North Korea: A Detailed - Case Study Example

North Korea: A Detailed Study North Korea: A Detailed Study Introduction The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly known as North Korea is an Eastern Asian country located between China and South Korea. Pyongyang is the capital of North Korea and it is also the largest city in the country by area and population. The Amnok River and the Tumen River constitute the border between China and North Korea whereas the Korean Demilitarized Zone represents the boundary between North Korea and South Korea. Korea has been an independent kingdom throughout much of its long history and this territory was occupied by Japan following the Russo-Japanese war in 1905. Japan added the entire peninsula to its area five years later. The World War II ended up in the split of Korea with the northern half falling under the control of Soviet Union and the southern half under the influence of United States. The UN supervised election conducted in 1948 resulted in the creation of two separate governments for North Korea and South Korea. However, conflicting sovereignty claim led to the Korean War (1950-53). The DPRK could not defeat the US-backed Republic of Korea. With the failure of this war, DPRK’s founder President KIM II Sung “adopted a policy of ostensible diplomatic and economic self-reliance as a check against outside influence” (CIA). North Korea considered US as the ultimate threat to its sovereignty and framed economic and military policies to accomplish the eventual unification of Korea under the control of Pyongyang. KIM Jong II, the son of KIM II Sung, was the successor of his father and he assumed a key political and managerial role until his father’s death in 1994. KIM Jong II died in 2011 and the state began to take steps to transfer power to his successor KIM Jong Un who has assumed many of his father’s title and duties currently. This paper will explore several aspects of North Korea including its geography, people, government, military, international issues, terrorism, and crime issues. Geography As mentioned already, North Korea is situated between China and South Korea and it also borders with Korea Bay (west) and Sea of Japan (east). As described in CIA website, North Korea lies between latitudes 37o and 43oN, and longitudes 124o and 131oE. The country covers an area of 120,540 square kilometers. The highest point in the region is Baekdu Mountain (2,744 meters) and longest river is Amnok River (790 kilometers). The lowest point in the country is the Sea of Japan (0 ft). Some major cities of North Korea include Kaesong, Sinuiju, Wonsan, and Chongjin. In addition to China and South Korea, the DPRK also shares a little part of its border with Russia (17.5 km) (CIA). The country’s major natural resources include coal, lead, graphite, iron ore, gold, hydropower, zinc, tungsten, and magnesite. Occasional typhoons, droughts, and severe flooding constitute common natural hazards challenging the country. Currently, this territory faces a number of environmental issues such as water pollution, waterborne diseases, inadequate portable water supply, soil erosion and degradation, and deforestation. Nearly 80% of the North Korea comprises mountains and uplands that are separated by narrow and deep valleys. According to some early European visitors to this region, North Korea resembles ‘a sea in a heavy gale’ (Asian Studies Center). An array of hills, valleys, and mountains make this region one of the attractive tourist destinations in the world. This region has a continental climate and experiences four distinct seasons including winter, summer, spring, and autumn. Long winter characterized with snow storms brings bitter cold to this territory while summer appears to be short and humid. The country experiences the most pleasant weather during spring and autumn as a result of mild temperatures and variable winds. According to the Koppen climate classification, most of the North Korea falls under the type Dwa (Peregrine). Although the United Nations Command (Korea) has demarcated the waters of the Yellow Sea by the Northern Limit Line in early 1950s. However, North Korea has not officially recognized this boundary. People The citizens of North Korea are called Koreans and the language of this region is Korean. The country comprises a racially homogenous population with a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese. While evaluating the religious views of the country, it seems that Koreans traditionally follow Buddhist and Confucianist faith. According to official data published on July 2013 (CIA), the population of the North Korea is 24,720,407. While analyzing the age structure of the country, it is clear that 43.8% people fall under the age of 25-54 years whereas 21.7% are under the class of 0-14 years. Comparing to some developed western countries, North Korea has a smaller aged population (9.5%). The country’s median age is 33.2 years with male median age 31.6 years and female median age 34.8 years. The North Korea’s low population growth rate (0.53%) indicates that the government is successful in regulating the region’s population increase. Despite the low population growth rate, recent data reflects that the country’s birth rate is 14.49 births/1,000 population whereas death rate is 9.15 deaths/1,000 population. Similarly, net migration rate is -0.04 migrants/1,000 population, which means that people are less interested to migrate to North Korea. In this territory, urban population accounts for 60% of the total population and the annual rate of urbanization is 0.6%. The country also maintains a health sex ratio: 1 male/female for the 25-54 age category. The state’s maternal mortality rate is 81 deaths/100,000 live births while the infant mortality rate is 25.34 deaths 1,000 live births. At the time of birth, an individual life expectancy is 69.51 years in North Korea. In addition, the total fertility rate appears to be 1.99 children born/woman. In 2009, the country’s health expenditures represented 2% of the total GDP while physicians density was 3.29 physicians/1,000 population in 2003. As of 2002, the country’s hospital bed density was 13.2 beds/1,000 population (CIA). It is interesting to note that 99% Koreans aged 15 and above can read write (literacy) despite many serious domestic and international conflicts challenging the country. Government Hereditary dictatorship or one-man dictatorship is the government style of the North Korea. The country’s government system gives particular importance to departmentalization system of ministries. Although North Korea is generally identified to be a socialist state supporting communism, some people hold the view that the Korean leadership follows Stalinist communism in order to justify their ruling. In his book ‘The cleanest race’, Myers (2011) identifies the North Korean ideology as a ‘racialist focused nationalism’. The author adds that this ideology was greatly influenced by the racialist views of Japan before the end of World War II (pp.11-12). In contrast to this view, Charles K. Armstrong argues that North Korean ideology closely resembles European fascism than Imperial Japanese fascism. However, it is clear that the Korean government gives little focus to citizens interests but follows a suppressive ruling tactic. Political expression against the government is strictly regulated in North Korea. The North Korea gained independence from Japan on 15th August 1945. Currently the country’s administrative divisions include 9 provinces and 2 municipalities. The Constitution of North Korea has well defined the structure of the government; its latest version discards the nation’s founding ideology of communism. In the state, the legitimate governing party is the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland, which is a coalition of Workers’ Party of Korea, Korean Social Democratic Party, and the Chondoist Chongu Party (Maps of world). Although these parties can nominate candidates for office and gain all seats of the Supreme People’s Assembly, they have very low power as the dictator has autocratic control over the nation’s strategic as well as diplomatic affairs (Maps of world). Following the death of KIM Jong II, his youngest son KIM Jong Un was officially confirmed as the new leader of North Korea recently on 19th December 2011. Many Koreans believe that, unlike his father, the new leader would promote the welfare his followers and consider economic reforms and improvement of international relations. Currently, the country maintains close relations with China and receives substantial assistance from China. Military The Korean People’s Army (KPA) is controlled by the Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces and it comprises five branches namely Ground Force, Naval Force, Air Force, Rocket Force, and Special Operations Force. In North Korea, an individual must be aged 17 and above to join the military service. Referring to the US Department of State, North Korea’s army is the fourth largest in the world with an estimated 1.21 million armed personnel. It is interesting to see that nearly 20% of men between the ages of 17 and 54 are working in the North Korea’s regular armed forces. As compared to other global military powers, North Korea has the highest military per capita (approximately 1 soldier for every 25 citizens) (US Department of State). In addition, the country maintains a Defense Industry that specifically operates for engineering military equipments. North Korea got 10 Golf II Class Submarines from Russia in 1994. The North Korea’s military strategy particularly focuses on the insertion of agents in enemy forces and alignment of KPA’s forces along the Korean Demilitarized Zone. The country has a huge line of military equipments, including 4,060 tanks, 17,900 artillery pieces, 2,500 APCs, 10,000 anti-tank guided missiles, and 11,000 air defense guns for the Ground Force. In addition, there are nearly 915 vessels for the Navy Force and 1,748 aircrafts, comprising 478 fighters and 180 bombers, for the Air Force (Before it’s News, March 11, 2011). The nation possesses the world’s largest special forces and submarine fleet. The KPA mainly uses modern Soviet powered or locally developed weapons. As part of its asymmetric warfare policy, the country uses a wide range of ultra-modern technologies and equipments like GPS jammers, midget submarines, biological weapons, human torpedoes, laser weapons, and stealth paint. According to a report by the North Korean official media, the country’s military expenses for 2010 constitute 15.8% of the state budget (Cordesman & Hess, 2013). Unsurprisingly, North Korea has a number of active nuclear weapon programs in spite of the security concerns raised by the United Nations. International issues It is identified that the North Korea is challenged by a number of international issues and hence the country fails to maintain good diplomatic relationships with overseas governments. For instance, North Korean nuclear weapons program caused the nation to face strong protests from the international society and this program has been subject to some United Nations Security Council resolutions. Although North Korea was a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, it withdrew in 2003 and conducted two nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009. In order to develop a peaceful solution to the increasing tension between North Korea and other countries, six-party talks were promoted between two Korean governments, Russia, China, Japan, and US. Earlier, South Korea and United States had stated that North Korea was a state sponsor of terrorism. They also argued that North Korea was responsible for the 1983 bombing that killed South Korean government officials and the destruction of a South Korean airliner. In addition, the North Korea undertook the responsibility of kidnapping 13 Japanese citizens in 1970s and 1980s and it worsened diplomatic tensions between North Korea and Japan. The tension between the two Korean governments grew further when North Korea reportedly deployed missiles and thereby violated its previous agreements with South Korea. In addition, North Korea went on with its satellite launch plans despite the protests of South Korea and US. It is obvious that North Korea and South Korea have never signed a peace treaty after the 1950 War and hence they are still at war technically. These two countries share the world’s heaviest fortified border. The tension between North Korea and South Korea got intensified when sinking of the South Korean warship (Cheonan) in 2010 has been attributed to a North Korean torpedo by a multi-national research team. South Korean agreed to the findings of this research team and announced that the country would terminate its trade with North Korean with intent to strike North Korea back diplomatically and financially. In response to this, North Korea abrogated the pact of non aggression and attacked Yeonpyeong Island, worsening the relations with South Korea and international communities. Despite frequent peace treaty violations and nuclear weapon tests, the United States has supplied food to North Korea at periods of famine (U.S Department of State). Terrorism In November 1987, two North Korean spies bombed the Korean Airline Flight 858 and killed all 115 people on the plane. In response to this attack, US designated North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism in the following year. Since this incident, North Korea has been carrying out and promoting terrorist attacks inside and outside the country. Park (n.d.) reports that recently the North Korean authorities found a US citizen Kenneth Bae guilty of ‘hostile acts’ against the country and sentenced the victim to 15 years of hard labor. Although the actual reason for the arrest of Bae is still unknown, it is certain that “Bae, a humanitarian who had compassion for North Korea’s starving and abandoned orphans, is not indictable for any crime” (Park). Hence, he was a victim to a yet unrevealed North Korean agenda. Very similar to this case, North Korea had earlier crossed the border and captured Reverend Kim Dong-shik, a Christian minister and a great humanitarian from China where he was taking care of North Korean refugees. Kim was forcibly taken back to North Korea where he was “reportedly tortured and starved to death” (Park). Considering the unethical and inhumane aspects of the Kim case, then Senator Barack Obama and other lawmakers promised not to support the de-listing of the North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism. However, the Bush administration supported the removal of North Korea’s terrorism status in order to gain some advantages over a nuclear deal. Later a 2011 report by the US Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (as cited in Park) claimed that North Korea abducted over 180,000 people from 12 countries. The committee asked US to consider the re-listing of North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism because that act of abduction falls under 18 USC Section 2331 as acts of terrorism. Crime issues The Ministry of People’s Security is responsible for controlling all law enforcement activities including policing and other initiatives at the local level. Crime is prevalent in various forms in North Korea despite strong government initiatives implemented to reduce crime rates in the country. Prostitution and child marriages are very common in the country even though the North Korean government would deny accepting this fact. Contradictory to their claim, the Korean government engages in forced prostitution. It is also identified that many North Korean women willingly engage in prostitution in order to find livelihood. In addition, many North Korean young females are sold to foreign countries, particularly to China, where they are forced to become prostitutes. Murder and manslaughter are also common in the country and extreme poverty level is the major reason for increased crime rates in the region. Reports indicate that North Koreans have slaughtered other people to consume their flesh during the North Korea’s Great Famine. Corruption and police misconduct are some growing issues in the country which in turn become obstacles to effective crime prevention. References Asian Studies Center. North Korea Geography. Retrieved from http://asia.isp.msu.edu/wbwoa/east_asia/north_korea/geography.htm Before it’s News. (March 11, 2013). North Korea Has The Largest Military In The World. http://beforeitsnews.com/military/2013/03/north-korea-has-the-largest-military-in-the-world-2450380.html Cordessman, A. H & Hess, A. (2013). The evolving military balance in the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia. Center for Strategic International Studies. Retrieved from http://csis.org/files/publication/130513_KMB_volume1.pdf CIA. The World Factbook. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kn.html Maps of world. North Korea Government. Retrieved from http://www.mapsofworld.com/north-korea/government/ Myers, B. R. (2011). The Cleanest Race: How North Koreans See Themselves - and Why It Matters. Melville House Pub. Park, R. North Korea’s Legacy of Terrorism. World Affairs. Retrieved from http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/article/north-korea%E2%80%99s-legacy-terrorism Peregrine. Quick facts. Retrieved from http://www.peregrineadventures.com/central-asia/north-korea/general-info U.S Department of State. (Dec 17, 2012). U.S. Relations With North Korea. Retrieved from http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2792.htm US Department of State. North Korea: Profile. Retrieved from http://www.state.gov/outofdate/bgn/northkorea/26220.htm Read More