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Today on the Korean Atlas and History. North Korean Provinces and Special

Cities. North Korea.

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North Korea, officially known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,

was founded as an independent country on September 9th, 1948. North Korea shares

borders to the north with China and Russian, and to the south with South Korea,

along the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Both North Korea and South Korea became

members of the United Nations in 1991. Both North Korea and South Korea claim to

be the legitimate government of the entire peninsula and adjacent islands.

Until the Second World War, the two Koreas lived together as a unified state.

In 1910, the Japanese invaded the peninsula and suppressed the Korean people. In

the Second World War, the Allied powers of the Soviet Union and the United States

fought against Japan, and found themselves face to face at the Korean peninsula.

The Northern zone was occupied by the Soviet Union, and the southern zone was

occupied by the United States. By 1948, two separate governments were formed: the

socialist Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in the North, and the capitalist

Republic of Korea in the South. The Soviets in the North, headed by General Terentii

Shtykov recommended Kim Il-Sung, a known anti-Japanese freedom fighter, as

premier of the DPRK. Shtykov became the first Soviet ambassador to the DPRK. By

1949, Soviet forces had left the North, and most American forces had left the South.

Yet, Shtykov suspected that Rhee Sygnman, the ruler of the South, would invade. For

this reason, Shtykov and Kim convinced Joseph Stalin to support a quick war against

the South in order to control the entire peninsula.

On June 25th, 1950, North Korea invaded the South. United Nations forces

quickly intervened and counter-attacked in a push through North Korea and toward

the border with China. As the UN forces neared China, Chinese forces supported the

North Korean forces, which once again shifted the balance of war. On July 27th, 1953,

an armistice was signed that returned the boundaries to nearly what they were at

the start of the conflict. Because of the war, nearly one million people were killed,

and nearly all the buildings in North Korea were destroyed.

Since the armistice, North and South Korea have had relative peace, but

several incidents have shaken the peace, including the Panmunjom axe murder

incident in which North Korean soldiers killed two U.S. Army Officers. After this,

though relative peace has been kept on the peninsula up to the recording date of

this podcast.

In 1956, during the August Faction Incident, groups of Soviet Koreans and the

pro-Chinese Yan’an faction tried to remove Kim Il Sung from power. The attempt

failed, however, and the participants were arrested and executed. Through this, Kim
was able to quash all opposition within the central party leadership. Following this

incident, the Chinese troops began to withdraw, and by 1958, the Chinese had all

withdrawn. In October, 1958, most scholars believe that North Korea was effectively

an independent state, although it remained closely aligned with both China and the

USSR. To distinguish itself from both, however, North Korea adopted the Juche

ideology. Juche translates to “self-reliance.”

From the postwar period and through the 1960s, North Korea had economic

growth that was greater even than its counterpart in the south. By 1957, the North’s

industrial production was equal to what it was before the war in 1949. Relations with

Japan had improved, and the North Korean won was revalued, holding higher status

than the South Korean won. The 1970s, however, showed signs of slowing, and by

the 1980s, North Korea was stagnating. In 1991, the Soviet Union was dissolved and

stopped all aid to North Korea, which nearly collapsed the country. To counteract

this problem, North Korea began trading with China once again, but the Chinese

could not afford to provide enough food to meet the demands of North Korea.

In 1992, Kim Jong-il began taking over various state tasks, as Kim Il-Sung’s

health deteriorated. In 1994, Kim Il-Sung died, and Kim Jong-il declared a 3 year

mourning period, before he officially took control in 1997. Through the late 1990s,

flooding caused extensive damage to crops and infrastructure, which led to

widespread famine in the state. In 1996, the government accepted UN food aid, and
reluctantly tolerated illegal black markets. The people of North Korea began to

become disillusioned with the government.

In 2000, U.S. polies toward North Korea dramatically changed. The Bush

administration rejected the South’s sunshine policy toward North Korea. The

Sunshine policy was a policy the South launched in 1998 under President Kim Dae

Jung. The goal of the policy was to engage North Korea through cooperation rather

than maintaining a conservative stance. Along with rejecting the sunshine policy,

the Bush administration began treating North Korea as a rogue state. Whether

because of policy changes, or other reasons, the North emphasized the attainment

of nuclear weapons. Policy changed again when Barack Obama was elected the

president of the United States. The U.S. then adopted a policy of strategic patience

with North Korea.

In 2011, Kim Jong-il died of a heart attack, and was succeeded by his son,

Kim Jong-un. Tensions slowly escalated until coming to a head with President

Donald Trump in 2017. Yet, by 2018, a summit between Donald Trump and Kim

Jong-un took place. At the time of this recording, in the summer of 2018, North

Korea, South Korea, and the U.S. remained distanced, yet nearly at peace.

The geography of North Korea is crisscrossed with mountain ranges. More

than 80 percent of North Korea is composed of mountains and uplands, separated

into deep narrow valleys. The highest point is Mount Baekdu, a volcanic mountain
2,744 meters or 9,003 feet above sea level. The longest river is the 압록(AM-NOKE)

river, The coastal plains are wide in the west and discontinuous in the east. Forests

cover over 70 percent of the country.

North Korea’s administrative divisions are organized into three hierarchical

levels. At the highest level are nine provinces, the capital, two special cities, a

special-level city, and two special administrative regions.

The nine provinces include 함경북도, 함경남도, 자강도, 량강도, 평안북도,

평아남도, 강원도, 황해북도, and 황해남도. The capital city, 평얗, is directly

administered by the government. The cities of 남포 and 라선 are considered special

cities, and have been separated from their former provinces to become first-level

units.. The city of 개성 is a special-level city. 신의주 and 금강산 are two special

administrative regions. These three regions, 개성, 신의주, and 금강산 were created in

2002 for the development of collaborative ventures with South Korea and other

countries.

The second level of North Korea’s administrative divisions include cities,

counties, wards, and districts. These areas are further subdivided into a third level,

which includes towns, neighborhoods, villages, and worker’s districts.

The country of North Korea truly has a beautiful and scenic landscape. The

country itself has suffered many hardships in the past, but hopes of recovery and
reunification with the South still remains. Only time will tell what will happen in the

North.

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Thank You for listening to this episode of the Korean Atlas and History. Most

of today’s information was taken from the 나무 Wiki and Wikipedia. All of our

episodes can be found and downloaded from koreanatlasandhistory.com. Thank you

for listening and we’ll see you next time.