North Korea

Geography

Location: Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, be­tween China and South Korea. Area: 120,540 sq. km. Principal cities: P'yOngyang, Ch'Ongjin, Namp'o, Sinmiju, WOnsan, and KaesOng. Tour­ist attractions: Myohyangsan, Paekdusan and Panmunjeom. Time zone: GMT+9 hours. 

People

Population: 23,301,725 fluty 2007 est.)- Population growth rate:
0.785% (2007 est.). Sex ratio: 0.94 male(s)/female (2007 est.). Religions: I Traditionally Buddhist and Confucianist, some Christian and syncretic Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way). Languages: Korean. Literacy rate: 99%. Infant mortality rate: 22.56 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 ' est.). Life expectancy: Total 71.92 years, Male 69.18 years, Female 74.8 years (2007 est.).

Government

Capital: Pyongyang. National an­them: Aegukka. Government type:
Communist state. Independence: 15 August 1945 (from Japan). Legal sys­tem: Based on Prussian civil law system with Japanese influences and communist legal theory. Executive branch: Chief of state: Kim Jong-il (since July 1994). The late leader Kim ll-sung is now referred to as the 'Eternal President' of the country. Head of government: Premier Kim Yong-il (since I ! April 2007). Elections and election results: The Supreme People's Assembly elects the premier. The last elections were held in September 2003. Legislative branch: North Korea has a uni-cameral Supreme People's Assembly or Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui. It has 687 seats and members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms. Judicial branch: Central court.

Economy

Currency: Won. GDP: Purchasing power parity—$40 billion (2006 est.). GDP—real growth rate: 1.8% (2006 est.). GDP—per capita: Purchasing power parity—$1,800 (2006 est.). Ex­ports: $1.34 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.). Imports: $2.72 billion c.i.f. (2005 est.). External debt: $12 billion (1996 est.).

Transport and Communications

Railways: 5,214 km. Roads: 31,200 km. Airports: Sunan International Airport. Telephones: 1,100,000 (1997). Internet country code: .kp. ISD code: 850.