You are on page 1of 19

North Korea

North Korea
Profile
• Capital: Pyongyang.
• Government: Juche Republic, Single-party system,
Military dictatorship.
• Eternal President: Kim Il-sung (deceased).
• Supreme Leader: Kim Jong-Il
• Independence declared: March 1, 1919.
• Liberation: August 15, 1945.
• Formal declaration: September 9, 1948.
Juche
• Official state ideology of North Korea.
• First known reference given by Kim Il-sung in 1955.
• Literally means "main body" or "subject”. Also
translated as "independent stand" and the "spirit
of self-reliance".
• Teaches that "man is the master of everything and
decides everything," and that the Korean people
are the masters of Korea's revolution.
Juche
• Three fundamental principles, as given by Kim Il-
sung on April 14, 1965:
– "independence in politics" (chaju)
– "self-sustenance in the economy" (charip)
– "self-defense in national defense" (chawi).
History
• Korea was independent until the late 19th century. At
that time, China sought to block growing Japanese
influence on the Korean peninsula and Russian
pressure for commercial gains there. This competition
produced the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95 and the
Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05.
• Japan emerged victorious from both wars and in 1910
annexed Korea as part of the growing Japanese
empire
• Japan remained firmly in control until the end of
World War II in 1945.
History
• Japan surrendered in August 1945, and Korea was
liberated.
• Early surrender of Japan led to the immediate
division of Korea into two occupation zones:
– U.S. administered southern half
– U.S.S.R administered northern half
• Division was meant to be temporary and to
facilitate the Japanese surrender until the US, UK,
Soviet Union, and China could arrange a
trusteeship administration.
History
• Division made permanent with the establishment
of the separate regimes of North and South Korea.
Korean War
• First armed confrontation of the Cold War and set
the standard for many later conflicts.
• Created the idea of a proxy war, where the two
superpowers would fight in another country,
forcing the people in that nation to suffer the bulk
of the destruction and death involved in a war
between such large nations.
Korean War
• 25 June 1950—present (ceasefire signed on 27
July 1953).
• Conflict arose from the division of Korea by the UN
and the attempts of the two Korean powers to
reunify Korea under their respective governments.
• Period immediately before the war was marked by
escalating border conflicts at the 38th parallel and
attempts to negotiate elections for the entirety of
Korea.
Korean War
• Negotiations ended when the military of North
Korea invaded the South on June 25, 1950. Under
the aegis of the United Nations, nations allied with
the United States intervened on behalf of South
Korea.
• After rapid advances in a South Korean
counterattack, North-allied Chinese forces
intervened on behalf of North Korea, shifting the
balance of the war and ultimately leading to an
armistice that approximately restored the original
boundaries between North and South Korea.
Korean War
• Heavily guarded demilitarized zone on the 38th
parallel continues to divide the peninsula today
with anti-Communist and anti-North Korea
sentiment still remaining in South Korea.
• Since ceasefire, the relations between North Korea
and South Korea, the EU, Canada, the US, and
Japan have remained tense.
• Fighting halted in the ceasefire, but both Koreas
still technically at war.
Sanctions
• Following 9/11 attacks, Washington put North
Korea on the "axis of evil" list. Has contended that
North Korea's possession of nuclear weapons
poses serious threat to world.
• Following North Korea's nuclear test in October
2006, SC members imposed sanctions on
Pyongyang including embargo on military and
technological materials and luxury goods, and a
set of financial sanctions.
Sanctions
• President Obama has slapped additional sanctions
on North Korea aimed at choking off the regime’s
arms trade and illicit business.
• The sanctions are specifically targeted against
Office 39 - a secretive branch of the North Korean
government that manages slush funds and raises
money for the leadership, including by trafficking
drugs. These sanctions also target North Korea's
infrastructure for importing and exporting
conventional arms.
“Axis of Evil”
• September 2002: Government acknowledges that
it kidnapped about a dozen Japanese in the ‘70s
and ‘80s for the purposes of training North Korean
spies.
• October 2002: Admits that it violated a 1994
agreement freezing its nuclear weapons program
and has been developing nuclear bombs. Since
2002, North Korea has oscillated between
affirming and denying that it already has nuclear
weapons.
“Axis of Evil”
• July 2006: Launches 7 missiles—long-range
Taepodong-2 missile (failed) and six medium-range
weapons—roiling its neighbours and much of the rest
of the world. North Korea's first major weapons test
in 8 years.
• October 2006: Again sparks international outrage
when it tests a nuclear weapon.
• February 2007: Agrees to dismantle its nuclear
facilities & allow international inspectors to enter the
country in exchange for about $400 million in oil and
aid.
Human Rights
• Multiple international human rights organizations,
including Amnesty International and Human
Rights Watch, accuse North Korea of having one of
the worst human rights records of any nation.
• North Koreans have been referred to as "some of
the world's most brutalized people" by Human
Rights Watch, due to the severe restrictions placed
on their political and economic freedoms.
Human Rights
• Defectors testify to the existence of prison and
detention camps with estimated 150,000 to
200,000 inmates (~0.85% of the population). Have
reported torture, starvation, rape, murder, medical
experimentation, forced labor, and forced
abortions.
• After the FIFA 2010 debacle, claims surfaced of the
team and coach (Kim Jong-Hun) being publicly
humiliated.

You might also like