Transcript North Korea

North Korea
“the hermit kingdom”
History
• In the aftermath of the
Japanese occupation of
Korea which ended with
Japan's defeat in World
War II in 1945, Korea was
divided at the 38th parallel
in accordance with a United
Nations arrangement, to be
administered by the Soviet
Union in the north and the
United States in the south.
• The history of North Korea
formally begins with the
establishment of the
Democratic People's
Republic in 1948.
Korean War
• The Korean War was a war between North Korea and South Korea with major
hostilities beginning on June 25, 1950.
• The conflict arose from the division of Korea by the UN and the attempts of the two
Korean powers to reunify Korea under their respective governments. The division led
to full scale civil war with a cost of more than 2 million civilians and soldiers from
both sides.
• These negotiations ended when the military of North Korea invaded the South on
June 25, 1950. Under the aegis of the United Nations, nations allied with the United
States intervened on behalf of South Korea.
• After rapid advances in a South Korean counterattack, North-allied Chinese forces
intervened on behalf of North Korea, shifting the balance of the war and ultimately
leading to an armistice that approximately restored the original boundaries between
North and South Korea.
• While some have referred to the conflict as a civil war, there were many other factors
at play.[32] The Korean War was also the first armed confrontation of the Cold War
and set the standard for many later conflicts. It created the idea of a proxy war,
where the two superpowers would fight in another country, forcing the people in that
nation to suffer the bulk of the destruction and death involved in a war between such
large nations.
• It also expanded the Cold War, which to that point had mostly been concerned with
Europe. A heavily guarded demilitarized zone on the 38th parallel continues to
divide the peninsula today with anti-Communist and anti-North Korea sentiment
still remaining in South Korea.
Late 20th century
• The relative peace between
the south and the north was
punctuated by border
skirmishes and assassination
attempts. The North failed in
several assassination
attempts on South Korean
leaders, most notably in
1968, 1974 and the Rangoon
bombing in 1983
• Tunnels were frequently
found under the DMZ and
war nearly broke out over the
Axe Murder Incident at
Panmunjeom in 1976.
21st Century
• In 2002, United States president George W. Bush labeled North Korea part
of an "axis of evil" and an "outpost of tyranny". The highest-level contact the
government has had with the United States was with U.S. Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright, who made a visit to Pyongyang in 2000,[but the two
countries do not have formal diplomatic relations.
• By 2006, approximately 37,000 American soldiers remained in South
Korea, although by June 2009 this number had fallen to around
30,000.Kim Jong-il has privately stated his acceptance of U.S. troops on the
peninsula, even after a possible reunification. Publicly, North Korea strongly
demands the removal of American troops from Korea.
• On June 13, 2009, the Associated Press reported that in response to new UN
sanctions, North Korea declared it would progress with its uranium
enrichment program. This marked the first time the DPRK has publicly
acknowledged that it is conducting a uranium enrichment program.
• In August 2009, former US president Bill Clinton met with Kim Jong-il to
secure the release of 2 US journalists, who had been sentenced for entering
the country illegally.[
• Current U.S. President Barack Obama's position towards North Korea has
been to remain calm in the face of North Korea's provocations while
resisting making deals with North Korea merely for the sake of defusing
tension, a policy known as "strategic patience."
Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Government Structure
• North Korea is a self-described Juche
(self-reliant) state, described by some
observers as a "hereditary dictatorship"[
with a pronounced cult of personality
organized around Kim Il-sung (the
founder of North Korea and the country's
only president) and his son and heir, Kim
Jong-il.
• Following Kim Il-sung's death in1994, he
was not replaced but instead received the
designation of "Eternal President", and
was entombed in the vast Kumsusan
Memorial Palace in central Pyongyang.
• The structure of the government is
described in the Constitution of North
Korea. It is a single-party state. The
governing party is the Democratic Front
for the Reunification of the Fatherland.
• In June 2009, it was reported in South
Korean media that intelligence indicates
the country's next leader will be Kim Jongun, the youngest of Kim Jong-il's three
sons.
• Plaid Avenger
Military
• The Korean People's Army (KPA) is
the name for the collective armed
personnel of the North Korean
military. It has five branches:
Ground Force, Naval Force, Air
Force, Special Operations Force, and
Rocket Force.
• According to the U.S. Department of
State, North Korea has the fourthlargest army in the world, at an
estimated 1.21 million armed
personnel, with about 20% of men
aged 17–54 in the regular armed
forces. North Korea has the highest
percentage of military personnel per
capita of any nation in the world,
with approximately 1 enlisted soldier
for every 25 citizens.
• Military strategy is designed for insertion of
agents and sabotage behind enemy lines in
wartime, with much of the KPA's forces
deployed along the heavily fortified Korean
Demilitarized Zone.
• The Korean People's Army operates a very
large amount of equipment, including
4,060 tanks, 2,500 APCs, 17,900 artillery
pieces, 11,000 air defense guns and some
10,000 MANPADS and anti-tank guided
missiles. in the Ground force; at least 915
vessels in the Navy and 1,748 aircraft in the
Air Force, of which 478 are fighters and 180
are bombers.
• The equipment is a mixture of World War
II vintage vehicles and small arms, widely
proliferated Cold War technology, and
more modern Soviet or locally produced
weapons.
• In line with its asymmetric warfare
strategy, North Korea has also developed a
wide range of unconventional techniques
and equipment, such as GPS jammers,
stealth paint, midget submarines and
human torpedoes, a vast array of chemical
and biological weapons, and anti-personnel
lasers.
• According to official North Korean media,
military expenditures for 2010 amount to
15.8% of the state budget.
• North Korea has active nuclear and ballistic
missile weapons programs and has been
subject to United Nations Security Council
resolutions 1695 of July 2006, 1718 of
October 2006, and 1874 of June 2009, for
carrying out both missile and nuclear tests.
North Korea probably has fissile material
for up to 9 nuclear weapons, and has the
capability to deploy nuclear warheads on
intermediate-range ballistic missiles.
Current Crisis
• On November 23, 2010, North Korea fired about 170
rounds of artillery on Yeonpyeong Island and the
surrounding waters near the Yellow Sea border, with some
90 shells landing on the island.
• The attack resulted in the deaths of two South Korean
marines and two civilians. Fifteen marines and at least
three civilians were wounded.
• North Korean news sources alleged that the North Korean
actions, described as "a prompt and powerful physical
strike", were in response to provocation from South Korea,
alleging that South Korea fired "dozens of shells inside its
territorial waters".
• Former US President Jimmy Carter made a call for a
peaceful solution of this crisis
• Plaid Avenger
Nuclear Weapons
• As a result of the North Korean nuclear weapons program,
the Six-party talks were established to find a peaceful
solution to the growing tension between the two Korean
governments, the Russian Federation, the People's
Republic of China, Japan, and the United States.
• On July 17, 2007, United Nations inspectors verified the
shutdown of five North Korean nuclear facilities,
according to the February 2007 agreement.
• On October 4, 2007, South Korean President Roh MooHyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il signed an 8point peace agreement, on issues of permanent peace,
high-level talks, economic cooperation, renewal of train,
highway and air travel, and a joint Olympic cheering
squad.
Economy
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North Korea has an industrialized, near-autarkic,
highly centralized command economy.
Of the five remaining Communist states in the
world, North Korea is one of only two (along with
Cuba) with an almost entirely governmentplanned, state-owned economy. The Central
Planning Committee prepares, supervises and
implements economic plans, while a General
Bureau of Provincial Industry in each region is
responsible for the management of local
manufacturing facilities, production, resource
allocation and sales.
North Korea's isolation policy means that
international trade is highly restricted. North
Korea passed a law in 1984 allowing for foreign
investment through joint ventures, but failed to
attract any significant investment. In 1991, it
established the Rason Economic Special Zone in
an attempt to attract foreign investment from
China and Russia. Chinese and Russian
companies have purchased rights to use the ports
at Rason. Chinese investors are renovating a road
from Rason to China, and Russian railway
workers are renovating the railway from Rason to
Russia, from where it continues onto the TransSiberian Railway.
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Until 1998, the United Nations published HDI
and GDP per capita figures for North Korea,
which stood at a medium level of human
development at 0.766 (ranked 75th) and a GDP
per capita of $4,058.
The average salary is about $47 per month.
Despite substantial economic problems, quality of
life is improving and wages are rising steadily.
Small-scale private markets, known as
janmadang, exist throughout the country and
provide the population with imported food and
commodities ranging from cosmetics to
motorcycles in exchange for money. In 2009, the
government carried out a currency
redenomination with the aim to curb free market
activity across the country, but the attempt failed,
causing inflation rates to skyrocket, and
eventually led to the lifting of the ban on free
market trade.
• Food rations, housing, healthcare, and
education are offered from the state for free,
and the payment of taxes has been abolished
since April 1, 1974. In order to increase
productivity from agriculture and industry,
since the 1960s the North Korean government
has introduced a number of management
systems such as the Taean work system. In the
21st century, North Korea's GDP growth has
been slow but steady, although in recent years,
growth has gradually accelerated to 3.7% in
2008, the fastest pace in almost a decade,
largely due to a sharp growth of 8.2% in the
agricultural sector.
• Major industries include military products,
machine building, electric power, chemicals,
mining, metallurgy, textiles, food processing
and tourism.
• In 2005, North Korea was ranked by the FAO
as an estimated 10th in the production of fresh
fruit and as an estimated 19th in the
production of apples. It has substantial natural
resources and is the world's 18th largest
producer of iron and zinc, having the 22nd
largest coal reserves in the world. It is also the
15th largest fluorite producer and 12th largest
producer of copper and salt in Asia. Other
major natural resources in production include
lead, tungsten, graphite, magnesite, gold,
pyrites, fluorspar, and hydropower.
Six Party Talks
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Participating Countries:
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the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North
Korea)
the Republic of Korea (South Korea)
the People's Republic of China
the United States of America
the Russian Federation
the State of Japan
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Discontinuation of talks
On April 5, 2009, North Korea proceeded with its
announced satellite launch, despite international
pressure not to do so. The pressure was due to
international belief that the "satellite" was in fact
a test of North Korea's Taepodong-2 ICBM. The
launch was a failure, and it landed in the Pacific
Ocean. Despite the failure, U.S. President Barack
Obama responded that "violations must be
punished," ordered North Korea to be "punished.
South Korea urged heavier sanctions against
North Korea.
On April 13, 2009, the United Nations Security
Council agreed unanimously to a Presidential
Statement that condemned North Korea for the
launch and stated the Council's intention to
expand sanctions on North Korea.
On April 14, 2009, North Korea, responding
angrily to the UN Security Council's resolution,
said that it "will never again take part in such [six
party] talks and will not be bound by any
agreement reached at the talks." North Korea
expelled nuclear inspectors from the country and
also informed the International Atomic Energy
Agency that they would resume their nuclear
weapons program.
On May 25, 2009, North Korea detonated a
nuclear device underground. The test was
condemned by the United Nations, NATO, the
other five members of the Six-party talks, and
many other countries worldwide.
South Korea: Republic of Korea
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Under its current constitution the state is
sometimes referred to as the Sixth Republic of
South Korea.
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Like many democratic states, South Korea has a
government divided into three branches:
executive, judicial, and legislative.
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The South Korean government's structure is
determined by the Constitution of the Republic
of Korea. This document has been revised several
times since its first promulgation in 1948 at
independence.
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Although South Korea experienced a series of
military dictatorships since the 1960s up until the
1980s, it has since developed into a successful
liberal democracy.
Today, the CIA World Factbook describes South
Korea's democracy as a "fully functioning
modern democracy".
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