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.
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).
Kim Jong Un is a North Korean politician who has been supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader 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.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in North Korea. It is used for many offences,such as grand theft,murder,rape,drug smuggling,treason,espionage,political dissent,defection,piracy,consumption of media not approved by the government and proselytizing religious beliefs that contradict practiced Juche ideology. Owing to the secrecy of the North Korean government,working knowledge of the topic depends heavily on anonymous sources,accounts of defectors and reports by Radio Free Asia,a CIA-funded propaganda service that operates in East Asia. The country allegedly carries out public executions,which,if true,makes North Korea one of the last four countries to still perform public executions,the other three being Iran,Saudi Arabia,and Somalia,but this has been disputed by some defector accounts.
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.
Songbun,formally chulsin-songbun,is the system of ascribed status used in North Korea. According to the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea and the American Enterprise Institute,it is based on the political,social,and economic background of one's direct ancestors as well as the behavior of their relatives,songbun is used to classify North Korean citizens into three primary castes—core,wavering,and hostile—in addition to approximately fifty sub-classifications,and determine whether an individual is trusted with responsibilities,is given opportunities within North Korea,or even receives adequate food. The U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea and the American Enterprise Institute states that Songbun affects access to educational and employment opportunities and it particularly determines whether a person is eligible to join North Korea's ruling party,the Workers' Party of Korea.
Kim Yo Jong is a North Korean politician and diplomat,and sister of 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.
The Kim family,officially the Mount Paektu bloodline in the ideological discourse of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK),and often referred to as the Kim dynasty after the Cold War's end,is a three-generation lineage of North Korean leadership,descending from the country's founder and first leader,Kim Il Sung. Kim Il Sung came to rule the north in 1948,after the end of Japanese rule split the region in 1945. Following his death in 1994,Kim Il Sung's role as supreme leader was passed on to his son Kim Jong Il,and then to his grandson Kim Jong Un. All three leaders have served as leaders of the WPK and served as North Korea's supreme leaders since the state's establishment in 1948.
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.
Anna Fifield is the Asia-Pacific editor at The Washington Post. Previously she was the editor of The Dominion Post based in Wellington,New Zealand and the Beijing bureau chief for The Washington Post where she focused her attention on news and issues of Japan,North Korea,and South Korea. She has been to North Korea a dozen times.
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).
This is a list of works important to the study of North Korea.
Sung-Yoon Lee is a scholar,policy advisor,and author specialized on North Korea and East Asia. His written opus has focussed on exposing the wrongdoings of the North Korean regime and advancing policies to curb it. He has contributed to media outlets,published academic papers and a book,and written statements as part of his expert witness advice to the U.S. Congress. His writing style has been described as exuberant,vivid,and sharp,with a meticulous and insightful analysis.
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.
