l has ruled North Korea since his father
and the country's founder, president KIM Il-song, died in 1994. After
decades of mismanagement, the North relies heavily on international
food aid to feed its population, while continuing to expend resources
to maintain an army of about 1 million. North Korea's long-range missile
development and research into nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons
and massive conventional armed forces are of major concern to the
international community.

Geography Korea, North

Location: Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering
the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea

Geographic coordinates: 40 00 N, 127 00 E

Map references: Asia

Area: total: 120,540 sq km water: 130 sq km land: 120,410 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Mississippi

Land boundaries: total: 1,673 km border countries: China 1,416 km,
South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km

Coastline: 2,495 km

Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
note: military boundary line 50 NM in the Sea of 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: 3% other: 83% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 14,600 sq km (1998 est.)

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

Environment - current issues: water pollution; inadequate supplies
of potable water; water-borne disease; deforestation; soil erosion
and degradation

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 and sparsely populated

People Korea, North

Population: 22,224,195 (July 2002