Welcome to North Korea!
North Korea (Korean: 조선 Chosŏn), officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea or DPRK (조선민주주의인민공화국 Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk) is the world's most isolated country and one of the most repressive and underdeveloped. It's located in East Asia on the Korean Peninsula, which has been divided between North and South Korea since the 1950s.
Travel provides the opportunity to see the last frontier of the Cold War, where a society still runs under a strict Stalinist governance with an emphasis on the military, and economic development lags visibly behind the other nations in the region. Tourists may only travel to North Korea as part of a guided tour and independent travel is not permitted. Visitors are constantly monitored in order to ensure their interactions with local people are managed, so as to prevent activities such as taking "unsuitable" photos, criticism of North Korea, disrespect towards the Great Leader, or talking to locals without permission.
About 1,500 Western tourists visit North Korea every year. Most complete the journey without incident, as long as they follow their ever-present guides. Incidents have occurred, and when they do then due process is hard to come by. The most likely consequence of any trouble with the authorities is a period of detention before deportation. You should not travel to North Korea if you are not prepared to accept severe limitations on your movement and behavior, or the risk of arbitrary, indefinite detention.
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. It borders China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and Tumen rivers, and South Korea to the south at the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eastern border is defined by the Sea of Japan. North Korea, like its southern counterpart, claims to be the legitimate government of the entire peninsula and adjacent islands. Pyongyang is the country's capital and largest city.
In 1910, Korea was annexed by the Empire of Japan. In 1945, after the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II, Korea was divided into two zones along the 38th parallel, with the north occupied by the Soviet Union and the south occupied by the United States. Negotiations on reunification failed, and in 1948, separate governments were formed: the socialist DPRK in the north, and the capitalist Republic of Korea in the south. The Korean War began in 1950, with an invasion by North Korea, and lasted to 1953. The Korean Armistice Agreement brought about a ceasefire and established a demilitarized zone (DMZ), but no formal peace treaty was ever signed.
According to Article 1 of the state constitution, North Korea is an "independent socialist state". It holds elections, though they have been described by independent observers as sham elections, as North Korea is a totalitarian dictatorship, with an elaborate cult of personality around the Kim dynasty. The Workers' Party of Korea, led by a member of the ruling family, is the dominant party and leads the Democratic Front for the Reunification of Korea, of which all political officers are required to be members.
According to Article 3 of the constitution, Juche is the official ideology of North Korea. The means of production are owned by the state through state-run enterprises and collectivized farms. Most services—such as healthcare, education, housing, and food production—are subsidized or state-funded. From 1994 to 1998, North Korea suffered a famine that resulted in the deaths of between 240,000 and 420,000 people, and the population continues to suffer from malnutrition.North Korea follows Songun, or "military first" policy, for its Korean People's Army. It possesses nuclear weapons, and is the country with the second highest number of military and paramilitary personnel, with a total of 7.769 million active, reserve, and paramilitary personnel, or approximately 30% of its population. Its active duty army of 1.28 million soldiers is the fourth-largest in the world, consisting of 5% of its population. A 2014 inquiry by the United Nations into abuses of human rights in North Korea concluded that "the gravity, scale and nature of these violations reveal a state that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world," with Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch holding similar views. The North Korean government denies these abuses. In addition to being a member of the United Nations since 1991, North Korea is also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, G77, and the ASEAN Regional Forum.