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DPRK Briefing Book: About the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea)

DPRK Briefing Book: About the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea)The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, commonly referred to as North Korea) is one of the world’s military flashpoints. Although a small country with a population of only 20-22 million people, North Korea is of vital strategic importance because of its geographic location in an area of the world where the interests of China, Russia, Japan, and the United States collide. Making the situation even more complex and volatile, these interests are carried out on a politically divided peninsula, with the northern half dominated by the DPRK government, and the southern half dominated by the government of the Republic of Korea (ROK, commonly known as South Korea). Globally, North Korea is of critical significance because of its potential to export weapons of mass destruction, its ballistic missile capacity, and the nuclear capability it has developed.

Geography History Culture

  • NORTH KOREA
  • FOREWORD
  • ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  • PREFACE COUNTRY PROFILE
    • Country
    • GEOGRAPHY
    • SOCIETY
    • ECONOMY
    • TRANSPORTATION AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
    • GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
    • NATIONAL SECURITY
  • INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1. HISTORICAL SETTING
    • HISTORICAL SETTING
    • THE ORIGINS OF THE KOREAN NATION
      • The Period of the Three Kingdoms
      • Korea under Silla
      • Unification by Kory
      • The Chosn Dynasty: Florescence
      • Dynastic Decline
    • KOREA IN THE NINETEENTH-CENTURY WORLD ORDER
    • THE LEGACY OF JAPANESE COLONIALISM
    • THE RISE OF KOREAN NATIONALISM AND COMMUNISM
    • THE NATIONAL DIVISION AND THE ORIGINS OF THE DPRK
    • THE KOREAN WAR
    • THE POST-WAR ECONOMY AND PATTERNS OF INDUSTRIALIZATION
    • CORPORATISM AND THE CHUCH’E IDEA
    • INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

    CHAPTER 2. THE SOCIETY AND ITS ENVIRONMENT

    • THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
      • Topography and Drainage
      • Climate
      • Environmental Protection
    • POPULATION
      • Size and Growth Rate
      • Population Structure and Projections
      • Settlement Patterns and Urbanization
      • Koreans Living Overseas
    • SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND VALUES
      • Confucian and Neo-Confucian Values
      • Chosn Dynasty Social Structure
      • The Traditional Family and Kinship
      • The Colonial Transformation of Korean Society
      • Tradition and Modernity in North Korea
      • Chuch’e and Contemporary Social Values
      • Classes and Social Strata
      • Urban Life
      • Village Life
      • Family Life
      • The Role of Women
      • The Role of Religion
    • ETHNICITY, CULTURE, AND LANGUAGE IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY
      • Contemporary Cultural Expression
      • Literature, Music, and Film
      • Architecture and City Planning
      • The Korean Language
    • EDUCATION
      • Educational Themes and Methods
      • Primary and Secondary Education
      • Social Education
      • Higher Education
      • Adult Education
    • PUBLIC HEALTH

    CHAPTER 3. THE ECONOMY

    • ECONOMIC SETTING
      • Korea under the Japanese Occupation
      • Developmental Strategy
    • ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND STRUCTURAL CHANGE
      • Record of Economic Performance
      • Postwar Economic Planning
    • BUDGET AND FINANCE
      • Organization and Management of the Economy
      • Planning
        • The Ch’ongsan-ni Method
        • The Taean Work System
        • Mass Production Campaigns
    • INDUSTRY
      • Development in Major Sectors
      • Mining and Metal Processing
      • Manufacturing
      • Services and Marketing
    • AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY, AND FISHERIES
      • Resource Development
      • Production and Distribution of Crops and Livestock
      • Organization and Management
      • Forestry
      • Fisheries
    • INFRASTRUCTURE
      • Transportation and Communications
        • Railroads
        • Maritime Transportation
        • Civil Aviation
        • Roads
        • Telecommunications
      • Energy and Power
    • FOREIGN ECONOMIC RELATIONS
      • Economic Assistance
      • Foreign Trade
      • Foreign Investment and Joint Ventures
      • Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation
    • ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

    CHAPTER 4. GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

    • RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT AND THE PARTY
    • THE KOREAN WORKERS’ PARTY
    • CONSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK
    • ORGANIZATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
      • The Supreme People’s Assembly
      • The Executive Branch
        • The President and Vice Presidents
        • The Central People’s Committee
      • The State Administration Council
      • The Judiciary
      • Local Government
    • POLITICAL IDEOLOGY: THE ROLE OF CHUCH’E
    • PARTY LEADERSHIP AND ELITE RECRUITMENT
      • Party Members
      • Party Cadres
      • The Ruling Elite
    • LEADERSHIP SUCCESSION
    • MASS ORGANIZATIONS
    • THE MEDIA
    • FOREIGN POLICY
      • Inter-Korean Affairs
      • China and the Soviet Union
      • Japan
      • The United States
    • PROSPECTS

    CHAPTER 5. NATIONAL SECURITY

    • MILITARY HERITAGE
    • THE ARMED FORCES
      • National Command Authority
      • Formulation of National Security Policy
      • The Army
        • Organization and Disposition
        • Weapons and Equipment
        • Special Operations Forces
        • Military Capability, Readiness, Training, and Recent Trends
      • The Navy
        • Organization and Disposition
        • Weapons and Equipment
        • Military Capability and Coastal Defense
      • The Air Force
        • Organization and Disposition
        • Weapons and Equipment
        • Trends, Training, Readiness, and Military Capability
        • Air Defense
        • Civil Aviation
      • Officer Corps: Recruitment and Education
      • Military Conscription and Terms of Service
      • Reserves and Paramilitary Forces
      • Role in National Life
      • Relations Between the Military and the Korean Workers’ Party
    • MILITARY DOCTRINE AND STRATEGY
      • The Evolution of North Korean Military Thought
      • Emergence of the New Doctrine
      • Operational Practice in the 1980s and 1990s
      • Employment in Offensive Scenario
    • DEFENSE INDUSTRY AND INFRASTRUCTURE
      • Military Industry
      • Special Weapons
        • Chemical Weapons
        • Missile Developments
      • The Nuclear Option
    • FOREIGN MILITARY RELATIONS
      • Relations with China and the Soviet Union
      • Relations with the Third World
      • Incidents and Infiltrations: Targeting South Korea
    • GEOPOLITICAL CHANGES: NEW WORLD ORDER AND NORTH KOREAN SECURITY
    • INTERNAL SECURITY
      • Social Control
      • The Public Security Apparatus
    • THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM
      • Historical Influences
      • The Judiciary
      • Punishment and the Penal System
    • PROSPECTS

     

  • Appendix. Tables
  • Bibliography
  • Glossary