Flag of North Korea

North Korea is a state in Northeast Asia. It occupies the northern part of the Korean Peninsula; the southern part belongs to South Korea, with which it shares a boundary of 238 km.

The country borders China to the North (1416 km) and Russia to the north-east (19 km). Its surface area is 120,540 km2, with a population of 22.7 million (2009). A communist-structured state, and one of the most closed in the world, North Korea is a dictatorship. Administratively, it is divided into 9 provinces or ne and 4 municipalities or si. Capital: Pyongyang. Other major cities: Sinuiju, Ch’ongjin and Hungnam.