Japan and the exclusive
economic zone limit in the Yellow Sea where all foreign vessels and
aircraft without permission are banned

Climate: temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer

Terrain: mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys;
coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m
highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m

Natural resources: coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite,
iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower

Land use:
arable land : 14%
permanent crops: 2%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 61%
other : 23% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 14,600 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: late spring droughts often followed by severe
flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall

Environment - current issues: localized air pollution attributable to
inadequate industrial controls; water pollution; inadequate supplies
of potable water

Environment - international agreements:
party to : Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the
Sea

Geography - note: strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and
Russia; mountainous interior is isolated, nearly inaccessible, and
sparsely populated

@Korea, North:People

Population: 24,317,004 (July 1997 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 30% (male 3,672,851; female 3,528,590)
15-64 years: 66% (male 7,996,814; female 8,068,347)
65 years and over : 4% (male 372,818; female 677,584) (July 1997 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.68% (1997 est.)

Birth rate: 22.27 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate: 5.43 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years : 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.55 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 25 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 70.6 years
male : 67.5 years
female: 73.85 years (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.29 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Korean(s)
adjective: Korean

Ethnic groups: racially homogeneous

Religions: Buddhism and Confucianism, some Christianity and syncretic