Country name:
conventional long form: Democratic People's Republic of Korea
conventional short form:
North Korea
local long form:
Choson-minjujuui-inmin-konghwaguk
local short form:
Choson
abbreviation:
DPRK
Government type:
Communist state one-man dictatorship
Capital:
name: Pyongyang
geographic coordinates:
39 01 N, 125 45 E
time difference:
UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 2 municipalities (si, singular and plural)
provinces:
Chagang-do (Chagang), Hamgyong-bukto (North Hamgyong), Hamgyong-namdo (South Hamgyong), Hwanghae-bukto (North Hwanghae), Hwanghae-namdo (South Hwanghae), Kangwon-do (Kangwon), P'yongan-bukto (North P'yongan), P'yongan-namdo (South P'yongan), Yanggang-do (Yanggang)
municipalities:
Nason-si, P'yongyang-si (Pyongyang)
Independence:
15 August 1945 (from Japan)
National holiday:
Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948)
Constitution:
previous 1948, 1972 (revised several times); latest adopted 1998 (during KIM Jong Il era); revised 2009, 2012 (2012)
Legal system:
civil law system based on the Prussian model; system influenced by Japanese traditions and Communist legal theory
International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
Suffrage:
17 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]
Executive branch:
chief of state: KIM Jong Un (since 17 December 2011); note - the rubberstamp Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) reelected KIM Yong Nam in 2009 president of its Presidium with responsibility of representing state and receiving diplomatic credentials
head of government:
Premier PAK Pong-ju (since 2 April 2013); Vice Premiers: HAN Kwang Bok (since 7 June 2010), JO Pyong Ju (since 7 June 2010), JON Ha Chol (since 7 June 2010), KANG Nung Su (since 7 June 2010), KANG Sok Ju (since 23 September 2010), KIM In Sik (since 13 April 2012), KIM Rak Hui (since 7 June 2010), KIM Yong Jin (since 6 January 2012), PAK Su Gil (since 18 September 2009), RI Chol Man (since 13 April 2012), RI Mu Yong (since 31 May 2011), RI Sung Ho (since 13 April 2012), RO Tu Chol (since 3 September 2003)
cabinet:
Naegak (cabinet) members, except for Minister of People's Armed Forces, are appointed by SPA
elections:
last election held in April 2012; date of next election NA
election results:
KIM Jong Un elected unopposed
note:
the Korean Workers' Party continues to list deceased leaders KIM Il Sung and KIM Jong Il as Eternal President and Eternal General Secretary respectively
Legislative branch:
unicameral Supreme People's Assembly or Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui (687 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections:
last held on 8 March 2009 (next to be held in March 2014)
election results:
percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; ruling party approves a list of candidates who are elected without opposition; a token number of seats are reserved for minor parties
Judicial branch:
highest court(s): Supreme Court or Central Court (consists of the chief justice and two "People's Assessors" and for some cases, 3 judges)
judge selection and term of office:
judges elected by the Supreme People's Assembly for 5-year terms
subordinate courts:
provincial, municipal, military, special courts; people' courts (lowest level)
Political parties and leaders:
major party:
minor parties:
Political pressure groups and leaders:
none
International organization participation:
ARF, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
none; North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
none; note - Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the US as consular protecting power
Flag description:
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; the broad red band symbolizes revolutionary traditions; the narrow white bands stands for purity, strength, and dignity; the blue bands signify sovereignty, peace, and friendship; the red star represents socialism
National symbol(s):
red star
National anthem:
name: "Aegukka" (Patriotic Song)
lyrics/music:
PAK Se Yong/KIM Won Gyun
note:
adopted 1947; both North Korea and South Korea's anthems share the same name and have a vaguely similar melody but have different lyrics; the North Korean anthem is also known as "Ach'imun pinnara" (Let Morning Shine)
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Korea, North on this page is re-published from the 2014 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Korea, North Government 2014 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Korea, North Government 2014 should be addressed to the CIA.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may habe the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assignes counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order
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This page was last modified 06-Nov-14