# The World Factbook (1990)/Korea, North

pages 171–172
​Korea, North
See regional map VIII
Geography
Total area: 120,540 km²; land area: 120,410 km²
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Mississippi
Land boundaries: 1,671 km total; China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, USSR 17 km
Coastline: 2,495 km
Maritime claims:
    Extended economic zone: 200 nm
    Territorial sea: 1 2 nm
    Military boundary line: 50 nm (all foreign vessels and aircraft without permission are banned)
Disputes: short section of boundary with China is indefinite; Demarcation Line with South Korea
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
Natural resources: coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower
Land use: 18% arable land; 1% permanent crops; NEGL% meadows and pastures; 74% forest and woodland; 7% other; includes 9% irrigated
Environment: mountainous interior is isolated, nearly inaccessible, and sparsely populated; late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding
Note: strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and USSR
People
Population: 21,292,649 (July 1990), growth rate 1.7% (1990)
Birth rate: 22 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 27 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 69 years male, 75 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 2.1 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun—Korean(s); adjective—Korean
Ethnic divisions: racially homogeneous
Religion: Buddhism and Confucianism; religious activities now almost nonexistent
Language: Korean
Literacy: 95% (est.)
Labor force: 9,615,000; 36% agricultural, 64% nonagricultural; shortage of skilled and unskilled labor (mid-1987 est.)
Organized labor: 1,600,000 members; single-trade union system coordinated by the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea under the Central Committee
Government
Long-form name: Democratic People's Republic of Korea; abbreviated DPRK
Type: Communist state; one-man rule
Capital: P’yǒngyang
Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 3 special cities* (jikhalsi, singular and plural); Chagang-do, Hamgyǒng-namdo, Hamgyǒng-bukto, Hwanghae-namdo, Hwanghae-bukto, Kaesǒng-si*, Kangwǒn-do, Namp’o-si*, P’yǒngan-bukto, P’yǒngan-namdo, P’yǒngyang-si*, Yanggang-do
Independence: 9 September 1948
Constitution: adopted 1948, revised 27 December 1972
Legal system: based on German civil law system with Japanese influences and Communist legal theory; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: Independence Day, 9 September (1948)
Executive branch: president, two vice presidents, premier, nine vice premiers, State Administration Council (cabinet)
Legislative branch: unicameral Supreme People's Assembly (Choe Ko In Min Hoe Ui)
Judicial branch: Central Court
Leaders: Chief of State—President KIM Il-sǒng (since 28 December 1972); Designated Successor KIM Chong-Il (son of President, born 16 February 1942);
Head of Government—Premier YON Hyong-muk (since NA December 1988)
Political parties and leaders: only party Korean Workers' Party (KWP); Kim Il-sǒng, General Secretary, and his son, Kim Chong-Il, Secretary, Central Committee
Suffrage: universal at age 17
Elections: President—last held 29 December 1986 (next to be held December 1990); results—President Kim II Sǒng was reelected without opposition;
Supreme People's Assembly—last held on 2 November 1986 (next to be held November 1990, but the constitutional provision for elections every four years is not always followed); results—KWP is the only party; seats—(655 total) KWP 655; the KWP approves a single list of candidates who are elected without opposition
Communists: KWP claims membership of about 2 million, or about one-tenth of population
Member of: ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, ICAO, IMO, IPU, ITU, NAM, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WTO, UNIDO, WMO; official observer status at UN
Diplomatic representation: none
Flag: three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in white; on the hoist side of the red band is a white disk with a red five-pointed star
Economy
Overview: More than 90% of this command economy is socialized; agricultural land is collectivized; and state-owned industry produces 95% of manufactured goods. State control of economic affairs is unusually tight even for a Communist country because of the small size and homogeneity of the society and the strict one-man rule of Kim. Economic growth during the period 1984-89 has averaged approximately 3%. Abundant natural resources and hydropower form the basis of industrial development. Output of the extractive industries includes coal, iron ore, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals. Manufacturing emphasis is centered on heavy industry, with light industry lagging far behind. The use of high-yielding seed varieties, expansion of irrigation, and the heavy use of fertilizers have enabled North Korea to become largely self-sufficient in food production. North Korea, however, is far behind South Korea in economic development and living standards.
GNP: $28 billion, per capita $1,240; real growth rate 3% (1989)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Unemployment rate: officially none
Budget: revenues $15.6 billion; expenditures $15.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1989)
Exports: $2.4 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities—minerals, metallurgical products, agricultural products, manufactures; partners—USSR, China, Japan, FRG, Hong Kong, Singapore
​Imports: $3.1 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities—petroleum, machinery and equipment, coking coal, grain; partners—USSR, Japan, China, FRG, Hong Kong, Singapore
External debt: $2.5 billion hard currency (1989)
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: 6,440,000 kW capacity; 40,250 million kWh produced, 1,740 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: machine building, military products, electric power, chemicals, mining, metallurgy, textiles, food processing
Agriculture: accounts for about 25% of GNP and 36% of work force; principal crops—rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; livestock and livestock products—cattle, hogs, pork, eggs; not self-sufficient in grain; fish catch estimated at 1.7 million metric tons in 1987
Aid: Communist countries (1970-88), $1.3 billion
Currency: North Korean won (plural—won); 1 North Korean won (Wn) = 100 chǒn
Exchange rates: North Korean won (Wn) per US$1—2.3 (December 1989), 2.13 (December 1988), 0.94 (March 1987), NA (1986), NA (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Railroads: 4,535 km total operating in 1980; 3,870 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 665 km 0.762-meter narrow gauge, 159 km double track; 3,175 km electrified; government owned
Highways: about 20,280 km (1980); 98.5% gravel, crushed stone, or earth surface; 1.5% concrete or bituminous
Inland waterways: 2,253 km; mostly navigable by small craft only
Pipelines: crude oil, 37 km
Ports: Ch’ǒngjin, Haeju, Hungnam, Namp’o, Wonsan, Songnim, Najin
Merchant marine: 65 ships (1,000 GRT and over) totaling 437,103 GRT/663,835 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 1 short-sea passenger, 1 passenger-cargo, 56 cargo, 2 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 3 bulk, 1 combination bulk
Airports: 50 total, 50 usable; about 30 with permanent-surface runways; fewer than 5 with runways over 3,659 m; 20 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 30 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: stations—18 AM, no FM, 11 TV; 200,000 TV sets; 3,500,000 radio receivers; 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station
Defense Forces
Branches: Ministry of People's Armed Forces (consists of the army, navy, and air force)
Military manpower: males 15-49, 6,054,774; 3,699,088 fit for military service; 223,087 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: 22% of GNP (1987)