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PROFILE: dprk / NORTH KOREADemocratic People's Republic of Korea ("DPRK") is the official name Kim Il Sung gave to North Korea. Since DPRK is neither democratic nor a republic nor belongs to the people, the "D", the "P" and the "R" in DPRK are misnomers. Geographically, the Pacific Ocean lies to the east and west of DPRK. To the south is the heavily mined, militarized border with South Korea, and to the north is China. DPRK also shares a short 12 mile border with Russia at its northeastern tip. Seventy-eight percent of DPRK is mountainous. The highest point is Mount Paektu, which borders China and peaks at 9,002 feet above the sea level. DPRK's main rivers are the Yalu and the Tumen, which comprise the northern border with China and Russia, as well as the Taedong and the Imjin further to the south. There are nine provinces in DPRK, whose capital city is Pyongyang, located in South Pyongan province, about 25 miles from the east coast and half way between its north and southern borders. DPRK is a small, poor country. It's 46,528 square miles ranks it the world's 98th largest. DPRK's population of 23.1 million makes it the world's 48th most populous, while its per capita GDP of $1,000 is the world's 150th. But the DPRK military is quite another story. DPRK has the world's 4th largest army, with 1.1 million active duty soldiers, as well as 5 million reserves, the world's 3rd largest. The minimum age for the draft is 17 years and the draftees are required to serve for up to 12 years. The minimum height is 4 feet 2 inches, reflective of the country's poor diet. The army has 21,000 artillery pieces, the third most in the world, half of which are aimed at Seoul. It also has 16,000 surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missiles, the world's 4th largest stockpile, as well as the world's largest submarine fleet, albeit comprised mostly of World War II era submersibles. |