monthly Review Press|year=1976|page=69|isbn=0-85345-386-1}}</ref> Consequently, the DPRK would purge its government of Axis collaborators<ref>{{safesubst:cite book|last=Cumings|first=Bruce|title=The Origins of the Korean War: Liberation and the emergence of separate regimes, 1945–1947|publisher=Yuksabipyungsa|year=2002|page=161|ISBN=8976966120}}</ref> and the Allies would repatriate hundreds of thousands of Japanese after the Imperialists surrendered in August 1945, although the repatriation of Japanese engineers in particular went slowly at first due to the urgent need for technical expertise at that time.<ref>{{safesubst:cite book|last=Park|first=Jung Jin|editors=Barak Kushner & Sherzod Muminov|title=North Korean Nation Building and Japanese Imperialism: People’s Nation, People’s Diplomacy, and Japanese Technicians|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TMlDwAAQBAJ|publisher=Taylor & Francis|date=2016-12-08|pages=199–220|pageurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TMlDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA199|ISBN=9781317284802}}</ref>
===Foreign Relations===
In 1945 the Red Army came to liberate Korea from Imperial occupation and were greeted as liberators,<ref>{{safesubst:cite book|last1=Brun|first1=Ellen|last2=Hersh|first2=Jacques|chapter=3|title=Socialist Korea: A Case Study in the Strategy of Economic Development|location=New York|publisher=Monthly Review Press|year=1976|page=73|isbn=0-85345-386-1}}</ref> but the Western ruling class wanted all of Korea for itself,<ref>{{safesubst:cite book|last1=Brun|first1=Ellen|last2=Hersh|first2=Jacques|chapter=3|title=Socialist Korea: A Case Study in the Strategy of Economic Development|location=New York|publisher=Monthly Review Press|year=1976|page=74|isbn=0-85345-386-1}}</ref> which is partially why the peninsula is divided today. The other reason is that the Rhee administration, one of the few Koreans sympathetic to Western interests, sabotaged a vote for unification by violently suppressing thousands of voters.<ref>{{safesubst:cite book|last1=Brun|first1=Ellen|last2=Hersh|first2=Jacques|chapter=3|title=Socialist Korea: A Case Study in the Strategy of Economic Development|location=New York|publisher=Monthly Review Press|year=1976|page=84|isbn=0-85345-386-1}}</ref> The Western bourgeoisie established a paramilitary régime; the East did not. There was nothing like that in the DPRK. The Rhee administration was declining in popularity due to their violent antisocialism, but they salvaged the situation by waging war against the DPRK.<ref>{{safesubst:cite book|last1=Brun|first1=Ellen|last2=Hersh|first2=Jacques|chapter=3|title=Socialist Korea: A Case Study in the Strategy of Economic Development|location=New York|publisher=Monthly Review Press|year=1976|page=88|isbn=0-85345-386-1}}</ref> Beginning in 1948, South Korean antisocialists initiated most of the border clashes in Korea;<ref name=trumanlibrary>{{safesubst:cite web|last=Matray|first=James|title=Revisiting Korea: Exposing Myths of the Forgotten War|url=http://trumanlibrary.org/korea/matray1.htm|year=2001|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100707061838/http://trumanlibrary.org/korea/matray1.htm|archivedate=2010-07-07}}</ref> with the support of the American bourgeoisie, antisocialist guerrillas from South Korea invaded Northern villages as early as 1949.<ref>{{safesubst:cite web|last1=Gittings|first1=John|last2=Kettle|first2=Martin|title=US and S Korea accused of war atrocities|url=https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2000/jan/18/johngittings.martinkettle|date=2000-01-18|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170612052302/https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2000/jan/18/johngittings.martinkettle|archivedate=2017-06-12}}</ref> The DRPK suggests that by 1949 the South Korean army had already committed 2,617 armed incursions. There is no evidence confirming that the DPRK started the conflict directly;<ref>{{safesubst:cite book|last1=Brun|first1=Ellen|last2=Hersh|first2=Jacques|chapter=3|title=Socialist Korea: A Case Study in the Strategy of Economic Development|location=New York|publisher=Monthly Review Press|year=1976|pages=88–94|isbn=0-85345-386-1}}</ref> they were just quick to respond.<ref>{{safesubst:cite book|last1=Brun|first1=Ellen|last2=Hersh|first2=Jacques|chapter=3|title=Socialist Korea: A Case Study in the Strategy of Economic Development|location=New York|publisher=Monthly Review Press|year=1976|pages=97–8|isbn=0-85345-386-1}}</ref> Nor is there evidence that the [[Soviet Union]] ordered the DPRK to assault South Korea.<ref name=trumanlibrary/> <ref>{{safesubst:Cite book|last=Blum|first=William|authorlink=|chapter=5|editor=|title=Killing Hope|url=|edition=|location=Monroe, Maine|publisher=Common Courage Press|year=1995|isbn=|oclc=|page=46|pageurl=|text=}}</ref> The Republic of Korea’s army fared poorly to the point where desertion was common,<ref>{{safesubst:cite book|last1=Brun|first1=Ellen|last2=Hersh|first2=Jacques|chapter=3|title=Socialist Korea: A Case Study in the Strategy of Economic Development|location=New York|publisher=Monthly Review Press|year=1976|page=98|isbn=0-85345-386-1}}</ref> but then the Korean bourgeoisie requested assistance from the U.S. Army, who started its assault before anybody passed a [[U.N.]] resolution supporting the Empire’s intervention, and its military forces added to the mayhem in the conflict by introducing the use of napalm;<ref name=trumanlibrary/> the anticommunists promptly proceeded to illegally bomb everything that they could bomb.<ref>{{safesubst:cite web|title=Empire Files: War With North Korea - Propaganda vs. Reality|url=https://invidio.us/embed/QDJlNQlRbIA|accessdate=2020-03-12}}</ref>
The military demarcation line (MDL) of separation between the belligerent sides at the close of the Korean War divides North Korea from South Korea. A demilitarized zone (DMZ) extends for 2,000 meters (just over 1 mile) on either side of the MDL. Both the North and South Korean governments hold that the MDL is only a temporary administrative line, not a permanent border.
The Korean War was ultimately started by the American imperialists and their allies, who overthrew the People's Republic of Korea which had many communist and left-wing nationalist leaders. After the suppression of the peoples committees in the southern zone, they either left to the north or stayed in the south to oppose the US puppet regime.<ref>[https://www.bannedthought.net/Korea-DPRK/KoreanWar/TheUS-ImperialistsStartedTheKoreanWar-1993.pdf The US Imperialists Started the Korean War]</ref> ''The Korean War: An Unanswered Question'' is a book written by a former South Korean ambassador that covers this topic. According to him, Syngman Rhee wanted a violent unification and provoked the war with US backing.<ref>[http://www.bannedthought.net/Korea-DPRK/KoreanWar/TheKoreanWar-AnUnansweredQuestion-1993.pdf ''The Korean War: An Unanswered Question'']</ref>
After the war, the DPRK would proceed to mature just like any other planned economy: literacy, healthcare, food output, electrification, gender equality, cooperatives, population, and related advantages grew.<ref>{{safesubst:cite web|title=Socialism and Democracy in the DPRK|url=https://wp.me/p8zBok-CY|date=2017-03-28|accessdate=2020-01-12}}</ref> In 1947 grain output was one hundred and seventy thousand tons larger than yesteryear and agricultural production continued to increase until, at the time of the Korean War’s outbreak, basic self-sufficiency in food became a possibility.<ref>{{safesubst:cite book|last1=Brun|first1=Ellen|last2=Hersh|first2=Jacques|chapter=4|title=Socialist Korea: A Case Study in the Strategy of Economic Development|location=New York|publisher=Monthly Review Press|year=1976|page=139|isbn=0-85345-386-1}}</ref> But 1,800,000–4,500,000 Asians died as a result of the fighting of 1950–1953.<ref>https://docs.google.com/document/d/1we5OEdteZFfAh11v0s_RVh3LWAkVICGrFnvksVynGxw#heading=h.2mt5q77thopy</ref><ref name=Lucas>{{safesubst:cite web |last=A. Lucas |first=James |title=US Has Killed More Than 20 Million People in 37 “Victim Nations” Since World War II |archiveurl=https://wp.me/p2vCQD-n2Jt |archivedate=27-November-2015 |date=27-November-2015 |url=https://popularresistance.org/?p=78226}}</ref> After the warfare ended, the other [[planned economies]] proceeded to provide the DPRK with reconstruction and other assistance, including a famine prevention.<ref>{{safesubst:cite journal|last=Armstrong|first=Charles|title=The Destruction and Reconstruction of North Korea, 1950 - 1960 北朝鮮の破壊と再建’、1950-1960年|url=https://apjjf.org/-Charles-K.-Armstrong/3460/article.html|journal=Asia-Pacific Journal|volume=7|issue=0|date=2009-03-16}}</ref> Beginning with the process of the postbellum reconstruction in 1953, only 1.2% of peasant households were organized as cooperatives, which encompassed a mere .6% of total acreage. By August of 1958, 100% of peasant households were converted into cooperatives, encompassing 100% of total acreage.<ref>{{safesubst:cite book|last=Cumings|first=Bruce|title=North Korea: Another Country|location=New York|publisher=The New Press|year=2004}}</ref> Despite having only 20% accessible arable land, they announced food sufficiency in 1960.<ref>{{safesubst:cite book|last1=Brun|first1=Ellen|last2=Hersh|first2=Jacques|chapter=6|title=Socialist Korea: A Case Study in the Strategy of Economic Development|location=New York|publisher=Monthly Review Press|year=1976|pages=225–7|isbn=0-85345-386-1}}</ref> By the 1970s they achieved full electrification: practically all households, even in remote hamlets, had access to the benefits of electricity, and by night the lights were visible everywhere in populated areas—not the millions of bright bulbs or neon lights of Western cities, but sufficient to serve its purpose. They intentionally avoided wasting power, and ranked among the most advanced countries as far as economical utilization of electricity is concerned.<ref>{{safesubst:cite book|last1=Brun|first1=Ellen|last2=Hersh|first2=Jacques|chapter=6|title=Socialist Korea: A Case Study in the Strategy of Economic Development|location=New York|publisher=Monthly Review Press|year=1976|page=221|isbn=0-85345-386-1}}</ref> Even many sources which are anti-DPRK say that the North Korean economy and living conditions were originally superior to the South's for the first few decades.<ref>http://countrystudies.us/north-korea/16.htm</ref><ref>http://countrystudies.us/north-korea/46.htm</ref>
====Reunification Efforts Since 1971====
The DPRK has rarely deployed military forces beyond the Korean peninsula, with the exception of 87 Air Force personnel in [[Vietnam]] during 1967–1969,<ref>{{safesubst:cite web|title=North Korea fought in Vietnam War|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/696970.stm|date=2000-03-31|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121203032749/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/696970.stm|archivedate=2012-12-03}}</ref><ref>{{safesubst:cite web|last=Pribbenow|first=Merle|title=North Korean Pilots in the Skies over Vietnam|url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/node/20948}}</ref> a score of pilots to Egypt in 1973,<ref>{{safesubst:cite book|last=Shazly|first=Lieutenant General Saad el|edition=revised|title=The Crossing of the Suez|year=2003|publisher=American Mideast Research|pages=83–84|ISBN=0-9604562-2-8}}</ref> and possibly 1,500 combat troops or pilots to Angola in 1986.<ref>{{safesubst:cite book|last=James III|first=W. Martin|title=A Political History of the Civil War in Angola: 1974–1990|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LlDhDwAAQBAJ|location=New Brunswick|publisher=Transaction Publishers|year=2011|page=212|pageurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=LlDhDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA212|ISBN=978-1-4128-1506-2|LCCN=2010051379}}</ref> Otherwise, military aid has been limited to materiels and military advisors.
After the [[short twentieth century]], the DPRK was left to fend for itself, with almost no other planned economies that it could turn to in case of emergency, and American sanctions restricting trade with any other economies.<ref>{{safesubst:cite book|last1=Whitty|first1=Michael|last2=Kim|first2=Suk|last3=Trevor|first3=Crick|editors=Semoon Chang & Suk Hi Kim|chapter=4|title=The Effectiveness of Economic Sanctions Against North Korea|series=Economic Sanctions Against a Nuclear North Korea: An Analysis of United States and United Nations Actions Since 1950|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dRmayDng2RwC|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|publishers=McFarland & Company, Inc.|year=2007|page=86|pageurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=dRmayDng2RwC&pg=PA86|ISBN=978-0-7864-3231-8}}</ref> Thus when natural disasters devastated their agriculture,<ref>{{safesubst:cite web|title=Democratic People's Republic of Korea|url=https://www1.wfp.org/node/114|accessdate=2020-03-12}}</ref><ref>{{safesubst:cite book|last=Kim|first=Suk|editors=Semoon Chang & Suk Hi Kim|chapter=1|title=North Korea: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow|series=Economic Sanctions Against a Nuclear North Korea: An Analysis of United States and United Nations Actions Since 1950|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dRmayDng2RwC|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|publishers=McFarland & Company, Inc.|year=2007|page=18|pageurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=dRmayDng2RwC&pg=PA18|ISBN=978-0-7864-3231-8}}</ref> and the American upper classes would not even let them join the IMF or World Bank,<ref>{{safesubst:cite book|last1=Abramowitz|first1=Morton|last2=Laney|first2=James|title=Testing North Korea: The Next Stage in U.S. and ROK Policy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6cHqjurgrYEC|publisher=Council on Foreign Relations®, Inc.|year=2001|page=43|pageurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=6cHqjurgrYEC&pg=PA43|ISBN=0-87609-281-4}}</ref> allegedly on grounds of the DPRK’s ‘unwillingness to met the minimum necessary transparency standards, its placement on the U.S. list of states supporting terrorism, and Japanese opposition stemming from unresolved political issues.’<ref>{{safesubst:cite book|last=Kim|first=Samuel|editors=Samuel S. Kim & Tai Hwan Lee|title=North Korea and Northeast Asia in World Politics|series=North Korea and Northeast Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w0Xyv6PvFSoC|location=Lanham, Maryland|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.|year=2002|page=45|pageurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=w0Xyv6PvFSoC&pg=PA45|ISBN=0-7425-1710-1}}</ref> Consequently, possibly one to three million Koreans starved,<ref>{{safesubst:cite web|last1=Uriarte|first1=Damian|last2=O’Conner|first2=Julie|editor=Les Adler|title=U.S. Media Ignores Humanitarian Aspects of Famine in Korea|url=https://projectcensored.org/?p=416|year=1999|accessdate=2020-03-12}}</ref> although the actual number is probably lower.{{efn|The one who proposed the minimum of one million was Andrew Natsios, [https://redd.it/e2uw1b an anticommunist who simply based his statistic on the guesswork of some monks in one Korean village], hence the actual minimum is probably far lower than one million.}} The upper classes were betting that the DPRK would unfiguratively collapse by the twenty-first century.<ref>{{safesubst:cite web|title=Exploring the Implications of Alternative North Korean Endgames: Results for a Discussion Panel on Continuing Coexistence Between North and South Korea|url=https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB205/index.htm#doc14|date=1998-01-21}}</ref>
==Politics==
Western writer Daniel Pinkston reported that the DPRK elected 443 new members (including 107 active military members) in the 1990s.<ref>{{safesubst:Cite journal| publisher = Freedom House | last = Pinkston | first = Daniel| title = North Korea’s 11th Supreme People’s Assembly Elections |url=https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/1998/north-korea|journal = Nuclear Threat Initiative| accessdate = 2019-10-09| date = 2003-07-01|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170302164721/https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/1998/north-korea|archivedate=2017-03-02}}</ref> The Association of Secretaries General of Parliaments determined that the DPRK’s voters cast ballots personally to a deputy in candidacy and in a place where a secret ballot is thoroughly maintained.<ref>{{safesubst:cite web|title=Constitutional and Pariamentary Information|url=http://www.asgp.info/Resources/Data/Documents/CJOZSZTEPVVOCWJVUPPZVWPAPUOFGF.pdf|publisher=Association of Secretaries General of Parliaments|year=1992|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016023953/http://www.asgp.info/Resources/Data/Documents/CJOZSZTEPVVOCWJVUPPZVWPAPUOFGF.pdf|archivedate=2013-10-16}}</ref>
There is a theory that North Korean society is divided into a caste system called "Songbun", however this is not true. [https://rhizzone.net/articles/songbullshit/ There is a good debunking of it on this site].
==Economy==
==Economy==
North Korea's economy declined sharply in the 1990s with the end of communism in Eastern Europe, the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the dissolution of bloc-trading with the countries of the former socialist bloc. Gross national income per capita is estimated to have fallen by about one-third between 1990 and 2002. The economy has since stabilized and shown some modest growth in recent years, which may be reflective of increased inter-Korean economic cooperation. Output and living standards, however, remain far below 1990 levels. Other centrally-planned economies in similar situations opted for domestic economic reform and liberalization of trade and investment. North Korea formalized some modest wage and price reforms in 2002, and has increasingly tolerated markets and a small private sector as the state-run distribution system has deteriorated. The regime, however, seems determined to maintain control. In October 2005, emboldened by an improved harvest and increased food donations from South Korea, the North Korean Government banned private grain sales and announced a return to centralized food rationing. Reports indicate this effort to reassert state control and to control inflation has been largely ineffective. Another factor contributing to the economy's poor performance is the disproportionately large share of GDP (thought to be about one-fourth) that North Korea devotes to its military.
Since the 1970s,<ref>{{safesubst:cite book|title=Communist North Korea: A Bibliographic Survey|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5v_EAAAAMAAJ|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|year=1971|page=38|pageurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=5v_EAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA38}}</ref> citizens in the DPRK have not had to pay any taxes.<ref>{{safesubst:cite web|chapter=II|chapterurl=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Socialist_Constitution_of_the_Democratic_People's_Republic_of_Korea_(2016)#CHAPTER_II._THE_ECONOMY|title=Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea|url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Socialist_Constitution_of_the_Democratic_People's_Republic_of_Korea_(2016)|date=1972-12-27|date_published=2016-06-30}}</ref> Foreign investors still have to pay them, however, and foreigners residing in the DPRK for more than a year are obligated to pay personal income taxes.<ref>{{safesubst:cite book|last=Ko|first=Haksoo|editors=Young Back Choi, Yesook Merrill, Yung Y. Yang & Semoon Chang|chapter=9|title=Foreign Investment Regulation in North Korea: An Assessment|series=Perspectives on Korean Unification and Economic Integration|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EHHtHjTCZ8sC|location=United Kingdom|publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing|page=118|pageurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=EHHtHjTCZ8sC&pg=PA118|ISBN=1-84064-418-4}}</ref>
Comprehensive official statistics have not been made public since the 1960s, likely in part because being open about their economic data would only intensify the effectiveness of the sanctions against them; the Republic of Korea for example could specifically target sensitive sectors of the economy.<ref>{{safesubst:cite journal|last=Feron|first=Henri|title=Doom and Gloom or Economic Boom? The Myth of the 'North Korean Collapse' 破綻か好況か 「北朝鮮崩壊」という神話|url=https://apjjf.org/2014/12/18/Henri-Feron/4113/article.html|journal=Asia-Pacific Journal|volume=12|issue=18|number=3|date=2014-05-02}}</ref> Nevertheless, academics and international organizations have provided data that are probably reliable.
After the famine, the DPRK recontinued its reduction of dystrophy quite consistently this century.<ref name=Smith>{{safesubst:cite journal|last=Smith|first=Hazel|title=Crimes Against Humanity? Unpacking the North Korean Human Rights Debate|journal=Critical Asian Studies|volume=46|issue=1|date=2014-02-19|pages=127–143|doi=10.1080/14672715.2014.863581}}</ref> The official figures in 2015, in conjunction with the additional observations based on FAO satellite analysis and educated analyses regarding production (accumulated from past experience inside the DPRK), have indicated that the food situation was probably improving overall, although the report did lack information from past on-the-ground food security assessment missions.<ref>{{safesubst:cite web|title=The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea: Outlook for Food Supply and Demand in 2014/15 (November/October)|publisher=Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations|date=2015-02-03|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602212015/http://www.fao.org/giews/english/shortnews/20150203DPRK.pdf|archivedate=2016-06-22}}</ref> Data from the World Health Organization as of 2017 indicate that the DPRK probably has a malnutrition rate of less than 2.00,<ref>{{safesubst:Cite web| title = MALNUTRITION DEATH RATE BY COUNTRY| work = World Life Expectancy| accessdate = 2019-10-09| url = https://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/cause-of-death/malnutrition/by-country/}}</ref> as in 2016.<ref>{{safesubst:cite web|title=Causes of Death - Our World in Data|url=https://ourworldindata.org/causes-of-death#malnutrition|date=2018-02-14|accessdate=2020-04-25}}</ref> In 2018<ref>{{safesubst:Cite web| title = 2018 Global Hunger Index Results - Global, Regional, and National Trends - Global Hunger Index - peer-reviewed annual publication designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger at the global, regional, and country levels| work = Global Hunger Index - A Peer-Reviewed Publication| accessdate = 2019-10-09| url = https://www.globalhungerindex.org/results/}}</ref> however, the Global Hunger Index confusingly scored it as ‘serious’, for complicated reasons.<ref name=Smith/> Regardless, food production has grown considerably during this century.<ref>{{safesubst:cite web|last=Silberstein|first=Benjamin|title=Between Sanctions, Drought and Tensions: How Bad is North Korea’s Food Situation?|url=https://www.38north.org/?p=14023|date=2017-11-14|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114225018/http://www.38north.org/2017/11/bksilberstein111417|archivedate=2017-11-14}}</ref> For example, the DPRK successfully constructed a livestock farming base in the Sepho area during 2017.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sepho Area Livestock Farming Base Completed in DPRK|url=https://exploredprk.com/?p=19095|date=2017-10-28|accessdate=2020-01-13}}</ref>
Electrification is unfortunately less common, but library computers are still usable, and sometimes citizens watch television (or have hemp) before or after having foods like apples, corn, grains, potatoes, and soybeans to eat.<ref>{{safesubst:cite book|title=Major Statistics Indicators of North Korea|url=https://kosis.kr/upsHtml/upload/Magazine/NEW/IF/bukhanY17.pdf|year=2017|pages=79–102}}</ref> Over 73% of the DPRK’s electricity comes from clean sources.<ref>{{safesubst:Cite web| title = Korea, North - International - Analysis - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)| accessdate = 2019-10-09| url = https://www.eia.gov/beta/international/analysis.php?iso=PRK}}</ref> The antisocialist ''Reuters'' did a report on solar panels in the DPRK.<ref>{{safesubst:cite web|last=Pearson|first=James|title=In North Korea, solar panel boom gives power to the people|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/northkorea-solar/in-north-korea-solar-panel-boom-gives-power-to-the-people-idUSL4N0XC2O620150421|date=2015-04-21|accessdate=2020-01-22}}</ref>
Antisocialist sources, such as the Republic of Korea’s central bank, have confirmed that in the 2010s the DPRK has enjoyed economic growth at a seventeen-year high despite sanctions and droughts.<ref>{{safesubst:cite web|last1=Kim|first1=Christine|last2=Chung|first2=Jane|title=North Korea 2016 economic growth at 17-year high despite sanctions - South Korea|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-northkorea-economy-gdp/north-korea-2016-economic-growth-at-17-year-high-despite-sanctions-south-korea-idUKKBN1A6083|date=2017-07-21|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170903230926/http://www.reuters.com/article/uk-northkorea-economy-gdp/north-korea-2016-economic-growth-at-17-year-high-despite-sanctions-south-korea-idUKKBN1A6083|archivedate=2017-09-03}}</ref><ref>{{safesubst:cite web|last=Kopf|first=Dan|title=The state of the North Korean economy might surprise you|url=https://qz.com/1300685|date=2018-06-11|accessdate=2020-03-12}}</ref><ref>{{safesubst:Cite web| title = North Korean economic growth surpasses South Korea’s for first time in eight years| accessdate = 2019-10-09| url = http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_northkorea/825246.html}}</ref>
North Korea is self-sufficient in most things besides oil and fuel, which it cannot obtain within it own borders, and so has to rely on allies for these resources. Nonetheless, North Korea has a coal liquefaction program, though it is limited. This self-reliance does not mean isolationism, but rather being prepared for contingencies wherein other countries may not be relied upon, as had happened previously at the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
==Infrastructure==
While there are restrictions on outsiders bringing along their telecommunications, many citizens of the DPRK use mobile telephones regularly, and it isn’t hard to make international calls from the major hotels.<ref name=eyewitness>{{safesubst:cite web|title=An Eyewitness Account of North Korea and Its People: Bravely Building a Friendly, Socialistic Society While in the Cross Hairs of Imperialism|url=https://www.TrotskyistPlatform.com/?p=402|date=2015-03-06|accessdate=2020-03-12}}</ref>
===Health===
The DPRK has immunized themselves from diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis,<ref>{{safesubst:Cite book|last = Smith| first = Hazel| title = North Korea: Markets and Military Rule|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4eBwBwAAQBAJ|publisher=Cambridge University Press| date = 2015-04-09|pageurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=4eBwBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA271|page=271|isbn=978-0-521-89778-5}}</ref> and it provides wheelchairs for its disabled citizens of all ages.<ref>{{safesubst:Cite web|author=counterpropaganda re Korea| title = You can see Pyongyang's wheelchair-using citizens for yourself.pic.twitter.com/AvluAtDY1k| work = @korcounterprop| format = Tweet| accessdate = 2019-10-09| date = 2018-09-21| url = https://nitter.net/i/status/1043310274852220928}}</ref> Abortions are freely permitted as well.<ref>{{safesubst:cite web|title=Abortion law North Korea|url=https://www.womenonwaves.org/en/id/4888|accessdate=2020-03-12}}</ref>
==Defectors==
Though it is true that the DPRK has been suffering from hardship, particularly from the Arduous March (and still does, though its troubles are gradually alleviating), there are several defectors from the country who are notable in spreading misinformation about the it, either exaggerated or outright false. North Korean defectors often have contradictory narratives as well because evidently, there is little collaboration between the various agencies that manage the media presence of such individuals; agencies such as Atlas Network and the National Endowment for Democracy, which incentivize defectors to exaggerate their stories or lie in order to maximize the money they will get for such. Some "defectors" are actually just North Korea's foreign workers who were tricked into defecting with the promise of finding a job, but who then have their passports taken, get locked up in isolation for several months, and then indoctrinated.<ref>{{cite web|title=Loyal Citizens of Pyongyang in Seoul (서울의 평양 시민들)|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktE_3PrJZO0}}</ref>
One of the most prominent defectors is Yeon-mi Park. She has, for example, asserted that when she was growing up in North Korea (she was born in 1993), there were no art galleries or natural history museums,<ref>Park, Yeon-mi. (February 5, 2019) [https://nitter.net/i/status/1092923769893634049 "I was awed by human imagination. This was an astonishing experience. When I was growing up in North Korea, there was no such things like art museums or natural history museums. I mean we… https://instagram.com/p/BthJOt3nlFO"] ''Twitter.com''</ref> which is blatantly false. She makes other such lies about the DPRK in exchange for lucrative payments, with the irony being that the ultimate goal of these false stories is the attempted justification of sanctions which will hurt the very people she says need help. There are times when her narratives are exposed, either by referencing the information to the stories of other defectors or to other existing information, to which she will resort to saying that her English isn't very good (which given her demonstrated ability, isn't very believable), or that she has a poor memory. However, the "poor memory" argument also points to her account being unreliable, if it is assumed to be true. On other occasions, Park has claimed that there is only one television channel in North Korea and that she has seen someone get executed for watching a western film, though North Korea is known to broadcast dubbed western films on national TV. In a 2018 interview, she also gives the impression that she was never taught about the existence of things like Africa or Australia,<ref>Chalupa, Andrea. (June 11, 2018) [https://nitter.net/i/status/1006368736323006464 "Thinking of Yeonmi Park tonight. After escaping North Korea, she had to learn a world of facts, like Australia and Africa exist. Here she is with a rare copy of Animal Farm. She told me reading Animal Farm helped her heal by showing that evil systems are made and are not natural."] ''Twitter.com''</ref> despite the DPRK having no reason to hide the existence of those continents, and it does in fact have world maps and geography textbooks in school.<ref>{{safesubst:cite web|title=DPRK Geography 1 Textbook|url=https://archive.org/stream/DPRKTexts/Education/Secondary/1/geography}}</ref> Reports like these are just attempts to make the DPRK seem as outlandish as possible.
Korea's traditional religions are Buddhism and Shamanism. Christian missionaries arrived as early as the 16th century, but it was not until the 19th century that major missionary activity began. Pyongyang was a center of missionary activity, and there was a relatively large Christian population in the north before 1945. Although religious groups exist in North Korea today, the government severely restricts religious activity.
==Fake executions==
On occasion a story gets reported in Western media that some important person got executed, sometimes brutally, by the North Korean leadership, and often for trivial reasons. There is however an immense amount of falsehood among these kinds of stories, with pretty much all of these people reappearing alive later on, ending up at worst demoted. Some examples include:
*Hyon Song-wol, a singer who was rumored to be Kim Jong-un's girlfriend, was said to have been executed in August 2013 with her immediate family being forced to watch, then sent to prison camps as "victims of the regime's assumption of guilt by association".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130831221629/https://world.time.com/2013/08/29/kim-jong-uns-former-lover-executed-by-firing-squad-after-making-sex-tape Report: Kim Jong Un’s Former Lover Executed by Firing Squad After Making Sex Tape]</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130829105827/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/10272953/Kim-Jong-uns-ex-lover-executed-by-firing-squad.html Kim Jong-un's ex-lover 'executed by firing squad']</ref> It turns out that she was alive, and appeared to have gotten a senior role in the party’s propaganda department, producing and performing music.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140518152202/https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2631112/Kim-Jong-Uns-ex-Hyon-Song-Wol-appears-TV-despite-death-rumours.html Back from the dead? Kim Jong-un’s ex-girlfriend appears on television nine months after reports she'd been EXECUTED for making a sex tape]</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200709142111/https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1307063/North-Korea-news-Kim-Jong-un-alive-Kim-il-sung-grandad-ceremony-world-war-3 Kim Jong-un shock - North Korean leader BACK FROM THE DEAD]</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190609070818/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/executed-singer-trots-back-from-the-dead-fp8clfnl8 ‘Executed’ singer Hyon Song-wol is Kim Jong-un’s new right-hand woman]</ref>
*Kim Hyong-hui, Kim Jong-un's aunt, was reported by a defector to have been poisoned in the mid-2010s because "she complained when her husband was executed".<ref>[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3078006/North-Korean-dictator-Kim-Jong-ordered-poisoning-aunt-complained-husband-executed.html Kim Jong-un 'ordered his aunt be poisoned because she complained when her husband was executed']</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150512070657/https://www.cnn.com/2015/05/11/asia/north-korea-kim-aunt-poisoned/index.html North Korean leader ordered aunt to be poisoned, defector says]</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150512160218/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/11600225/North-Koreas-leader-Kim-Jong-un-poisoned-his-aunt.html North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un 'poisoned his aunt']</ref> She reappeared alongside Kim Jong-un in 2020, at a Lunar New Year concert.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200126192128/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51257178 North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's aunt reappears after six years]</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200127035302/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/27/kim-jong-uns-aunt-reappears-six-years-after-purge-rumours Kim Jong-un's aunt reappears, six years after purge rumours]</ref>
*Hyon Yong-chol, who was said to have been executed with an anti-aircraft gun in front of hundreds of people for minor offenses, such as falling asleep in Kim Jong-un’s presence.<ref>{{safesubst:cite web|title=North Korea defence chief reportedly executed with anti-aircraft gun|url=|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150513094043/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/13/north-korean-defence-minister-executed-by-anti-aircaft-gun-report|archivedate=2015-05-13}}</ref><ref>{{safesubst:cite web|title=North Korea publicly executes defense chief, South Korean spy agency says|url=|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150514225256/http://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/13/asia/north-korea-executes-defense-chief/index.html|archivedate=2015-05-14}}</ref> Two days later he was seen alive and well, with South Korea's National Intelligence Service, which had first reported on the matter, getting its credibility put under scrutiny and questioned upon news of this.<ref>{{safesubst:cite web|title=NIS under scrutiny for claiming Hyon Yong-chol’s execution|url=|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150517114736/http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_northkorea/691425.html|archivedate=2015-05-17}}</ref> Hyon Yong-chol was reported to have been executed '''again''' on March 31, 2019, after a failed summit with the US<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190531000833/https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/31/kim-jong-un-reportedly-executes-officials-after-hanoi-summit-collapse.html North Korea’s Kim Jong Un reportedly executes officials after failed Hanoi summit with US]</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190531182350/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-purge/north-korea-executes-envoy-to-failed-u-s-summit-media-white-house-monitoring-idUSKCN1T02PD North Korea executes envoy to failed U.S. summit -media; White House monitoring]</ref> — once more, he was all right.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190604015430/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48493702 Kim Yong-chol: 'Purged' N Korean diplomat appears with Kim]</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190607175306/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/06/03/north-korea-official-kim-yong-chol-reappears-days-after-purge-report/1326430001 Top North Korean official Kim Yong Chol reappears days after purge report]</ref>
*Ri Yong-gil, who was army chief of staff, was reported to be executed in February 2016.<ref>{{safesubst:cite web|title=North Korea 'executes' army chief of staff Ri Yong-gil|url=|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160210210723/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35543364|archivedate=2016-02-10}}</ref><ref>{{safesubst:cite web|title=Kim's 'Reign of Terror' continues as N. Korean Army General Ri Yong-gil is executed|url=https://invidio.us/watch?v=QFNNDv2-RWI}}</ref> As it turns out, he was indeed alive and actually appointed to two senior-level positions in the government.<ref>{{safesubst:cite web|title=North Korean general thought to be executed is actually alive|url=|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602104650/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/may/10/ri-yong-gil-north-korean-general-thought-be-execut|archivedate=2016-06-02}}</ref> Two years later, he appears again, promoted to one of the top three military chiefs.<ref>{{safesubst:cite web|title=Previously ‘Executed’ North Korean Official Promoted to Military Chief|url=|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608052749/https://sputniknews.com/asia/201806041065095830-Executed-Korean-Promoted-Chief|archivedate=2020-06-08}}</ref> At the KPA foundation parade of February 2018, as well as the 2018 Day of the Sun parade on April 15th, he appears as well standing next to Kim Jong-un.
*Kim Hyok-chol, diplomat to South Korea who according to South Korea's largest newspaper, was said to have been executed by firing squad. It turned out this was false, as he appeared alive four days later.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20200601070431/https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/03/asia/north-korea-diplomats-intl/index.html 'Executed' North Korean diplomat is alive, sources say]</ref>
*Ri Yong-gil, a senior military leader who "executed" in early 2016 for "factionalism, misuse of authority and corruption" was seen alive later in May.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20191220224459/https://www.cnn.com/2016/05/10/asia/north-korea-army-chief-ri-yong-gil-alive/index.html North Korean general, reported executed, turns up at party congress]</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20171229071116/https://www.wsj.com/articles/north-korean-general-reported-executed-appears-to-be-alive-1462851351 North Korean General, Reported Executed, Appears to Be Alive]</ref><ref name "NYT Ri">[https://web.archive.org/web/20200604090544/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/11/world/asia/north-korea-execution.html North Korean General, Thought to Be Executed, Resurfaces]</ref>
*Ma Won-chun, a senior general and architect, was again seen alive after nearly a year from his supposed execution as reported by South Korean officials. He was in fact just demoted.<ref name "NYT Ri"/><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200116031209/https://www.nknews.org/2015/10/ma-won-chun-reappears-after-11-month-absence-purge-rumor/ Ma Won Chun reappears after 11-month absence, purge rumor]</ref>
*Hwang Pyong-so, former director of the North Korean Army’s General Political Bureau and North Korea's "second most powerful man" was expelled from the Workers' Party of Korea fortaking bribes, which a South Korean newspaper described as "end of his political career, and possibly his life".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20180307012802/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/hwang-pyong-so-north-korea-disappear-second-powerful-man-leader-kim-jong-un-a8111891.html Hwang Pyong-so: Mystery over disappearance of North Korea's 'second most powerful man']</ref> He was in fact purged but only demoted, not executed.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200916220502/https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2018/02/18/politics/Hwang-Pyongso-comes-back-from-being-purged/3044664.html Hwang Pyong-so comes back from being purged]</ref>
==Otto Warmbier==
Otto Warmbier was an American college student who visited the DPRK in 2017 and gained worldwide fame after he was arrested and jailed there - before falling into a coma and dying a few days after his return to the USA. Warmbier visited the DPRK as part of a trip advertised as "The trip your parents wouldn't want you to take", and on one of the last days of his stay is said to have stolen a poster that had Kim Jong-il's name on it from his hotel. While at the Pyongyang Airport, officials approached Warmbier, requesting him to "step out of line". Warmbier reportedly shrugged and complied, being led away. Warmbier was sentenced to fifteen years of hard labor, although sentences like these are symbolic and foreigners like him usually leave within a year, alive and well.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20200626122626/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_foreign_nationals_detained_in_North_Korea</ref> However some time into his sentence he fell ill with an unidentified neurological disease and collapsed into a coma. He was kept in a hospital in Pyongyang for four months before being returned to the USA in January 2018.
What is known is that he came back from North Korea in a coma, released after 17 months in captivity,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/amid-trumps-diplomatic-thaw-otto-warmbiers-parents-sue-north-korea-for-having-brutally-tortured-and-murdered-their-son/2018/04/26/625e4fb8-495e-11e8-8b5a-3b1697adcc2a_story.html|title=Amid Trump's diplomatic thaw, Otto Warmbier's parents sue North Korea for having 'brutally tortured and murdered' their son |last=Nakamura|first=David|date=April 26, 2018|work=The Washington Post|language=en-US |issn=0190-8286 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180510115540/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/amid-trumps-diplomatic-thaw-otto-warmbiers-parents-sue-north-korea-for-having-brutally-tortured-and-murdered-their-son/2018/04/26/625e4fb8-495e-11e8-8b5a-3b1697adcc2a_story.html |archive-date=May 10, 2018 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref> and that he died after his parents requested his feeding tube to be removed.<ref>{{cite news|last=Clark |first=Doug Bock|title=The Untold Story of Otto Warmbier, American Hostage|url=https://www.gq.com/story/otto-warmbier-north-korea-american-hostage-true-story|date=July 23, 2018|archivedate=August 1, 2018 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180801104201/https://www.gq.com/story/otto-warmbier-north-korea-american-hostage-true-story}}</ref> It's virtually impossible to find out what exactly happened in his case, since his parents also refused to have his body autopsied. He has suffered a neurological injury during his stay in North Korea, to which there are several theories. One is that the North Korean government had him deprived of air so that he wouldn't become another "survivor" of the country who would end up pushing for sanctions against it, while another is that he attempted suicide in panic. However, the German emergency physician who accompanied a US negotiator to retrieve Warmbier has said that there are no signs of torture, not even any bruises.<ref>[https://www.tagesschau.de/investigativ/ndr/nordkorea-warmbier-105.html Zweifel an "Todesfolter" im Fall Warmbier]</ref> The North Korean government has released a video that allegedly shows him stealing a poster in a restricted area, though because of its low resolution it has a possibility of being falsified.
==External links==
* http://bannedthought.net/Korea-DPRK/index.htm
==Notes==
{{notelist|refs=
}}
{{Main|Korean War}}
==References==
== External links ==