Tensions on the Korean Peninsula date from the 1950-1953 Korean War, in which the United States supported the capitalist South and China backed the communist North. An armistice stopped the fighting but technically did not end the war.
The demilitarized zone between North and South Korea is perhaps the most heavily fortified area in the world. A large number of North and South Korea's 2 million troops are stationed there, as well as many of the 37,000 U.S. troops in South Korea.
The secrecy and unpredictability of the North Korean government compound the tension. And doubts have been raised about North Korea's commitment to an accord under which it agreed to freeze its nuclear program.
Recent widespread famine among the North Korean people could increase the volitility of the region.
In 1997, an overwhelming need for emergency food relief forced North Korea to seek outside help. At the same time, negotiators from China and the United States opened formal talks with North Korea and South Korea to work toward formalizing an end to the Korean War.
Land and People | History |
| Financial | Weather
DEMOGRAPHICS
- Population:
- 24,317,000
- Average life span:
- 67 male, 74 female
- Average yearly income ($US):
- $200
- GDP per capita ($US):
- $920
- Literacy rate:
- 99%
THE LAND AND ITS PEOPLE
- Capital:
- Pyongyang
- Size:
- 46,540 square miles (120,538 sq. km)
- Government type:
- Communist
- >Political leader:
- Kim Jong Il
- Religions:
- Buddhist; Chondoist; Confucian
- Language:
- Korean
MODERN HISTORY
- 1945 -- At the end of World War II, the United States and the USSR divide Korea into two occupied zones: the USSR controls the area north of the 38th parallel, the United States controls the area south of it.
- 1948 -- The communist Democratic People's Republic of Korea is founded, with Kim Il Sung as its leader.
- 1950 -- North Korean armed forces launch a surprise attack on South Korea. A multinational U.N. force led by the United States comes to South Korea's aid.
- 1953 -- North Korea and South Korea sign an armistice, ending open warfare.
- 1992 -- China, North Korea's longtime ally, establishes diplomatic relatives with South Korea, leaving Pyongyang diplomatically isolated.
- 1993 -- Amid allegations that it is building nuclear weapons, North Korea becomes the first nation to formally withdraw from the international Nuclear Non-proliferation treaty.
- 1994 -- Korea's top leader Kim Il Sung dies. His son, Kim Jong Il, takes command of the military and informally assumes broader powers.
- 1995 -- North Korea signs pact to dismantle its nuclear facilities in exchange for two new nuclear reactors that are less likely to provide weapons-grade plutonium.
- 1995-97 -- Two years of floods followed by drought cause massive famine.
- 1997 -- Kim Jong Il formally becomes leader of the ruling Communist party, to hold two of the three top posts that were held by his father.
- 1997 -- Formal talks to end the Korean War begin in Geneva, and include North Korea, South Korea, China and the United States