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 (DMZ). 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.
Dennis Keith Rodman is an American former professional basketball player. Renowned for his defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding forward in NBA history". Nicknamed "the Worm", he played for the Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, and Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Rodman played at the small forward position in his early years before becoming a power forward.
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.
Matt Cooper is an Irish journalist, author and broadcaster who presents news review show The Last Word on Today FM.
Historically, North Korea's participation in international sporting events has been hindered by the relations with South Korea. Until the 1990s, North Korea used to host up to 14 international events every year, albeit in small scale. Since the early 1990s, the amount was reduced to just one, the Paektusan Prize International Figure Skating Festival. More recently, since the 2000s, North Korea both participates in and hosts more international competitions.
Kim Jong Un is a North Korean politician who has been the third Supreme Leader of North Korea since December 2011 and 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 Democratic People's Republic of Korea women's national football team represents North Korea in international women's football.
The South Korea men's national basketball team represents South Korea in international basketball competitions. They are administered by the Korea Basketball Association.
South Korea competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. This is a list of all of the South Korean athletes who qualified for the Olympics and their results. South Korea sent a delegation of 267 athletes to these games.
The award system of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was initially created less than one month after the foundation of the Republic. During the years of Japanese occupation of Korea, many of the future leaders fled to the Soviet Union. During World War II many if not close to all party leaders and Korean People's Army commanders served in the Soviet Army and as such adopted many of the Soviet awards criteria for their own. During the late 1940s and until the Sino-Soviet Split in late 1958, orders and titles were made in the Soviet Money Mints in Moscow or Leningrad. Soviet made awards were modeled after Soviet orders and made of sterling silver. Initially the orders were attached to clothing with a screw-plate, but after Soviet production stopped, production was moved to North Korea. The screwback was replaced with a pin and the silver content was replaced with cheap tin. With the exception of a few examples of modern orders, Soviet and Czech KPA awards are the most sought after in current militaria markets.
Ri Sol-ju is the current First Lady of North Korea as the wife of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un.
Kenneth Bae is a South Korean-born American Evangelical Christian missionary. Convicted by North Korea on charges of planning to overthrow the government, he was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment in April 2013. Bae was released on November 8, 2014, along with fellow American Matthew Todd Miller.
Kim Ju-ae is a daughter of North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol-ju. The North Korean government has disclosed little information about her and much is unknown about her, including her birth date and name. The name "Ju-ae" was first mentioned by American basketball player Dennis Rodman after his visit to North Korea in 2012, but it has not been verified by either the North Korean government or South Korean intelligence. North Korean defectors interviewed by South Korean intelligence have claimed two alternate names for her: Un-ju (은주) and Ju-ye (주예).
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.
The Kim family, officially the Mount Paektu bloodline (Korean: 백두혈통), named for Paektu Mountain, 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 to his son, Kim Jong Il, and then in 2011 to his grandson, Kim Jong Un. The three served as leaders of the WPK, and as North Korea's supreme leaders since the state's establishment in 1948.
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's tenth appearance at the Summer Olympics.
The North Korea women's national basketball team is the nationally controlled basketball team representing North Korea at international basketball competitions for women. It is administered by the Amateur Basketball Association of DPR of Korea.
The Order of the National Flag is the second highest order of North Korea, after the Order of Kim Il Sung and the Order of Kim Jong Il.
Ryan Duffy is a journalist and correspondent best known for his work with Vice Media, including accompanying Dennis Rodman and the Harlem Globetrotters on a visit to North Korea in 2013. Duffy began his career at Vice as an intern while studying journalism at New York University. In 2012, Duffy appeared on Forbes' 30 under 30 list. In 2015, he started a series of short documentary reports with The Huffington Post titled Now What with Ryan Duffy.
Silver: 1993 
