Following World War II, Korea was split with the northern half coming under Communist domination and the southern portion becoming Western oriented. KIM Chong-il has ruled North Korea since his father and the country's founder, president KIM Il-song, died in 1994. After decades of mismanagement, the North relies heavily on international food aid to feed its population, while continuing to expend resources to maintain an army of about 1 million. North Korea's long-range missile development and research into nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and massive conventional armed forces are of major concern to the international community.

HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL HIGHLIGHTS
The Korean Peninsula was first populated by peoples of a Tungusic branch of the Ural-Altaic language family, who migrated from the northwestern regions of Asia. Some of these peoples also populated parts of northeast China (Manchuria); Koreans and Manchurians still show physical similarities. Koreans are racially and linguistically homogeneous.

ECONOMY
North Korea's faltering economy and the breakdown of trade relations with the countries of the former socialist bloc--especially following the fall of communism in eastern Europe and the disintegration of the Soviet Union--have confronted Pyongyang with difficult policy choices. Other centrally planned economies in similar straits have opted for domestic economic reform and liberalization of trade and investment.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
North Korea's relationship with the South has informed much of its post-World War II history and still drives much of its foreign policy. North and South Korea have had a difficult and acrimonious relationship from the Korean war. In recent years, North Korea has pursued a mixed policy--seeking to develop economic relations with South Korea and to win the support of the South Korean public for greater North-South engagement while at the same time continuing to denounce the R.O.K.'s security relationship with the United States and maintaining a threatening conventional force posture on the DMZ and in adjacent waters.

Full country name: Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Area: 120,410 sq km (46,959 sq mi)
Population: 24 million
Capital city: P'yongyang
People: Korean
Language: Korean
Religion: All religion has been effectively prohibited since the 1950s
Government: Communist 'dynasty', one-man dictatorship
Chairman of the National Defense Commission (highest post held by a living person): Kim Jong Il
Eternal President: Kim Il-sung
GDP: US$22 billion
GDP per head: US$1390
Annual growth: -5%
Inflation: N/A
Major industries: Military products, machinery, electric power, chemicals, mining, metallurgy, textiles, food processing
Major trading partners: China, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Hong Kong, Russia