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Travel North Korea

Official Name of North Korea: Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Government type in North Korea: authoritarian socialist
Capital of North Korea: Pyongyang
Primary Language in North Korea: Korean
Currency in North Korea: North Korean won

Following World War II, Korea was split, with the northern half coming under Communist domination and the southern portion becoming Western-oriented. KIM Chong-il has ruled North Korea since his father and the country's founder, president KIM Il-song, died in 1994. After decades of mismanagement, the North relies heavily on international food aid to feed its population while continuing to expend resources to maintain an army of about 1 million. North Korea's long-range missile development and research into nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and massive conventional armed forces are of major concern to the international community. In December 2002, North Korea repudiated a 1994 agreement that shut down its nuclear reactors and expelled UN monitors, further raising fears it would produce nuclear weapons. Strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated