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North Korea

North Korea

North Korea was created after Korea split up at the end of the Korean War. It is a hereditary dictatorship, one of the most xenophobic countries in the world, and also one of the poorest. The country is in possession of nuclear weapons.

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  1. How did North Korean economy differ from the South Korean economy?

    At the end of WWII, two separate regimes emerged on the Korea...

  2. Who fought on the side of North Korea in the Korean War?

    China and the USSR along with many other communist countries....

  3. What are the two major rivers of North Korea?

    North Korea's longest river is the Yulu (Yalu). Other large r...

  4. Why were the 1990's a time of great economic hardship for the people of North Korea?

    In mid-1993 no significant moves signaling a fundamental devi...

  5. How did president Truman react to the north Korean invasion of the south Korea?

    The president tripled the U.S. defense budget, dispatched fou...

  1. What was the legacy of the war for North Korea and South Korea?

    After the war, North Korea became poor and undeveloped while ...

  2. How did North Korean economy differ from the South Korean economy?

    At the end of WWII, two separate regimes emerged on the Korea...

  3. Who fought on the side of North Korea in the Korean War?

    China and the USSR along with many other communist countries....

  4. How did presient truman react to the north korean invsaion of south Korea?

    The United States President Harry S Truman went a step furthe...

  5. What are the two major rivers of North Korea?

    North Korea's longest river is the Yulu (Yalu). Other large r...

  1. Who fought on the side of North Korea in the Korean War?

    China and the USSR along with many other communist countries....

  2. Why were the 1990's a time of great economic hardship for the people of North Korea?

    In mid-1993 no significant moves signaling a fundamental devi...

  3. How did president Truman react to the north Korean invasion of the south Korea?

    The president tripled the U.S. defense budget, dispatched fou...

  4. What was the legacy of the war for north korea and south korea during the korean war?

    The legacy of the Korean War was that many countries were imp...

  5. Is North Korea declaring war?

    North Korea's military says it considers South Korea's partic...

Top Questions Asked on ChaCha Mobile for North Korea

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  1. Who was the leader of north korea before and during the korean war?

    Kim Il-sung was the leader of North Korea beginning in 1948 u...

  2. What port city for a counterattack against North Korea did General MacAuthur choose?

    He chose the port city of Incheon for a counter strike. ChaCh...

  3. What rules are North Korea disobeying?

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  4. Is North Korea still a threat?

    North Korea is still considered a threat, but it is nothing t...

  5. What is the north korean leaders name?

    Kim Jong-il is the leader of North Korea. He was elected to a...

  1. What port city for a counterattack against North Korea did General MacAuthur choose?

    He chose the port city of Incheon for a counter strike. ChaCh...

  2. Who is the north korean leader?

    The North Korean leader is Kim Jong Il, who is believed to ha...

  3. What is the north korean leaders name?

    Kim Jong-il is the leader of North Korea. He was elected to a...

  4. Does North Korea hate South Korea?

    North Korea's recent missile/nuclear tests and belligerent rh...

  5. What government type does north korea have?

    North Korea currently has a Communist State One-Man Dictators...

  1. Is North Korea still a threat?

    North Korea is still considered a threat, but it is nothing t...

  2. Is China allies with North Korea?

    While the two countries have a long historical relationship t...

  3. What does the Obama administration plan to do about North korea?

    President Obama called for new UN sanctions and laid out a ne...

  4. What rank is north Korea in the whole world?

    North Korea is ranked 105th out of 202. They are about in the...

  5. What is the north korean leaders name?

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About North Korea

North Korea (officially the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or DPRK) is the country that occupies the Northern part of the Korean Peninsula in Southeast Asia, directly between Japan and China.

The country is ruled by a hereditary dictatorship, beginning with Kim Il-Sung in 1948 with the formation of the country till his son Kim Jong-Il replaced him in 1994, and who will be replaced in time by the heir apparent Kim Jong-Un. This new heir was confirmed on October 7, 2010 when he appeared with his father in a huge military parade.

The Korean people living on the peninsula have been greatly affected over the years by conflicts between Japan and China, and have often been caught in the middle during wartime. It was invaded by Japan in 1905 and suffered heavily under occupation. Many Koreans looked to the Chinese for help and began a guerilla campaign against the occupying Japanese from inside China.

When World War II ended the Japanese occupation, the fighters from the North of the country were now communist and those in the south were not, so they refused to rejoin into a single country at the end of the war. In 1950 the North invaded the South and fought an ugly war for 3 years, which ended in an armistice (which means they agreed to stop shooting at each other, not to peace).

Since then Korea has become one of the most xenophobic countries in the world, allowing no unsupervised entry into the country and no outside travel by its citizens (with a few military exceptions); and also one of the poorest countries in the world. The result of this has been to create a country that does not have the know-how to feed itself, but fears and dislikes other countries too much to ask for assistance (with the notable exception of China).

The primary means North Korea has managed to feed its people since the 1990’s has been food assistance provided by other countries (delivered in unmarked bags, so that the people of North Korea won’t know their source). To increase food assistance and to force political concessions from other countries, North Korea employs a policy of brinksmanship (they create a fearful situation, and then promise to defuse the situation if they get something in return).

The primary tool they have for brinksmanship was their military strength, until 2006, when they developed their own nuclear missiles.

Despite the major differences between modern North and South Korea, it is important to remember that the country has been split into different pieces before in their history and their shared culture has helped to reunite them. Many in South Korea yearn to have the two Koreas reunited.

Related Images

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This picture taken by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on January 4, 2012 shows youth chanting slogans at a rally vowing to implement the decision of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang.

Trucks loaded with Chinese goods head across the Yalu Bridge and into North Korea one day after the memorial service for the late leader Kim Jong-Il, at the Chinese North Korean border town of Dandong on December 30, 2011. Truck drivers and traders in China's border city of Dandong said trade with North Korea had slowed to a trickle following the death of leader Kim Jong-Il earlier this month.

A trader prepares Chinese goods to be loaded into trucks bound for North Korea one day after the memorial service for the late leader Kim Jong-Il, at the Chinese North Korean border town of Dandong on December 30, 2011. Truck drivers and traders in China's border city of Dandong said trade with North Korea had slowed to a trickle following the death of leader Kim Jong-Il earlier this month. Kim died on December 17 from a heart attack at the age of 69, and North Korea has imposed an official mourning period that culminated Thursday with a massive memorial service. China shares a 1,415-kilometre (880-mile) border with North Korea and has sought to boost trade in a bid to encourage its hardline neighbour to embark on market-oriented economic reforms.

Sun rises over the Yalu River bridge that leads into North Korea on the day of the memorial service for the late leader Kim Jong-Il, at the Chinese North Korean border town of Dandong on December 29, 2011. North Korea staged a massive memorial service for late leader Kim Jong-Il attended by tens of thousands, and declared his untested young son and successor the supreme party and military chief.'Respected comrade Kim Jong-Un is the supreme leader of our party and the military who inherited Kim Jong-Il's spirit, leadership, personality, morality and fortitude,' said ceremonial head of state Kim Yong-Nam.

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