North Korea
North Korea⌘K
Overview
- Background
- The first recorded kingdom (Choson) on the Korean Peninsula dates from approximately 2300 B.C. Over the subsequent centuries, three main kingdoms -- Kogoryo, Paekche, and Silla -- were established on the Peninsula. By the 5th century A.D., Kogoryo emerged as the most powerful, with control over much of the Peninsula and part of Manchuria (modern-day northeast China). However, Silla allied with the Chinese to create the first unified Korean state in 688. Following the collapse of Silla in the 9th century, Korea was unified under the Koryo (Goryeo; 918-1392) and the Chosen (Joseon; 1392-1910) dynasties. Korea became the object of intense imperialistic rivalry among the Chinese (its traditional benefactor), Japanese, and Russian empires in the latter half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the Sino-Japanese War (1894-95) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05), Korea was occupied by Imperial Japan. In 1910, Japan formally annexed the entire peninsula. After World War II, the northern half came under Soviet-sponsored communist control.
In 1948, North Korea (formally known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea or DPRK) was founded under President KIM Il Sung, who consolidated power and cemented autocratic one-party rule under the Korean Worker's Party (KWP). North Korea failed to conquer UN-backed South Korea (formally the Republic of Korea or ROK) during the Korean War (1950-53), after which a demilitarized zone separated the two Koreas. KIM's authoritarian rule included tight control over North Korean citizens and the demonization of the US as the central threat to North Korea's political and social system. In addition, he molded the country's economic, military, and political policies around the core objective of unifying Korea under Pyongyang's control. North Korea also declared a central ideology of juche ("self-reliance") as a check against outside influence, while continuing to rely heavily on China and the Soviet Union for economic support. KIM Il Sung's son, KIM Jong Il, was officially designated as his father's successor in 1980, and he assumed a growing political and managerial role until the elder KIM's death in 1994. Under KIM Jong Il's reign, North Korea continued developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. KIM Jong Un was publicly unveiled as his father's successor in 2010. Following KIM Jong Il's death in 2011, KIM Jong Un quickly assumed power and has since occupied the regime's highest political and military posts.
After the end of Soviet aid in 1991, North Korea faced serious economic setbacks that exacerbated decades of economic mismanagement and resource misallocation. Since the mid-1990s, North Korea has faced chronic food shortages and economic stagnation. In recent years, the North's domestic agricultural production has improved but still falls far short of producing sufficient food for its population. Starting in 2002, North Korea began to tolerate semi-private markets but has made few other efforts to meet its goal of improving the overall standard of living. New economic development plans in the 2010s failed to meet government-mandated goals for key industrial sectors, food production, or overall economic performance. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, North Korea instituted a nationwide lockdown that severely restricted its economy and international engagement. Since then, KIM has repeatedly expressed concerns with the regime's economic failures and food problems, but in 2021, he vowed to continue "self-reliant" policies and has reinvigorated his pursuit of greater regime control of the economy.
As of 2024, despite slowly renewing cross-border trade with China, North Korea remained one of the world's most isolated countries and one of Asia's poorest. In 2024, Pyongyang announced it was ending all economic cooperation with South Korea. The move followed earlier proclamations that it was scrapping a 2018 military pact with South Korea to de-escalate tensions along their militarized border, abandoning the country’s decades-long pursuit of peaceful unification with South Korea, and designating the South as North Korea’s “principal enemy.”
Geography
Area
- Land
- 120,408 sq km
- Water
- 130 sq km
- Total
- 120,538 sq km
- Climate
- temperate, with rainfall concentrated in summer; long, bitter winters
- Terrain
- mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; wide coastal plains in west, discontinuous in east
Land Use
- Other
- 14.5% (2023 est.)
- Forest
- 64% (2023 est.)
- Agricultural land
- 21.6% (2023 est.)
- Agricultural land: arable land
- arable land: 19.1% (2023 est.)
- Agricultural land: permanent crops
- permanent crops: 2.1% (2023 est.)
- Agricultural land: permanent pasture
- permanent pasture: 0.4% (2023 est.)
- Location
- Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea
- Coastline
- 2,495 km
Elevation
- Lowest point
- Sea of Japan 0 m
- Highest point
- Paektu-san 2,744 m
- Mean elevation
- 600 m
- Irrigated land
- 14,600 sq km (2012)
- Map references
- Asia
Land Boundaries
- Total
- 1,607 km
- Border countries
- China 1,352 km; South Korea 237 km; Russia 18 km
Maritime Claims
- Note
- 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
- Territorial sea
- 12 nm
- Exclusive economic zone
- 200 nm
- Natural hazards
- late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall
volcanism: P'aektu-san (2,744 m) (also known as Baitoushan, Baegdu, or Changbaishan), on the Chinese border, is considered historically active - Geography note
- strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated
- Natural resources
- coal, iron ore, limestone, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, precious metals, hydropower
- Area comparative
- slightly larger than Virginia; slightly smaller than Mississippi
- Geographic coordinates
- 40 00 N, 127 00 E
- Population distribution
- population concentrated in the plains and lowlands; least-populated regions are the mountainous provinces adjacent to the Chinese border; largest concentrations are in the western provinces, particularly the municipal district of Pyongyang, and around Hungnam and Wonsan in the east
People & Society
Languages
- Languages
- Korean
- Major language sample(s)
월드 팩트북, 필수적인 기본 정보 제공처 (Korean)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
- Religions
- traditionally Buddhist and Confucian, some Christian and syncretic Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way)
Sex Ratio
- At birth
- 1.06 male(s)/female
- 0 14 years
- 1.05 male(s)/female
- 15 64 years
- 1 male(s)/female
- Total population
- 0.95 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
- 65 years and over
- 0.59 male(s)/female
- Birth rate
- 12.99 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
- Death rate
- 9.01 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median Age
- Male
- 34.5 years
- Total
- 36.2 years (2025 est.)
- Female
- 37.4 years
Population
- Male
- 12,884,269
- Total
- 26,402,841 (2025 est.)
- Female
- 13,518,572
Nationality
- Noun
- Korean(s)
- Adjective
- Korean
Tobacco Use
- Male
- 32.6% (2025 est.)
- Total
- 16% (2025 est.)
- Female
- 0% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
- Urban population
- 63.2% of total population (2023)
- Rate of urbanization
- 0.85% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age Structure
- 0 14 years
- 19.9% (male 2,673,822/female 2,548,775)
- 15 64 years
- 68.9% (male 9,054,771/female 9,066,447)
- 65 years and over
- 11.2% (2024 est.) (male 1,099,676/female 1,855,175)
- Ethnic groups
- racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese
Child Marriage
- Men married BY age 18
- 0% (2017)
- Women married BY age 15
- 0% (2017)
- Women married BY age 18
- 0.1% (2017)
Dependency Ratios
- Total dependency ratio
- 45.6 (2025 est.)
- Youth dependency ratio
- 28.8 (2025 est.)
- Potential support ratio
- 6 (2025 est.)
- Elderly dependency ratio
- 16.8 (2025 est.)
- Physician density
- 3.63 physicians/1,000 population (2017)
- Net migration rate
- -0.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
- Total fertility rate
- 1.8 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking Water Source
- Improved: rural
- rural: 88.8% of population (2022 est.)
- Improved: total
- total: 93.9% of population (2022 est.)
- Improved: urban
- urban: 96.9% of population (2022 est.)
- Unimproved: rural
- rural: 11.2% of population (2022 est.)
- Unimproved: total
- total: 6.1% of population (2022 est.)
- Unimproved: urban
- urban: 3.1% of population (2022 est.)
- Education expenditure
- 14.6% national budget (2025 est.)
Infant Mortality Rate
- Male
- 16.9 deaths/1,000 live births
- Total
- 14.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
- Female
- 13.8 deaths/1,000 live births
- Population growth rate
- 0.4% (2025 est.)
- Gross reproduction rate
- 0.87 (2025 est.)
- Population distribution
- population concentrated in the plains and lowlands; least-populated regions are the mountainous provinces adjacent to the Chinese border; largest concentrations are in the western provinces, particularly the municipal district of Pyongyang, and around Hungnam and Wonsan in the east
Life Expectancy at Birth
- Male
- 70.2 years
- Female
- 77 years
- Total population
- 73.5 years (2024 est.)
- Maternal mortality ratio
- 67 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation Facility Access
- Improved: rural
- rural: 73.1% of population (2022 est.)
- Improved: total
- total: 85.4% of population (2022 est.)
- Improved: urban
- urban: 92.7% of population (2022 est.)
- Unimproved: rural
- rural: 26.9% of population (2022 est.)
- Unimproved: total
- total: 14.6% of population (2022 est.)
- Unimproved: urban
- urban: 7.3% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol Consumption Per Capita
- Beer
- 0.12 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
- Wine
- 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
- Total
- 3.61 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
- Spirits
- 3.48 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
- Other alcohols
- 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
- Major urban areas population
- 3.158 million PYONGYANG (capital) (2023)
- Obesity adult prevalence rate
- 6.8% (2016)
- Currently married women (ages 15 49)
- 68.2% (2017 est.)
- Children under the age of 5 years underweight
- 9.3% (2017 est.)
School Life Expectancy (Primary to Tertiary Education)
- Male
- 12 years (2018 est.)
- Total
- 12 years (2018 est.)
- Female
- 12 years (2018 est.)
Government
Civica · structure
How power is organised
ExecutiveLegislative
- Flag
- description: three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple-width), and blue; the red band is edged in white; on the left side of the red band is a white disk with a red five-pointed star
meaning: the red band stands for revolutionary traditions, the white for purity, strength, and dignity; blue for sovereignty, peace, and friendship; the red star represents socialism
Capital
- Name
- Pyongyang
- Etymology
- the name translates as "flat land" in Korean
- Time zone note
- on 5 May 2018, North Korea reverted to UTC+9, the same time zone as South Korea
- Time difference
- UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
- Geographic coordinates
- 39 01 N, 125 45 E
- Suffrage
- 17 years of age; universal and compulsory
Citizenship
- Citizenship BY birth
- no
- Citizenship BY descent only
- at least one parent must be a citizen of North Korea
- Dual citizenship recognized
- no
- Residency requirement for naturalization
- unknown
Constitution
- History
- previous 1948, 1972; latest adopted 1998
- Amendment process
- proposed by the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA); passage requires more than two-thirds majority vote of the total SPA membership
Country Name
- Etymology
- derived from the Chinese name for Goryeo, which was the Korean dynasty that united the peninsula in the 10th century A.D.; the North Korean name "Choson" means "[Land of the] Morning Calm"
- Abbreviation
- DPRK
- Local long form
- Choson-minjujuui-inmin-konghwaguk
- Local short form
- Choson
- Conventional long form
- Democratic People's Republic of Korea
- Conventional short form
- North Korea
- Independence
- 15 August 1945 (from Japan)
- Legal system
- civil law system based on the Prussian model; influenced by Japanese traditions and Communist legal theory
- Government type
- dictatorship, single-party communist state
Judicial Branch
- Highest court(s)
- Supreme Court or Central Court (consists of one judge and 2 "People's Assessors" or, for some cases, 3 judges)
- Subordinate courts
- lower provincial courts as determined by the Supreme People's Assembly
- Judge selection and term of office
- judges elected by the Supreme People's Assembly for 5-year terms
Executive Branch
- Note
- note 1: KIM Jong Un's titles include general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (KWP), chairman of the KWP Central Military Commission, president of the State Affairs Commission, and supreme commander of the Korean People's Army
note 2: in the North Korean system, KIM Jong Un's role as chief of state is secondary to his role as general secretary of the Korean Workers' Party; chief of state is used to engage with non-communist countries such as the US; North Korea revised its constitution in 2019 to define "the Chairman of the State Affairs Commission" as "the supreme leader who represents the state"; functions as the commander-in-chief and chief executive; the specific titles associated with this office have changed multiple times under KIM's tenure, but KIM Jong Un has been supreme leader since his father's death in 2011
note 3: the head of government functions as the technical head of state and performs related duties, such as receiving ambassadors' credentials - Cabinet
- Cabinet or Naegak members appointed by the Supreme People's Assembly, except the Minister of People's Armed Forces
- Chief of state
- State Affairs Commission President KIM Jong Un (since 17 December 2011)
- Election results
2019: KIM Jong Un reelected unopposed- Head of government
- Supreme People's Assembly President CHOE Ryong Hae (since 11 April 2019)
- Most recent election date
- 11 April 2019
- Election/appointment process
- chief of state and premier indirectly elected by the Supreme People's Assembly
- Expected date of next election
- March 2024
- National holiday
- Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948)
- National color(s)
- red, white, blue
National Heritage
- Total world heritage sites
- 2 (both cultural, one mixed)
- Selected world heritage site locales
- Koguryo Tombs Complex; Historic Monuments and Sites in Kaesong; Mount Kumgang – Diamond Mountain from the Sea (m)
- Political parties
- major parties:
Korean Workers' Party or KWP (formally known as Workers' Party of Korea)
General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon; under KWP control)
minor parties:
Chondoist Chongu Party (under KWP control)
Social Democratic Party or KSDP (under KWP control)
Legislative Branch
- Note
- note: the SPA functions as a rubberstamp legislature; the Korean Workers' Party selects all candidates
- Term in office
- 5 years
- Number of seats
- 687 (all directly elected)
- Electoral system
- plurality/majority
- Legislature name
- Supreme People's Assembly (Choe Go In Min Hoe Ui)
- Scope of elections
- full renewal
- Legislative structure
- unicameral
- Most recent election date
- 3/10/2019
- Expected date of next election
- December 2025
- Percentage of women in chamber
- 17.6%
National Anthem(s)
- Title
- "Aegukka" (Patriotic Song)
- History
- adopted 1947; North Korea's and South Korea's anthems have the same name and a similar melody, but different lyrics; the North Korean anthem is also known as "Ach'imun pinnara" (Let Morning Shine)
- Lyrics/music
- PAK Se Yong/KIM Won Gyun
- National symbol(s)
- red star, chollima (winged horse)
- Administrative divisions
- 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 4 special administration cities (si, singular and plural)
provinces: Chagang, Hambuk (North Hamgyong), Hamnam (South Hamgyong), Hwangbuk (North Hwanghae), Hwangnam (South Hwanghae), Kangwon, P'yongbuk (North Pyongan), P'yongnam (South Pyongan), Ryanggang
special administration cities: Kaesong, Nampo, P'yongyang, Rason - Diplomatic representation in the US
- none
note: North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York
Diplomatic Representation from the US
- Embassy
- none; the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the US as consular protecting power
- International organisations
- ARF, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IMSO, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO
- International law organization participation
- has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
Legislature
NORTH KOREA · LEGISLATURE
Supreme People's Assembly
687 seats · hover a seat for the party
Total seats
687
Majority line
345
Largest party
Workers’ Party of Korea
Parties
1
All political parties
Leaders
Current
Kim Jong-un
- Head of State
Pak Thae-song
- Head of Government
Economy
- Industries
- military products; machine building, electric power, chemicals; mining (coal, iron ore, limestone, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals), metallurgy; textiles, food processing; tourism
- Labor force
- 17.637 million (2024 est.)
Exchange Rates
- Currency
- North Korean won (KPW) per US dollar (average market rate)
- Exchange rates 2015
- 130 (2015 est.)
- Exchange rates 2016
- 130 (2016 est.)
- Exchange rates 2017
- 135 (2017 est.)
- Economic overview
- one of the last centrally planned economies; hard hit by COVID-19, crop failures, international sanctions, and isolationist policies; declining growth and trade, and heavily reliant on China; poor exchange rate stability; economic data integrity issues
Unemployment Rate
- Civica canonical (reconciled)
- 3.5%
- Note
- note: % of labor force seeking employment
- Unemployment rate 2022
- 2.9% (2022 est.)
- Unemployment rate 2023
- 2.9% (2023 est.)
- Unemployment rate 2024
- 2.9% (2024 est.)
- Exports partners
- China 74%, Poland 3%, Senegal 3%, Angola 3%, Austria 3% (2023)
- Imports partners
- China 97%, Togo 1%, Peru 1%, Gabon 1%, India 0% (2023)
Real GDP Per Capita
- Civica canonical (reconciled)
- $600 (2023 est.)
- Note
- note: data in 2015 dollars
- Real GDP per capita 2021
- $600 (2021 est.)
- Real GDP per capita 2022
- $600 (2022 est.)
- Real GDP per capita 2023
- $600 (2023 est.)
- Agricultural products
- maize, vegetables, rice, apples, cabbages, fruits, sweet potatoes, potatoes, beans, soybeans (2023)
- Exports commodities
- fake hair, iron alloys, tungsten ore, electricity, cars (2023)
- Imports commodities
- processed hair, plastic products, garments, fabric, soybean oil (2023)
- GDP (official exchange rate)
- $16.447 billion (2023 est.)
Real GDP (Purchasing Power Parity)
- Civica canonical (reconciled)
- $15.416 billion (2023 est.)
- Note
- note: data in 2015 dollars
- Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2021
- $14.982 billion (2021 est.)
- Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2022
- $14.959 billion (2022 est.)
- Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2023
- $15.416 billion (2023 est.)
Youth Unemployment Rate (Ages 15 24)
- Male
- 6.1% (2024 est.)
- Note
- note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment
- Total
- 6.8% (2024 est.)
- Female
- 7.4% (2024 est.)
Energy
Coal
- Production
- 21.928 million metric tons (2023 est.)
- Consumption
- 22.105 million metric tons (2023 est.)
- Proven reserves
- 10.6 billion metric tons (2023 est.)
Petroleum
- Refined petroleum consumption
- 18,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)
Electricity
- Consumption
- 22.448 billion kWh (2023 est.)
- Installed generating capacity
- 8.357 million kW (2023 est.)
- Transmission/distribution losses
- 4.101 billion kWh (2023 est.)
Electricity Access
- Electrification total population
- 54.7% (2022 est.)
Energy Consumption Per Capita
- Total energy consumption per capita 2023
- 23.83 million Btu/person (2023 est.)
Electricity Generation Sources
- Solar
- 0.6% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
- Fossil fuels
- 36.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
- Hydroelectricity
- 62.5% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Communications
- Broadcast media
- no independent media; radios and TVs are pre-tuned to government stations; 4 state-owned TV stations; the Korean Workers' Party owns and operates the Korean Central Broadcasting Station, and the state-run Voice of Korea operates an external broadcast service; the government prohibits listening to and jams foreign broadcasts (2019)
- Internet country code
- .kp
Telephones Fixed Lines
- Total subscriptions
- 1.18 million (2021 est.)
- Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants
- 4 (2022 est.)
Telephones Mobile Cellular
- Total subscriptions
- 6.35 million (2022 est.)
- Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants
- 24 (2022 est.)
Transport
Ports
- Large
- 0
- Small
- 7
- Medium
- 0
- Key ports
- Ch'ongjin, Haeju Hang, Hungnam, Najin, Nampo, Senbong, Wonsan
- Very small
- 3
- Total ports
- 10 (2024)
- Ports with oil terminals
- 0
- Airports
- 81 (2025)
Railways
- Note
- note: figures are approximate; some narrow-gauge railway also exists
- Total
- 7,435 km (2014)
- Standard gauge
- 7,435 km (2014) 1.435-m gauge (5,400 km electrified)
- Heliports
- 8 (2025)
Merchant Marine
- Total
- 264 (2023)
- BY type
- bulk carrier 10, container ship 5, general cargo 191, oil tanker 29, other 29
- Civil aircraft registration country code prefix
- P
Environment
- Climate
- temperate, with rainfall concentrated in summer; long, bitter winters
Geoparks
- Global geoparks and regional networks
- Mt Paektu (2025)
- Total global geoparks and regional networks
- 1 (2025)
Land Use
- Other
- 14.5% (2023 est.)
- Forest
- 64% (2023 est.)
- Agricultural land
- 21.6% (2023 est.)
- Agricultural land: arable land
- arable land: 19.1% (2023 est.)
- Agricultural land: permanent crops
- permanent crops: 2.1% (2023 est.)
- Agricultural land: permanent pasture
- permanent pasture: 0.4% (2023 est.)
Urbanization
- Urban population
- 63.2% of total population (2023)
- Rate of urbanization
- 0.85% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
- Environmental issues
- water pollution; inadequate potable water; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation
Total Water Withdrawal
- Municipal
- 902.8 million cubic meters (2022 est.)
- Industrial
- 1.145 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
- Agricultural
- 6.61 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
Carbon Dioxide Emissions
- Total emissions
- 55.744 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
- From coal and metallurgical coke
- 52.985 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
- From petroleum and other liquids
- 2.759 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
- Particulate matter emissions
- 41.8 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
- Total renewable water resources
- 77.15 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
International Environmental Agreements
- Party to
- Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
- Signed, but not ratified
- Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Law of the Sea
Military & Security
- Military note
- the Korean People's Army (KPA) is one of the World’s largest military forces; founded in 1948, the KPA’s primary responsibilities are national defense and protection of the Kim regime; it also provides support to domestic economic projects such as agriculture production and infrastructure construction; North Korea views South Korea and the US as its primary external threats and Russia as its closest security partner
in addition to the invasion of South Korea and the subsequent Korean War (1950-53), North Korea from the 1960s to the 1980s launched a number of military and subversive actions against South Korea; including skirmishes along the DMZ, overt attempts to assassinate South Korean leaders, kidnappings, the bombing of an airliner, and a failed effort in 1968 to foment an insurrection and conduct a guerrilla war in the South with more than 100 seaborne commandos; from the 1990s until 2010, the North lost two submarines and a semi-submersible boat attempting to insert infiltrators into the South (1996, 1998) and provoked several engagements in the Northwest Islands area along the disputed Northern Limit Line (NLL), including naval skirmishes between patrol boats in 1999 and 2002, the torpedoing and sinking of a South Korean Navy corvette in 2010, and the bombardment of a South Korean military installation on Yeonpyeong Island, also in 2010; since 2010, further minor incidents continue to occur periodically along the DMZ, where both the KPA and the South Korean military maintain large numbers of troops
North Korea also has a history of provocative regional military actions and posturing that are of major concern to the international community, including: proliferation of military-related items; ballistic and cruise missile development and testing; weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs including tests of nuclear devices in 2006, 2009, 2013, 2016, and 2017; and large conventional armed forces (2025) - Military deployments
- estimated 10-12,000 Russia (2025)
- Military expenditures
- defense spending is a regime priority; between 2010 and 2020, military expenditures accounted for an estimated 20-30% of North Korea's GDP annually; spending estimates ranged from $7 billion to $11 billion annually; in 2024, North Korea announced that it would spend nearly 16% of state expenditures on defense; North Korea in the 2010s and 2020s has increasingly relied on illicit activities — including cybercrime — to generate revenue for its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs to evade US and UN sanctions
- Military and security forces
- Korean People's Army (KPA): KPA Ground Forces, KPA Navy, KPA Air Force and Air Defense Forces, KPA Strategic Forces (missile forces), KPA Special Forces (special operations forces); Security Guard Command (aka Bodyguard Command); Military Security Command
Ministry of Social Security (formerly Ministry of Public Security): Border Guard General Bureau, civil security forces; Ministry of State Security: internal security, investigations (2025) - Military service age and obligation
- compulsory military service for men (17-30 years of age) and women (17-23 years of age); service obligation is reportedly up to 10 years for men and up to 7 years for women (2025)
- Military equipment inventories and acquisitions
- the KPA is equipped with older weapon systems acquired from China, Russia, and the former Soviet Union, as well as some domestically produced armaments; North Korea produces an array of military hardware, including armored vehicles, artillery, munitions, naval vessels, and some advanced weapons systems, such as cruise and ballistic missiles; most are copies or upgrades of older foreign supplied equipment (2025)
- Military and security service personnel strengths
- estimates vary; as many as 1.3 million active-duty Korean People's Army (2025)
Space
- Space launch site(s)
- Sohae Satellite Launching Station (aka Tongch'ang-dong Space Launch Center; North Pyongan province); Tonghae Satellite Launching Ground (North Hamgyong province) (2025)
- Space agency/agencies
- National Aerospace Technology Administration (NATA; established 2013; re-named in 2023 from the National Aerospace Development Administration or NADA); State Space Development Bureau; Academy of National Defense Science; Ministry of People’s Armed Forces (2025)
- Space program overview
- North Korea’s leader has emphasized the development of space capabilities, particularly satellite launch vehicles (SLVs) and remote sensing satellites; manufactures satellites and rockets/SLVs; independently launches rockets/SLVs; SLV program is viewed as closely related to the country's development of intercontinental ballistic missiles; passed a national space law in 2013, and revised it in 2022 to allow for the use of space for national defense; has cooperated with Iran on space-related technologies, and signed a mutual defense treaty with Russia in 2024 that stated the two countries would “develop exchanges and joint research in science and technology, including space” (2025)
- Key space program milestones
- 1980s - initiated space program
1998 - failed first attempt to place a satellite in orbit on a 3-stage Paektusan-1 satellite launch vehicle (SLV)
2012 - successfully placed first satellite (Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 or Bright Star-3) in orbit on Unha-3 SLV (satellite failed to operate)
2016 - second satellite (Kwangmyŏngsŏng-4) placed in orbit on Unha-3 SLV (reportedly a remote sensing (RS) satellite that also failed to operate)
2023 - placed a military RS satellite (Malligyong-1) in orbit on Chollima-1 SLV
2024 - failed attempt to place a second military RS satellite in orbit on new type SLV
Transnational Issues
Trafficking in Persons
- Tier rating
- Tier 3 — the government of North Korea does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so, therefore, North Korea remained on Tier 3; for more details, go to: https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/north-korea/
Scores & Rankings
ScoreValueGlobal rankTrendAs of
Civica Index10.0 / 100as of 2024-Q4181 / 1902024-Q4
V-Dem Liberal Democracy0.01as of 2024-Q4169 / 1702024-Q4
Freedom House StatusNot Free (0/100)as of 2024-Q4—2024-Q4
Press Freedom (RSF)Restricted press (21/100)as of 2024—2024
Cite this page
Cite this page
Civica. (2026). Civica Atlas — North Korea — vintage 2026-Q1: North Korea factbook. Civica Atlas. Retrieved May 7, 2026, from https://civicaatlas.org/factbook/north-korea
Sources: FAO FAOSTAT, ILO ILOSTAT, UN Statistics Division, UNDP HDR, UNESCO Institute for Statistics, V-Dem, WHO Global Health Observatory, World Bank, WTO Stats, CIA World Factbook, Wikidata