Most other countries have a market economy, meaning the government works alongside other organizations and companies to make these decisions.Ĭhina is by far the country's biggest trading partner. North Korea has a command economy, meaning all decisions about the economy, from labor to prices, are controlled by the government. That’s why it rarely participates in international trade and develops its own nuclear weapons. (The goal of socialist society is to spread wealth more evenly across the population.) Because of the rules of juche, North Korea does not allow itself to depend on other countries for things like goods and protection. Loosely translated as “self-reliance,” juche asserts that a nation can achieve true socialism only when its citizens are self-reliant and strong. Many of the actions of North Korea’s government are based on the juche (pronounced joo-chay) ideology. Today, his grandson Kim Jong-Un leads the country and acts as North Korea’s 'supreme leader.' Kim Jong-Un works closely with the ruling communist Workers' Party of Korea. Since 1953, Kim Il-Sung and his descendants have ruled North Korea. North Korea is known as a 'hermit kingdom' because of how it chooses to isolate itself from the rest of the world. Overall, the DMZ is estimated to be home to some 70 species of mammals, more than 300 birds, and about 3,000 plants. The area is home to Asiatic black bears, red-crowned cranes, and long-tailed gorals (a species of wild goat). As a result, the DMZ is one of the most pristine nature preserves in Asia. Since 1953, the DMZ has been considered neutral territory that no country owns it’s patrolled by North Korea on one side and South Korea and the United States on the other, but few people are allowed inside. But the DMZ between North and South Korea may be the peninsula's most important nature preserve.

North Korea has nine national parks, the largest of which is Mount Kumgang National Park. Birds spotted in North Korea include white-naped cranes, white-tailed eagles, mandarin ducks, and arctic loons. Every year, more than 50 million birds rest and feed along North Korea's Yellow Sea shoreline during their migration. One of the world's major avian highways, the East Asian-Australasian Flyway passes through North Korea. North Korea is also an important stop for migratory birds. Siberian musk deer, Siberian tigers, and Siberian leopards are all native to the peninsula. Although much of the forest has disappeared after decades of deforestation, many large mammals still roam the more remote areas of North Korea’s remaining woodlands. Siberian fir, spruce, and Korean pines are all native trees to the region. North Korea's mountains were historically covered in thick coniferous (or evergreen) woodlands. It even controls how people look: Citizens must sport government-approved haircuts. The government also controls what people can see on TV, read in newspapers, and view on the internet. For instance, artists are expected to create works that show how Korean culture is better than others as well as celebrate the ruling family. North Korean society is mostly closed to the outside world, and the government has a huge influence on how people behave. There are no official statistics on religion in the country. Today, like in the United States and many other countries, public life in North Korea is non-religious. Through the years, the religions of Buddhism, Shamanism, and Christianity also gained influenced in North Korea. Historically, the Korean way of life was shaped by Confucian values based on the teachings of Confucius, a Chinese teacher and philosopher. Several religious traditions have influenced North Korean culture. The country’s most-populated rural areas are the eastern and western coastal lowlands and river valley plains.

North Korea’s capital city, Pyongyang, is also its largest city, with its 2.87 million population outnumbering that of Hamhung, the country’s second-largest city, which has nearly 800,000 people. More than two-thirds of the country’s people live in urban areas. Since the end of World War II, very few foreigners have been allowed into the country.

North Korea is one of the most ethnically similar countries in the world-99.8 percent of the population is Korean.

Hermit kingdom new lands