North Korea,officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK),is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu (Amnok) and Tumen rivers,and South Korea to the south at the Korean Demilitarized Zone. The country's western border is formed by the Yellow Sea,while its eastern border is defined by the Sea of Japan. North Korea,like its southern counterpart,claims to be the sole legitimate government of the entire peninsula and adjacent islands. Pyongyang is the capital and largest city.
North Korea has diplomatic relations with 160 states. The country's foreign relations have been dominated by its conflict with South Korea and its historical ties to the Soviet Union. Both the government of North Korea and the government of South Korea claim to be the sole legitimate government of the whole of Korea. The de facto end of the Korean War left North Korea in a military confrontation with South Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone.
Pak Pong-ju is a North Korean politician who served as the Premier of North Korea from 2003 to 2007 and again from 2013 to 2019. He was elected a member of the Presidium of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in 2016.
This is a list of public holidays in North Korea. See also the Korean calendar for a list of traditional holidays. As of 2017,the North Korean calendar has 71 official public holidays,including Sundays. In the past,North Koreans relied on rations provided by the state on public holidays for feasts. Recently,with marketization people are able to save up money and buy the goods they need.
Kim Jong-nam was the eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. From roughly 1994 to 2001,he was considered the heir apparent to his father. He was thought to have fallen out of favor after embarrassing the regime in 2001 with a failed attempt to visit Tokyo Disneyland with a false passport,although Kim himself said his loss of favor had been due to advocating reform.
Ko Yong Hui,also spelled Ko Young-hee,was the mistress of North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Il and the mother of his successor,Kim Jong Un. Within North Korea,she is only referred to by titles,such as "The Respected Mother who is the Most Faithful and Loyal 'Subject' to the Dear Leader Comrade Supreme Commander","The Mother of Pyongyang",and "The Mother of Great Songun Korea".
In the North Korean government,the Cabinet is the administrative and executive body. The North Korean government consists of three branches:administrative,legislative,and judicial. However,they are not independent of each other,but all branches are under the exclusive political leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK).
Formerly a single nation that was annexed by Japan in 1910,the Korean Peninsula was divided into occupation zones since the end of World War II on 2 September 1945. The two sovereign countries were founded in the North and South of the peninsula in 1948,leading to the formal division. Despite the separation,both have claimed sovereignty over all of Korea in their constitutions and both have used the name "Korea" in English. The two countries engaged in the Korean War from 1950 to 1953 which ended in an armistice agreement but without a peace treaty. North Korea is a one-party state run by the Kim family. South Korea was formerly governed by a succession of military dictatorships,save for a brief one-year democratic period from 1960 to 1961,until thorough democratization in 1987,after which direct elections were held. Both nations claim the entire Korean Peninsula and outlying islands. Both nations joined the United Nations in 1991 and are recognized by most member states. Since the 1970s,both nations have held informal diplomatic dialogues in order to ease military tensions.
Kim Jong Un is a North Korean politician who has been supreme leader of North Korea since December 2011 and the general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is the third son of Kim Jong Il,who was the second supreme leader of North Korea,and a grandson of Kim Il Sung,the founder and first supreme leader of the country.
The Pungsandog (Korean: 풍산개) is a breed of hunting dog from Korea,named for originating in Kimhyonggwon County,formerly Pungsan County. They are also called Phungsan,Korean Phungsan,or Poongsan dogs.
Daily NK is an online newspaper based in Seoul,South Korea,where it reports on various aspects of North Korean society from information obtained from inside and outside of North Korea via a network of informants. North Korea is ranked 177 out of 180 in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index,which is compiled by Reporters Without Borders.
Kim Kyong-hui is the aunt of current North Korean leader,Kim Jong Un. She is the daughter of the founding North Korean leader Kim Il Sung and the sister of the late leader Kim Jong Il. She currently serves as Secretary for Organization of the Workers' Party of Korea. An important member of Kim Jong Il's inner circle of trusted friends and advisors,she was director of the WPK Light Industry Department from 1988 to 2012. She was married to Jang Song-thaek,who was executed in December 2013 in Pyongyang,after being charged with treason and corruption.
The death of Kim Jong Il was reported by North Korean state television news on 19 December 2011. The presenter Ri Chun-hee announced that he had died on 17 December at 8:30 am of a massive heart attack while travelling by train to an area outside Pyongyang. Reportedly,he had received medical treatment for cardiac and cerebrovascular diseases,and during the trip,Kim was said to have had an "advanced acute myocardial infarction,complicated with a serious heart shock". However,it was reported in December 2012 by South Korean media that the heart attack had instead occurred in a fit of rage over construction faults in a crucial power plant project at Huichon in Chagang Province.
The Moranbong Band,also known as the Moran Hill Orchestra,is a North Korean girl group. Performing interpretive styles of pop,rock,and fusion,they are the first all-female band from the DPRK,and made their world debut on 6 July 2012. Their varied musical style has been described as symphonic because it is "putting together different kinds of sounds,and ending in a harmonious,pleasing result."
Kim Yo Jong is a North Korean politician and diplomat,and sister of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un. She is the Deputy Department Director of the Publicity and Information Department of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). Since September 2021,she has been a member of State Affairs Commission of North Korea.
Media coverage of North Korea is hampered by an extreme lack of reliable information,coupled with an abundant number of sensationalist falsehoods. There are a number of reasons for this lack of information and incorrect stories.
Choe Son-hui is the Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Korea. Previously the First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs,she was appointed Minister on 11 June 2022,becoming the first woman to hold the position and is one of few North Korean women holding a high-level office.
The COVID-19 pandemic in North Korea was part of a global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19),a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). North Korea confirmed its first case on 8 May 2022.
Pak Jong-chon is a North Korean Marshal who is a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK).
The Sister:The extraordinary story of Kim Yo Jong,the most powerful woman in North Korea is a 2023 biography of Kim Yo Jong,the sister,closest deputy,and potential successor to North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un. It was subsequently published in the United States with the title The Sister:North Korea's Kim Yo Jong,the Most Dangerous Woman in the World. It is written by Sung-Yoon Lee,a scholar of Korean and East Asian studies. It is regarded as the first book to offer an in-depth portrait of its subject.
