Administrative divisions
9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 4 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: Kaesong-si (Kaesong), Najin Sonbong-si (Najin-Sonbong), Namp'o-si (Namp'o), P'yongyang-si (Pyongyang) |
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Capital city
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Pyongyang |
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Capital city > Geographic coordinates
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39 01 N, 125 45 E |
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Constitution
adopted 1948; completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992, and September 1998 |
Executive branch > Cabinet
Naegak (cabinet) members, except for Minister of People's Armed Forces, are appointed by SPA |
Executive branch > Chief of state
KIM Jong Il (since July 1994); note - on 3 September 2003, rubberstamp Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) reelected KIM Jong Il chairman of the National Defense Commission, a position accorded nation's "highest administrative authority"; SPA reelected KIM Yong Nam president of its Presidium also with responsibility of representing state and receiving diplomatic credentials |
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 |
Government type
Communist state one-man dictatorship |
Independence
15 August 1945 (from Japan) |
Judicial branch
Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly) |
Legal system
based on Prussian civil law system with Japanese influences and Communist legal theory; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch
unicameral Supreme People's Assembly or Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui (687 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) |
National holiday
Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September |
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Parliamentary seats > Female
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20% |
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[22nd of 143]
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Political parties and leaders
major party - Korean Workers' Party or KWP [KIM Jong Il]; minor parties - Chondoist Chongu Party [RYU Mi Yong] (under KWP control), Social Democratic Party [KIM Yong Dae] (under KWP control) |
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Political pressure groups and leaders
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none |
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Status
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dictatorship |
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Suffrage
17 years of age; universal |
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Trademarks, residents
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14,239
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[16th of 98]
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Transnational Issues > Disputes > International
risking arrest, imprisonment, and deportation, tens of thousands of North Koreans cross into China to escape famine, economic privation, and political oppression; North Korea and China dispute the sovereignty of certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers; Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic incidents in the Yellow Sea with South Korea which claims the Northern Limiting Line as a maritime boundary; North Korea supports South Korea in rejecting Japan's claim to Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Take-shima) |
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