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.
Kim Jong Il was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea. He led North Korea from the death of his father Kim Il Sung in 1994 until his own death in 2011, when he was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong Un. Afterwards, Kim Jong Il was declared Eternal General Secretary of the WPK.
The Supreme People's Assembly is the legislature of North Korea. It is ostensibly the highest organ of state power and the only branch of government in North Korea, with all state organs subservient to it under the principle of unified power. However, in practice it is widely considered to be a rubber stamp legislature which exists to approve decisions made by the ruling party as a formality, and which has little to no real power of its own.
The Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries is a North Korean organization tasked with organizing cultural exchange with other countries.
Kim Jong Suk was a Korean anti-Japanese guerrilla, a Communist activist, North Korean leader Kim Il Sung's first wife, former leader Kim Jong Il's mother, and current leader Kim Jong Un's grandmother.
The President of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, alternatively styled "President of State Affairs" in official translations, is the supreme leader and head of state of North Korea. The president chairs the State Affairs Commission (SAC), which is the highest leadership institution in North Korea, and serves as the commander-in-chief of the North Korean armed forces.
New Zealand–North Korea relations refers to international relations between New Zealand and North Korea. Relations between the two countries have been almost non-existent since the division of Korea. During the Korean War in the 1950s, New Zealand troops fought as part of the United Nations force that repelled the North Korean invasion of South Korea. Since then, New Zealand and North Korea have had little contact, until July 2000 when North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Phil Goff met in Bangkok, leading to the establishment of diplomatic relations in March 2001. The New Zealand ambassador to South Korea based in Seoul is also cross-accredited to North Korea. In 2006, North Korea tested its first nuclear weapon, drawing criticism and suspension of relations by the New Zealand government, which holds a staunch anti-nuclear policy. New Zealand began re-establishing formal relations in 2007, when the New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters visited Pyongyang on November 20 to discuss possible political and economic deals with North Korea, on the basis that it start dismantling its nuclear weapons facilities.
The Cabinet of Democratic People's Republic of Korea or North Korea (Naegak) is, according to the Constitution of North Korea, the administrative and executive body and a general state-management organ in the Government of North Korea. The Cabinet's principal newspaper is Minju Choson.
Indonesia–North Korea relations refers to bilateral relations between Indonesia and North Korea. The two countries established diplomatic relations in 1961. Indonesia is one of the very few countries that still tries to maintain cordial relations with North Korea, despite the widespread international sanctions and resulting isolation imposed on North Korea, compounded with the negative reputation of its human rights, nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs and Indonesia's publicly more robust engagement and partnership with South Korea.
Kim Yo Jong is a North Korean politician and diplomat. 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 only woman on the panel.
The Kim family, also known as the Kim dynasty or the Mount Paektu bloodline in the ideological discourse of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), is a three-generation lineage of North Korean leadership, descending from the country's founder and first leader, Kim Il Sung. The patriarch came to rule the north in 1948, after the end of Japanese rule split the region in 1945. He began the Korean War in 1950, in a failed attempt to reunify the Korean Peninsula. In the 1980s, Kim Il Sung developed a cult of personality closely tied to the North Korean state philosophy of Juche. 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 men have served as leaders of the WPK and have exercised absolute control over North Korea since the state's establishment in 1948.
Ri Su-yong, also known as Ri Chol (이철), is a North Korean diplomat and politician, serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Korea from April 2014 until May 2016.
The State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (SAC) is constitutionally the supreme political authority of North Korea. The State Affairs Commission was created by 2016 amendments to the North Korean Constitution to replace the previously military-dominated National Defence Commission.
Cuba–North Korea relations are the bilateral relations between Cuba and North Korea.
Egypt–North Korea relations refer to the bilateral relations between Egypt and North Korea. Egypt has an embassy in Pyongyang whilst North Korea has an embassy in Cairo.
Jong Kyong-thaek is a North Korean politician. He served as the Minister of State Security from 2018 to 2022, a member of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), an alternate member of the Politburo of the WPK, and a member of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea.
Pak Myong-chol is a North Korean political figure who joined the 6th Central Committee of the Korean Workers' Party in September 2010, along with Kim Jong Un. He has served in several important posts in North Korea, including on the National Defence Commission and as Minister of Physical Culture and Sports in the Cabinet of North Korea.
Hwang Sun-hui was a North Korean politician who served in several high-ranking positions in the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), including in the Supreme People's Assembly and the Central Committee of the WPK. She was affiliated with the Korean Revolution Museum from 1965, and was its director from 1990.
Ri Yong-suk was a North Korean politician and revolutionary. A veteran of the anti-Japanese struggle, Ri had close relations with all three generations of the Kim dynasty. During WWII, she was with Kim Il Sung in the Soviet 88th Separate Rifle Brigade. During the Korean War, she took care of Kim Jong Il, eldest son and future heir of Kim Il Sung. Under Kim Jong Un, she was portrayed as a link between the original guerrilla generation and the current leadership. Ri was elected to the Supreme People's Assembly in 1998 and 2003.
Kim Jong-suk Naval University is a post-secondary educational institution located in Hamhung, North Korea for officers of the Korean People's Navy. Its namesake is Kim Jong-suk, a Korean anti-Japanese guerrilla and North Korean leader Kim Il Sung's first wife. There is a bust in her honor at the academy. It has produced naval commanders, including dozens of Heroes of the DPRK and Heroes of Labor. It is similar in function to the Korean Naval Academy.
