Democratic People's Republic of North Korea

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea was a country that constituted the northern part of the Korean Peninsula in Eastern Asia. Pyongyang was the largest city and capital, though now it is an inhospitable wasteland. The country was de-established and all its territory assigned to the Republic of United Korea. To the north and northwest, the country was bordered by China and by Russia along the Amnok and Tumen rivers; it was bordered to the south by South Korea, with the heavily fortified Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea was governed by the Worker's Party of Korea. It held formal elections, but they were only a token, with the elections not actually affecting government. Kim Jong-un was the last Supreme Leader of the country.

Demographics

Besides a few people of Chinese and Japanese ethnicity, most people of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea belong to a homogeneous ethnicity. Though a huge population boom was expected, the Korean Famine prevented the same and limited the population. The life expectancy of citizens was 68.7. Compulsory education meant a reported 100% literacy, however, these were claims by the government and never confirmed. Cardiovascular diseases were the leading cause of death, before the Operation Mousehole. The spoken language was Korean. Marriage was almost universal and divorce was very rare. he national birth rate was 13.5 births per year per 1,000 population. Two-thirds of households consisted of extended families mostly living in two-room units.

Government

At the height of it's power, the following was noted about DPRK:
"North Korea functions as a highly centralized, one-party state. According to its 2016 constitution, it is a self-described revolutionary and socialist state "guided in its activities by the Juche idea and the Songun idea". In addition to the constitution, North Korea is governed by the Ten Principles for the Establishment of a Monolithic Ideological System (also known as the "Ten Principles of the One-Ideology System") which establishes standards for governance and a guide for the behaviours of North Koreans.The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) has an estimated 3,000,000 members and dominates every aspect of North Korean politics. It has two satellite organizations, the Korean Social Democratic Party and the Chondoist Chongu Party which participate in the WPK-led Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland.
Kim Jong-un of the Kim dynasty is the current Supreme Leader or Suryeong of North Korea. He heads all major governing structures: he is Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, and Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army. His grandfather Kim Il-sung, the founder and leader of North Korea until his death in 1994, is the country's "Eternal President", while his father Kim Jong-il who succeeded Kim Il-sung as leader was announced "Eternal General Secretary" after his death in 2011.
According to the Constitution of North Korea there are officially three main branches of government. The first of these is the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, which acts as "the supreme national guidance organ of state sovereignty". Its role is to deliberate and decide the work on defense building of the State, including major policies of the State; and to carry out the directions of the Chairman of the commission, Kim Jong-un .
Legislative power is held by the unicameral Supreme People's Assembly (SPA). Its 687 members are elected every five years by universal suffrage. Supreme People's Assembly sessions are convened by the SPA Presidium, whose president (Kim Yong-nam since 1998) represents the state in relations with foreign countries. Deputies formally elect the President, the vice-presidents and members of the Presidium and take part in the constitutionally appointed activities of the legislature: pass laws, establish domestic and foreign policies, appoint members of the cabinet, review and approve the state economic plan, among others. The SPA itself cannot initiate any legislation independently of party or state organs. It is unknown whether it has ever criticized or amended bills placed before it, and the elections are based around a single list of WPK-approved candidates who stand without opposition.
Executive power is vested in the Cabinet of North Korea, which is headed by Premier Pak Pong-ju. The Premier represents the government and functions independently. His authority extends over two vice-premiers, 30 ministers, two cabinet commission chairmen, the cabinet chief secretary, the president of the Central Bank, the director of the Central Bureau of Statistics and the president of the Academy of Sciences. A 31st ministry, the Ministry of People's Armed Forces, is under the jurisdiction of the State Affairs Commission."
Kim Jong-un was slated to announce his successor in 2026, and the official announcement had brought about a hope that there would be majot changes in the governmental structure, perhaps a deviation from it's notorious 'dictatorial' structure. However, the country had ceased to exist before the announcement could be made.

Defences

DPRK's military was described as:
"The Korean People's Army (KPA) is North Korea's military organization. The KPA has 1,106,000 active and 8,389,000 reserve and paramilitary troops, making it the largest military institution in the world. About 20 percent of men aged 17–54 serve in the regular armed forces, and approximately one in every 25 citizens is an enlisted soldier. The KPA has five branches: Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, Special Operations Force, and Rocket Force. Command of the Korean People's Army lies in both the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea and the independent State Affairs Commission. The Ministry of People's Armed Forces is subordinated to the latter.
Of all KPA branches, the Ground Force is the largest. It has approximately one million personnel divided into 80 infantry divisions, 30 artillery brigades, 25 special warfare brigades, 20 mechanized brigades, 10 tank brigades and seven tank regiments. They are equipped with 3,700 tanks, 2,100 armoured personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles, 17,900 artillery pieces, 11,000 anti-aircraft guns and some 10,000 MANPADS and anti-tank guided missiles.[208] Other equipment includes 1,600 aircraft in the Air Force and 1,000 vessels in the Navy. North Korea has the largest special forces and the largest submarine fleet in the world."
DPRK's nuclear capabilities were to be dismantled after a treaty between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump. However, before the dismantling process was completed, the Korean-American conflict occured. DPRK was unable to use its nuclear capabilities because of the The United States of America and its quick response.

Infrastructure

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea's infrastructure was in disrepair. Power shortages were chronic and crippling. The country saw a significant rise in the use of renewable energy. It had a domestic nuclear programme that was in the process of dismantlement leading up to 2024. Transport infrastructure included railways, highways, water and air routes, but rail transport was by far the most widespread. North Korea had some 5,200 kilometres of railways mostly in standard gauge which carry 80% of annual passenger traffic and 86% of freight, but electricity shortages undermined their efficiency. Construction of a high-speed railway connecting Kaesong, Pyongyang and Sinuiju with speeds exceeding 200 km/h was approved in 2013. North Korea connected with the Trans-Siberian Railway through Rajin.
Road transport was very limited — only 724 kilometres of the 25,554-kilometer road network were paved, and maintenance on most roads was poor. Only 2% of the freight capacity was supported by river and sea transport, and air traffic was negligible. All port facilities were ice-free and hosted a merchant fleet of 158 vessels. Eighty-four airports and 25 helipads were operational and the largest serve the state-run airline, Air Koryo. Cars were relatively rare, but bicycles were common.

RUINED SETTLEMENT
2024

Type

National Territory

Population

32,496,377

Owner/Ruler

Kim Jong-un

Characters in Location

• Kim Jong-un