About North Korea:
Official Name: D
emocratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)
Capital City: Pyongyang
Population: 25 million
Government: Communist state one-man dictatorship
Leader: Kim Jong-Un (2011 – present)
Founded: September 9, 1948
Introduction to North Korea:
The North Korean border runs along the 38th
parallel, which splits the North from the South. During the Korean War, this parallel was determined an army boundary. Southern forces, backed by the U.S., fought against invasion by the North, which was supported by China and the Soviet Union. A ceasefire, which led to an armistice agreement, put an end to the fighting in 1953 and established the demilitarized zone (DMZ), which runs along the 38th parallel (despite being called a demilitarized zone, this is one of the most highly militarized borders in the world). However there was no official declaration signed to end the war. Thus the 38th parallel, which was originally a temporary boundary, is the current boundary between the North and South, and the two nations are technically still at war.
The DMZ, which separates North and South Korea
The Soviet Union hand picked Kim il-Sung to be the leader of the newly formed North Korea, partially due to his obedience and loyalty to the communist regime. Kim il-sung worked to create his his family’s lasting regime through strict central government control and propaganda. His son, Kim Jong-il, was his successor in 1980, and in 2011 Kim Jong-Un took his place and is now the current supreme leader of the DPRK.
Throughout its history North Korea has had a ‘military-first’ focus. Despite international critique, the DPRK has developed a nuclear weapons programs, alarming the globe with its nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and again in 2013 (Lee, 2016).
According to the Human Rights Watch:
Under the rule of Kim Jong-Un, North Korea remains among the world’s most repressive countries. All basic freedoms have been severely restricted under the Kim family’s political dynasty. A 2014 UN Commission of Inquiry found that abuses in North Korea were without parallel in the contemporary world. They include extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortions, and other sexual violence. North Korea operates secretive prison camps where perceived opponents of the government are sent to face torture and abuse, starvation rations, and forced labor. Fear of collective punishment is used to silence dissent. There is no independent media, functioning civil society, or religious freedom.
For more information on North Korea, visit the CIA World Factbook North Korea
North Korean Cinema 