Overview
North Korea is the most isolated and dictatorial country in the world. Impoverished by the government’s Juche, or self-reliance policies, North Korea’s economy focuses largely on paying for a very large military, while neglecting other needs. Human rights are not respected, and the government runs a large system of prison camps for political prisoners. Tourism, especially by Westerners, is extremely limited. Relations between the US and North Korea, have never been friendly, but were particularly icy during the administration of George W. Bush.
Basic Information
Lay of the Land: Located in northeast Asia, the Korean Peninsula juts south from Manchuria into the Pacific Ocean. Mountains cover most of the northern and southwestern regions of the peninsula, and a coastal plain runs along the eastern coast. North Korea occupies the northern portion of the Korean Peninsula, covering an area of 46,541 square miles, which is roughly the size of Pennsylvania. North Korea is bordered by China and Russia to the north, by South Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, by the Yellow Sea and Korea Bay to the west, while Japan lies to the east across the Sea of Japan. The highest point in North Korea is Paektu-san Mountain at 9,003 feet. Korea’s longest river is the Yalu, which flows for 491 miles. The capital and largest city is Pyongyang, which is home to more than 2.5 million people.
Population: 23.5 million
Religions: Non-religious 71.1%, Neo-religions 12.5%, Ethnoreligious 12.3%, Christian 2.0%, Buddhist 1.5%, Chinese Universalist 0.1%, other 12.9%.
Ethnic Groups: Ethnically homogeneous with small Chinese and Japanese enclaves.
Languages: Korean (official).
History
Although North Korea is viewed today as an extreme example of a Communist dictatorship the roots of Korean authoritarianism begin deep in the peninsula’s history. The current regime has used Koreans’ traditional respect for authority and their fear of foreign invasion to control the people of North Korea through an ideology of Juche, or national self-reliance. Koreans’ traditional respect for authority is rooted in Confucianism, while Korea’s fear of external threats is a byproduct of invasions they have endured countless times,
First mentioned in Chinese chronicles in the 3rd century B.C., Korea was called Chosun, the land of “Morning Freshness.” The Chinese conquered the Chosun capital in 108 B.C., but active resistance forced them to give up all but one of their colonies by 71 B.C. Korean history comes to life with the Three Kingdoms period. The first of the kingdoms, Koguryo, was established in what is now North Korea. The other two kingdoms were Paekche and Silla. Buddhism and Confucianism arrived in Koguryo from China in 372 A.D. In 612, a Koguryo army of 300,000 soldiers actually defeated a Chinese invasion force of 1,000,000 men. In the 660s the Silla kingdom allied itself with the Chinese T’ang dynasty and conquered Paekche and Koguryo. Then, in 676, with the support of Paekche and Koguryo, Silla pushed back the Chinese. The resulting unification of the peninsula would last until 1945. The Koryo dynasty replaced Silla in 935. Koryo is the source of the English word “Korea.”
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Koreans were again caught in the middle of the warring Chinese and Japanese. Though Koreans, using the world’s first armor-plated warships, destroyed the Japanese fleets in 1592, the Koreans were ill prepared for the following Manchu invasion. As a consequence of the Manchu invasion, Korea was reduced to a vassal state of the Chinese Ch’ing dynasty. Beginning in 1876, the Japanese military forced Korea to open three ports to foreign trade, and by 1893 Japan accounted for 91% of Korea’s exports and 50% of its imports. The United States also became involved with Korea, sending the USS General Sherman into Korean waters in 1866 as a way of trying to “open up” the isolationist kingdom. However, the ship became stranded on the Taedong River near Pyongyang, where a battle between the US and Korea ensued. The Koreans sank the ship, killing all 25 sailors aboard. Then, in 1871, the U.S. sent five ships and 650 men on the 1871 Korean Campaign. Although the outcome was an American military victory, a treaty that would open Korea to American trade did not appear until 1882.
After the Russo-Japanese War of 1904, Korea became a Japanese colony in 1910. The 35-year Japanese occupation that followed was both bitter and brutal. The Japanese displaced Koreans from more than 80% of Korean farmland and brought in almost 350,000 Japanese immigrants. Approximately 750,000 Korean farmers fled to Manchuria and to Russia, while 125,000 migrated to Japan. The Japanese went to great lengths to suppress Korean culture, including forbidding the study of Korean history, banning the Korean language from the schools, ordering Korean children to be instructed in the Japanese religion of Shintoism and compelling Koreans to take Japanese names. When another Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1937, the Japanese forced Koreans to work in mines and munitions factories and, in 1942, to fight in the Japanese army. Meanwhile, between 100,000 and 200,000 Korean women were forced to serve as “comfort women”—prostitutes—for Japanese soldiers.
At the Potsdam Conference in July 1945, the leaders of the United States, Great Britain and the USSR decided to temporarily divide Korea between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Soviet army occupied Korea north of the 38th parallel, while the Americans took over the South. A United Nations-authorized election in 1948 put Syngman Rhee in charge of South Korea. In the North, the Soviets installed Cho Man-sik, a popular non-communist, as chairman, and Kim Il-sung, an admired and even heroic anti-Japanese guerrilla leader, as head of the Korean Communist party.
Although the separate governments in the North and South both wanted reunification, they could not agree on terms. Both the Soviet Union and the United States withdrew their troops from Korea, leaving behind a few hundred “advisors” each, and in January 1950 US Secretary of State Dean Acheson declared that Korea was outside the US defense perimeter. Taking this to mean that the United States would not send troops to protect South Korea, and convinced that South Koreans would rise up to overthrow Syngman Rhee, Kim Il-sung acted on his plan to invade the South on June 25, 1950. Twice the size of South Korea’s army, the North Korean army had little trouble sweeping across South Korea. Within three days they had occupied Seoul and, by September 5, they controlled all of Korea except for a small beachhead in the South. However, the uprising that Kim Il-sung had expected did not occur, and his troops were not greeted as liberators as he had expected. What’s more, despite Acheson’s assurance of neutrality in January, US President Harry S. Truman considered the North Korean takeover a threat to US interests.
On June 27, 1950 the US went to the United Nations Security Council and asked for authorization for military action. The Soviet could have vetoed this proposal, but it had been boycotting Security Council meetings over the issue of Chinese Communist representation at the UN. The proposal passed and, for the first time, the fledging United Nations created a military force. The UN army was led by US General Douglas MacArthur, but included troops from fifteen other nations, including Great Britain, Canada, Australia, Turkey, France, and, of course, South Korea. The UN forces landed at Incheon on September 15, recaptured Seoul on September 28, and entered North Korea on October 7. They seized Pyongyang on October 20 and reached the Yalu River that forms the border with China a week later.
The Chinese Communists, who had been in power less than a year, were alarmed by the unexpected arrival of a large enemy army on their border. In particular they were taken aback after a few US bombs “mistakenly” fell inside China. On October 25, 1950, the Chinese intervened on a massive scale, sending about 300,000 troops into North Korea. The Chinese and North Koreans expelled the UN forces from the North and reoccupied Seoul in January 1951. The UN army recaptured Seoul and by June the battle lines settled back at the 38th parallel, where the war had started.
Truce negotiations began in July 1951, but the fighting dragged on for two more years. An armistice agreement was finally reached on July 27, 1953, although Syngman Rhee refused to sign it. A four-mile wide Demilitarized Zone was established between the North and South, and the superpowers concentrated their efforts on other issues and conflicts. The Korean people, on the other hand, were left to recover from three years of war. An estimated 500,000 to 1,000,000 South Koreans died as a result of the conflict. Between 1,250,000 and 3,000,000 North Koreans may have perished. Eighteen of North Korea’s 22 largest cities were at least half flattened. American bombers had destroyed the irrigation dams that provided water for 75% of the nation’s food production. By 1952, most North Koreans survivors lived in caves and underground shelters.
Despite the devastation it had suffered, North Korea entered the post-war period with distinct advantages over South Korea. The North had inherited the industrial infrastructure that the Japanese had created, while the South had remained primarily agricultural. In fact, 60% of South Korea’s industrial facilities were destroyed during war. North Korea, blessed with extensive natural resources, was able to rebuild with the aid of China and the USSR. For each year until 1974, the per capita income of North Korea exceeded that of South Korea. However, Kim Il-sung’s policies of strict state ownership of virtually all productive enterprises limited economic growth, and his determination to build a large military diverted wealth from economic development as well. The consequence has been that North Korea has fallen further behind economically since the 1970s.
By the 1990s, North Korea was facing a myriad of problems. Despite large-scale food imports, there simply was not enough to go around. The government instituted a Two Meals a Day campaign and a One Foodless Day a Month campaign. Kim Jong-il, who succeeded his father in 1994, allowed foreign ownership of businesses in special economic zones. In at least one case, he built a 50-mile fence around a free economic zone to prevent contact between North Koreans and the foreigners. Russia and China demanded repayment of loans and refused to continue trade on the barter system, demanding hard currency instead.
Conditions worsened when North Korea experienced major flooding in 1995 and 1996. The flooding was followed by a severe drought in 1997 that cut the important corn crop in half. A famine began in North Korea in 1995 and peaked in 1997, killing between 2.5 and 3 million people. In 1998, UNICEF reported that the growth of 63% of North Korean was stunted . According to a 2002 United Nations-European Union survey, the average seven-year-old boy in North Korea was 20 centimeters shorter and ten kilograms lighter than the average seven-year-old boy in South Korea. Between 1995 and 2001, approximately 300,000 North Koreans fled to China, of which three-quarters of them were women. Although exact figures are impossible to obtain, it is thought that between 500,000 and 1,000,000 North Koreans died from famine-related illnesses. The famine also ushered in social changes for North Korea, including the development markets for food and other goods.
Marine Amphibious Landing in Korea, 1871 (compiled by Carolyn A. Tyson, Navy Department Library)
USS General Sherman Incident (GlobalSecurity.org)
History of U.S. Relations with Korea, North
Immigration:
The first significant wave of immigration occurred in 1882, when Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act. Deprived of their cheap Chinese labor, Hawaiian agribusiness interests contacted Horace Allen, the American ambassador to Korea, for help in bringing over Koreans to work in the sugar plantations. Allen in turn sought help from David Deshler, a banker and entrepreneur who loaned as much as $100 to Koreans interested in emigrating (he also was paid $55 for each recruit, in contrast to the monthly wages of $14 paid to plantation laborers). With the Japanese invasion at the turn of the 20th century, this option became increasingly popular, and thousands of Koreans emigrated.
Anti-Asian sentiment flared up in response to this new influx, and culminated in 1906 when San Francisco segregated its Korean and Japanese students, requiring them to attend exclusively Chinese schools. President Theodore Roosevelt, keen to placate an offended Japan, worked out a so-called “gentleman’s agreement” that nullified the segregation. It also limited Japanese and Korean immigration. During this period the only immigrants were Korean women chosen in arranged marriages. The so-called “picture brides” had never met their future spouses until their arrival on the docks of San Francisco or Honolulu.
The “gentleman’s agreement” was superseded by the Immigration Act of 1924, which prohibited further Korean immigration. The McCarran-Walter Act of 1952 once again opened up limited Asian immigration. Discriminatory immigration policy finally ended with the Immigration Act of 1965, which allowed for 170,000 annual immigrants from the Eastern Hemisphere, and 120,000 from the Western Hemisphere, with a quota of 20,000 per Asian country. The vast majority of Korean-Americans live in California, with more than 10% of the total population located in Los Angeles. Other states with large Korean communities include Hawaii, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Washington.
Politics:
Much of the hostility that exists between the US and North Korea is a consequence of Cold War politics. However, there are other incidences that have contributed to mutual mistrust and animosity. In the mid 19th century, North Korea closed its borders to Western trade. Korean forces attacked a US gunboat, which was sent to negotiate a treaty. The incident, referred to as the General Sherman Incident, was followed by Sinmiyangyo, a retribution attack by the US.
In 1882, the US and North Korea established trade relations, which soured in 1905 when the US mediated a peace treaty in the Russo-Japanese War. Japan had persuaded the US to accept Korea as a part of Japan’s sphere of influence, which was subsequently followed by Japan’s annexation of Korea.
Following WWII, the United Nations divided Korea along the 38th parallel. Cold War relations between the USSR and the US turned the temporary divide into a permanent one. Support by the USSR of a Soviet military government in combination with the United States’ support of Japan, served only to increase North Korea’s negative perception of the US. In 1948 Kim Il-sung declared the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, which received recognition from the USSR, but not the from US. The withdrawal of American troops from the peninsula only intensified Kim Il-sung’s anti-American view.
From 1958 through 1991, the US had nuclear weapons aimed at North Korea. The US has since removed these. North Korea seized the USS Pueblo in 1968 when North Korea alleged a spy ship was in territorial waters. Then North Korea shot down an American reconnaissance plane in 1969. In 1976, an attack by North Koreans on a US-South Korean tree-trimming crew in the DMZ killed 55 Koreans and two Americans.
In 1985 North Korea joined the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) and began conciliatory talks with South Korea. US photos revealed nuclear sites, prompting inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), beginning in 1993. Kim Jong-il accepted the presence of international inspectors at North Korea’s nuclear power plants beginning in 1992, and in 1994 he agreed to freeze his nuclear weapons program in exchange for US fuel deliveries in the 1994 Agreed Framework. In January 1995 the US eased economic sanctions against since North Korea had decided to freeze its nuclear program and cooperate with the US. In 1997, Kim Jong-il stunned the North Korean people by telling them that the United States was no longer an enemy. “They are our friends,” he declared. In June 2000, Kim Kim participated in the first-ever summit between the leaders of North and South Korea. For the first time, Kim Jong-il admitted to the kidnapping of South Koreans and Japanese. Kim Jong-il also met with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and jokingly introduced himself as “the last of the Communist devils”.
The 1994 Agreed Framework stipulated that the US would work with investors to install a light water reactor (LWR) as energy use for North Korea. By 1998, the LWR construction had been delayed to the point of frustration for North Koreans. North Korea stated it would restart nuclear research, and in 2000 the US committed significant spending for the LWR.
Current U.S. Relations with Korea, North
Throughout Bill Clinton’s presidency, North Korea’s nuclear program was consistently a part of his administration’s international agenda. In 1994, the United States and North Korea both agreed to the 1994 Agreed Framework, which prohibited all of North Korea’s enrichment programs and halted construction of extant facilities. In a concerted effort with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the US worked to steer North Korea from uranium enrichment programs. Overall, North Korea complied with the restrictions specified during the Clinton Administration; the US and North Korea were generally amiable with regards to restrictions on nuclear proliferation. North Korea, however, had increasing frustration over delays in construction of LWR and threatened in 1998 to restart nuclear research.
While George W. Bush was running for president in 2000, he publicly voiced his opposition to the 1994 Agreed Framework. After he was elected, his administration began reviewing its policy toward North Korea. Although the Bush Administration initially maintained open dialogue with North Korea, the LWRs were not constructed. In 2002, the Bush administration asserted that North Korea was pursuing nuclear enrichment programs, and thus was in violation of the NPT and the 1994 Agreed Framework. In a State of the Union address, President Bush stated his perception of North Korea as a part of the “Axis of Evil.” In late 2002 and early 2003, North Korea terminated the freeze on its existing plutonium-based nuclear facilities, expelled IAEA inspectors and removed seals and monitoring equipment, quit the NPT, and resumed reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel to extract plutonium for weapons purposes.
In 2003 six-party talks, involving the US, South Korea, Japan, North Korea, China and Russia, began with the goal of a nuclear-free Korean peninsula and normalized relations between the US and North Korea. However, North Korea made a provocative move when they conducted a nuclear test on October 9, 2006. North Korea denounced sanctions made by the UN. Kim Jung-il apologized for the tests and returned to the six-party talks on October 31, 2006.
In 2008 North Korea agreed to all US nuclear inspection demands and the US promised to remove North Korea from its terrorism blacklist. However, in late 2008, North Korea, complaining that the US had failed to actually remove it from the terrorism list, resumed some nuclear development activities, and announced in early 2009 that it had successfully “weaponized” plutonium.
Additionally, North Korea conducted a nuclear missile test on May 25, 2009, its first since 2006. North Korea launched another series of missiles on July 4, 2009, which landed in the Sea of Japan. Both China and Russia, strong allies of North Korea, condemned North Korea’s actions.
The US is working with neighboring Asian nations to secure a plan that will counter the nuclear efforts of North Korea. Clinton has been pushing for more sanction on Pyongyang.
Kim Jung-il’s health seems to be deteriorating, and reports have linked his increasing frailty to cancer. He suffered a stroke in 2008. In an effort to secure his family’s dynasty, he has named his youngest son, Kim Jong-un as his successor. Kim loyalists are instructed to refer to him as “Brilliant Comrade.”
In the 2000 US census 1,076,372 Americans identified themselves as being of Korean ancestry.
North Korea admits only an average of 2,000 Western tourists a year, so American travel there is limited.
North Koreans visiting the US in 2006 numbered 36. The number of tourists has remained below this level since 2002.
My Three Sons (by Evan Thomas and Suzanne Smalley, Newsweek)
U.S. Issues Sanctions To Press North Korea (by Jay Soloman, Wall Street Journal)
The Six-Party Talks on North Korea's Nuclear Program (by Jayshree Bajoria, Council on Foreign Relations)
Six-Parties Adopt Steps For North Korean Denuclearization But Uranium Enrichment Controversy Looms As Major Obstacle (Daniel A. Pinkston and Leonard S. Spector, Center for Nonproliferation Studies)
North Korea–United States Relations (Wikipedia)
North Korea’s Nuclear Weapon Program (by Larry A. Niksch, Congressional Research Service)
Where Does the Money Flow
Trade between the US and North Korea is virtually nonexistent. In 2007, the US imported nothing from North Korea, and the last year of any significant imports was 2004, when the U.S. imported $1.4 million worth of medicinal, dental and pharmaceutical preparations. United States exports to North Korea are minimal. In 2008 the US exported to North Korea $34.2 million worth of corn and $10.7 million worth of wheat.
The US gave $25 million in aid to North Korea in 2007, and $106 million in 2008. In both years, all funds were dedicated to Infrastructure. The 2009 budget request drastically diminishes aid to North Korea, down to $2 million. The funds will be divided equally between Civil Society, and Rule of Law, and Human Rights.
Controversies
We have the bomb, say North Koreans (by Justin McCurry and Suzanne Goldenberg, The Guardian)
S. Korea army on alert after North's military threat (by Jae-Soon Chang, Associated Press)
North Korea tries new tack with Obama (by Choe Sang-hun, International Herald Tribune)
North Korea Says It Has ‘Weaponized’ Plutonium (by Choe Sang-hun, New York Times)
South Korean President Sparks Controversy as Nuclear Talks Near an End (by Kurt Achin, Voice of America)
US Demands North Korea Come Clean About Uranium Program As Talks Continue (by P. Parameswaran, Agence France Presse)
North Korea and Nuclear Weapons: The Declassified U.S. Record (by Robert A. Wampler, The Na
We have the bomb, say North Koreans (by Justin McCurry and Suzanne Goldenberg, The Guardian)
S. Korea army on alert after North's military threat (by Jae-Soon Chang, Associated Press)
North Korea tries new tack with Obama (by Choe Sang-hun, International Herald Tribune)
North Korea Says It Has ‘Weaponized’ Plutonium (by Choe Sang-hun, New York Times)
South Korean President Sparks Controversy as Nuclear Talks Near an End (by Kurt Achin, Voice of America)
US Demands North Korea Come Clean About Uranium Program As Talks Continue (by P. Parameswaran, Agence France Presse)
North Korea and Nuclear Weapons: The Declassified U.S. Record (by Robert A. Wampler, The National Security Archive)
Human Rights
North Korea is probably the least free, most strictly regimented society in the world. Human rights there are virtually unknown, and the government effectively isolates its people from any independent knowledge of the outside world by controlling all media, including radio and the Internet. The people of North Korea have never known freedom. After centuries of feudalism, they experienced Japanese colonialism and the neo-Stalinism of Kim-Il sung and Kim Jong-il, who in 2008 was named by Parade magazine as the world’s worst dictator.
Some elements of the system of social control in North Korea are difficult to imagine. Cell phones are banned because they might be used to detonate bombs. The dials on radios are fixed so that unauthorized channels cannot be accessed, and security officials make unannounced visits to people’s homes to make sure no one is cheating. Furthermore, the state has created the most highly developed “cult of personality” in the world, in which former President Kim Il-sung, who has been dead since 1994, is virtually worshipped and retains the office of “eternal president.” Examples of this cult include the following:
Every room in every building must display photographs of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, and special kits are distributed to clean the pictures.; every North Korean must wear a lapel pin with a photo of either Kim Il-sung or Kim Jong-il.; among the many sobriquets that were used to refer to Kim Il-sung in North Korean propaganda were: The Peerless Patriot; The Ever-Victorious Iron-Willed Brilliant Commander, The Red Sun of the Oppressed People of the World, and The Greatest Leader of Our Time. In addition, on Kim il-sung’s 60th birthday, a 240,000 square-meter marble museum was opened to honor his life. Among the items on display were shoes, belts and other pieces of clothing he had worn. Kim also turned his birthplace into a monument with markers to indicate where he used to sit on a swing, study, ride on a sled, and go fishing. At one point, Kim il-Sung awarded himself a “double hero gold medal.” Moreover, in primary school, students spend one hour a week studying about the childhood of Kim Il-sung. In Korean language class, more than 60% of the time is spent reading about Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. In all texts, the names of the two Kims are always printed in boldface.
The country is a dictatorship under the absolute rule of Kim Il-sung’s son, Kim Jong-il, who is general secretary of the Korean Workers’ Party (KWP) and chairman of the National Defense Commission (NDC), the “highest office of state.” Elections are not free or fair, as the only candidates permitted are those approved by the government. There is no civilian control of the security forces, and members of the security forces frequently commit serious human rights abuses. The regime subjects citizens to rigid controls over many aspects of their lives. Reports of extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and arbitrary detention, including of political prisoners, are common.
Prison conditions are harsh and life-threatening, and torture occurs. Accounts of the prison camps where political and other prisoners are sentenced, brought out by former prisoners and escaped guards, are harrowing. A 2003 report identified 36 forced labor camps, one of which is three times as large as Washington, D.C. There are reports of forced abortions, babies being killed upon birth, people sent to the “Discipline Department” for laughing or for looking at their reflection in a window, and informers staying awake through the night to report on what prisoners say when they talk in their sleep. A 1987 riot at Onsung Prison led to the killing of 5,000 prisoners. Prisoners work up to 19 hours a day and products made by forced labor have been found to be “washed” through China on their way to store shelves in the US. According to one prisoner, working with livestock is a good job because it is possible to steal the animals’ food and to pick through animal dung for undigested grain. On the prison cell walls are slogans such as “adore the authorities of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il with all your heart.”
The judiciary is not independent and does not provide fair trials. Citizens are denied freedom of speech, the press, assembly, and association, and the government attempts to control all information. The government restricts freedom of religion, citizens’ movement, and worker rights. There continue to be reports of severe punishment of some repatriated refugees, and there are widespread reports of trafficking in women and girls among refugees and workers crossing the border into China.
Kim Jong-il (by David Wallechinsky, Parade)
A Visit to North Korea (In Disguise) (by David Wallechinsky, Huffington Post)
Debate
When it comes United States policy toward North Korea, the crux of the debate concerns whether or not to impose sanctions. Since 2006, when North Korea initiated its first nuclear test, the international community has become weary of the erratic behavior of Kim Jung-il. In response to the 2006 test, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1718, which authorized an embargo on arms and luxury goods, a travel ban, and an asset freeze on individuals. Arguments in favor of sanctions argue that North Korea’s leaders will make more concession and become more conciliatory at the negotiation table if there is marked fragility and weakness in their government. Historically, North Korea has made concessions when there are significant changes in its economy or relations with other nations.
In addition, those who favor sanctions fear that North Korea will continue funneling its technology to both state and non-state actors. North Korea has sold several hundred million dollars worth of missiles to Pakistan, Iran, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Vietnam, and Yemen, in recent years, and it helped Syria build a nuclear reactor that was intended for plutonium production. On the other hand, sanctions may further motivate North Korea to trade its technology, which might enhance the nuclear instability of East Asia and the Middle East.
However, North Korea has also made concessions and promises, which were only later reneged upon. The six-party talks that began as a result of the 2003 talks demonstrated the mood swings of North Korea. Opponents of sanctions argue that North Korea’s technology is not capable of reaching the US and thus does not deserve the attention or efforts in sanctions. Additionally, opponents of sanctions claim that economic and military sanctions cause suffering for the citizens of North Korea and not for the government leaders. Some argue that if immigration and travel restrictions were lessened for North Koreans and they were allowed to meet foreigners around the world, this would provide beneficial exposure to North Korean citizens. Such exposure could sway public favor in support of democracy or grassroots campaigns to see change in the government.
Don’t Sanction North Korea (by Charles D. Ferguson, Foreign Policy)
Take Away Their Mercedes by (Marcus Noland, Newsweek)
Bird in Hand (by Kara C. McDonald, Foreign Policy)
Past Ambassadors
The U.S. does not have formal diplomatic relations with North Korea, and hence does not maintain an Embassy in North Korea. The Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the U.S. as a consular protecting power.
Korea, North's Embassy Web Site in the U.S.
North Korea does not have formal diplomatic relations with the U.S., and hence does not maintain an Embassy in the U.S., but it does have a permanent mission to the U.N. in New York.
- Table of Contents
- News
- Overview
- Basic Information
- History
- Newspapers
- History of U.S. Relations with Korea, North
- Current U.S. Relations with Korea, North
- Where Does the Money Flow
- Controversies
- Human Rights
- Debate
- Past Ambassadors
- Ambassador to the U.S.
- Embassy Web Site in the U.S.
- Comments
- Leave a Comment
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