Taesŏng-guyŏk , or Taesŏng District is one of the 18 guyok that constitute Pyongyang , North Korea .
149-614: It had already been one of the ten guyoks in 1961. Taesŏng-guyŏk is divided into 15 dong (neighbourhoods): This North Korea location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . North Korea North Korea , officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ( DPRK ), is a country in East Asia . It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to
298-580: A United Nations Environmental Programme report in 2003, forest covers over 70 percent of the country, mostly on steep slopes. North Korea had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 8.02/10, ranking it 28th globally out of 172 countries. The longest river is the Amnok (Yalu) River which flows for 790 kilometers (491 mi). The country contains three terrestrial ecoregions: Central Korean deciduous forests , Changbai Mountains mixed forests , and Manchurian mixed forests . North Korea experiences
447-558: A bureaucratic dictatorship which rested on a largely nationalized industry run according to a production plan and claimed that the former Stalinist states of Central and Eastern Europe were deformed workers' states based on the same relations of production as the Soviet Union. Some Trotskyists such as the Committee for a Workers' International have at times included African, Asian, and Middle Eastern socialist states when they have had
596-510: A détente developed. A series of summits took place between Kim Jong Un of North Korea, President Moon Jae-in of South Korea, and President Trump. On 10 January 2021, Kim Jong Un was formally elected as the General Secretary in 8th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea , a title previously held by Kim Jong Il. On 24 March 2022, North Korea conducted a successful ICBM test launch for
745-937: A humid continental climate within the Köppen climate classification scheme. Winters bring clear weather interspersed with snow storms as a result of northern and northwestern winds that blow from Siberia . Summer tends to be by far the hottest, most humid, and rainiest time of year because of the southern and southeastern monsoon winds that carry moist air from the Pacific Ocean . Approximately 60 percent of all precipitation occurs from June to September. Spring and autumn are transitional seasons between summer and winter. The daily average high and low temperatures for Pyongyang are −3 and −13 °C (27 and 9 °F) in January and 29 and 20 °C (84 and 68 °F) in August. North Korea functions as
894-570: A hydrogen bomb and a missile capable of reaching the United States. Throughout 2017, following Donald Trump 's ascension to the US presidency, tensions between the United States and North Korea increased, and there was heightened rhetoric between the two, with Trump threatening "fire and fury" if North Korea ever attacked U.S. territory amid North Korean threats to test missiles that would land near Guam . The tensions substantially decreased in 2018, and
1043-477: A revision of Marxist thought. Bernstein stated: "The socialist movement is everything to me while what people commonly call the goal of Socialism is nothing". Following Marx, revolutionary socialists instead take the view that the working class grows stronger through its battle for reforms (such as in Marx's time, the ten-hours bill). In 1848, Marx and Engels wrote: Now and then the workers are victorious, but only for
1192-480: A workers' state or workers' republic , is a sovereign state constitutionally dedicated to the establishment of socialism . The term communist state is often used synonymously in the West , specifically when referring to one-party socialist states governed by Marxist–Leninist communist parties , despite these countries being officially socialist states in the process of building socialism and progressing toward
1341-692: A " military first " policy which prioritizes the Korean People's Army in state affairs and the allocation of resources. It possesses nuclear weapons . Its active-duty army of 1.28 million soldiers is the fourth-largest in the world. 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 . The modern spelling of Korea first appeared in 1671 in
1490-814: A capitalist mode of production. The first socialist state was the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic , established in 1917. In 1922, it merged with the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic , the Transcaucasian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic , and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic into a single federal union called the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The Soviet Union proclaimed itself
1639-417: A communist society)". The 2019 constitution retains the aim to work towards the construction of socialism. A number of countries make references to socialism in their constitutions that are not single-party states embracing Marxism–Leninism and planned economies. In most cases, these are constitutional references to the building of a socialist society and political principles that have little to no bearing on
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#17330943930601788-522: A communist society. These countries never describe themselves as communist nor as having implemented a communist society . Additionally, a number of countries that are multi-party capitalist states make references to socialism in their constitutions , in most cases alluding to the building of a socialist society, naming socialism, claiming to be a socialist state, or including the term people's republic or socialist republic in their country's full name, although this does not necessarily reflect
1937-428: A cult of personality closely tied to the state philosophy of Juche, which was later passed on to his successors: his son Kim Jong Il in 1994 and grandson Kim Jong Un in 2011. In 2013, Clause 2 of Article 10 of the newly edited Ten Fundamental Principles of the Workers' Party of Korea stated that the party and revolution must be carried "eternally" by the "Mount Paektu Bloodline". According to New Focus International ,
2086-583: A form of Marxism–Leninism, combined with nationalism and idolization, deification, and mystification of the Kim family. Similarly, direct references to communism in the Lao People's Democratic Republic are not included in its founding documents , although it gives direct power to the governing ruling party, the Marxist–Leninist Lao People's Revolutionary Party . The preamble to the constitution of
2235-549: A heart attack in 1994 ; Kim Jong Il declared a three-year period of national mourning, afterward officially announcing his position as the new leader. North Korea promised to halt its development of nuclear weapons under the Agreed Framework , negotiated with U.S. president Bill Clinton and signed in 1994. Building on Nordpolitik , South Korea began to engage with the North as part of its Sunshine Policy . Kim Jong Il instituted
2384-528: A highly centralized, one-party totalitarian dictatorship. According to its constitution , it is a self-described revolutionary and socialist state "guided in its building and activities only by great Kimilsungism–Kimjongilism". 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
2533-403: A highly organized stateless society . Libertarian communists, including anarchists , councillists , leftists , and Marxists , also reject the concept of a socialist state for being antithetical to socialism, but they believe that socialism can only be established through revolution and dissolving the existence of the state. Within the socialist movement, there is criticism towards the use of
2682-735: A leader of the Non-Aligned Movement and promoting the ideology of Juche . In United States policymaking, North Korea was considered among the Captive Nations . Despite its efforts to break out of the Soviet and Chinese spheres of influence, North Korea remained closely aligned with both countries throughout the Cold War. Industry was the favored sector in North Korea. Industrial production returned to pre-war levels by 1957. In 1959, relations with Japan had improved somewhat, and North Korea began allowing
2831-485: A manner similar to elections in the Soviet Union . The Workers' Party of Korea is the ruling party of North Korea. According to Article 3 of the constitution, Kimilsungism–Kimjongilism 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. North Korea follows Songun ,
2980-447: A more decentralized approach which puts the means of production directly into the hands of the workers rather than indirectly through state bureaucracies which they claim represent a new elite or class . This leads them to consider state socialism a form of state capitalism (an economy based on centralized management, capital accumulation and wage labor, but with the state owning the means of production) which Engels stated would be
3129-593: A number of its embassies. At the same time, North Korea sought to build relations with developed free market countries. North Korea joined the United Nations in 1991 together with South Korea . North Korea is also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement , G77 and the ASEAN Regional Forum . As of 2015 , North Korea had diplomatic relations with 166 countries and embassies in 47 countries. North Korea does not have diplomatic relations with Argentina , Botswana , Estonia , France , Iraq , Israel , Japan , Taiwan ,
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#17330943930603278-502: A point where a revolutionary movement arises. A revolutionary movement is required (in the view of Marxists) to sweep away the capitalist state and the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie, which must be abolished and replaced with a dictatorship of the proletariat, to begin constructing a socialist society. In this view, only through revolution can a socialist state be established as written in The Communist Manifesto : In depicting
3427-455: A policy called Songun , or "military first". Flooding in the mid-1990s exacerbated the economic crisis, severely damaging crops and infrastructure and leading to widespread famine that the government proved incapable of curtailing, resulting in the deaths of between 240,000 and 420,000 people. Which led many North Koreans to flee into China, South Korea and neighboring countries. In China, these illegal North Korea child immigrants are called
3576-550: A policy of "strategic patience", resisting making deals with North Korea. Tensions with South Korea and the United States increased in 2010 with the sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan and North Korea's shelling of Yeonpyeong Island . On 17 December 2011, Kim Jong Il died from a heart attack . His youngest son Kim Jong Un was announced as his successor. In the face of international condemnation, North Korea continued to develop its nuclear arsenal, possibly including
3725-453: A result of the war, almost every substantial building in North Korea was destroyed. Some have referred to the conflict as a civil war, with other factors involved. A heavily guarded demilitarized zone (DMZ) still divides the peninsula, and an anti-communist and anti-North Korea sentiment remains in South Korea. Since the war, the United States has maintained a strong military presence in
3874-410: A result, 65% of Korea's heavy industry was located in the north, but, due to the rugged terrain, only 37% of its agriculture. Northern Korea had little exposure to modern, Western ideas. One partial exception was the penetration of religion. Since the arrival of missionaries in the late nineteenth century, the northwest of Korea, and Pyongyang in particular, had been a stronghold of Christianity. As
4023-741: A result, Pyongyang was called the "Jerusalem of the East". A Korean guerrilla movement emerged in the mountainous interior and in Manchuria, harassing the Japanese imperial authorities. One of the most prominent guerrilla leaders was the Communist Kim Il Sung . After the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II in 1945, the Korean Peninsula was divided into two zones along the 38th parallel , with
4172-517: A revolutionary vanguard party acting as representatives of the proletariat and its interests. According to Lenin's April Theses , the goal of the revolution and vanguard party is not the introduction of socialism (it could only be established on a worldwide scale), but to bring production and the state under the control of the soviets of workers' deputies. Following the October Revolution in Russia,
4321-417: A scientific " administration of things" that would be concerned with directing processes of production in a socialist society, essentially ceasing to be a state. Although Marx never referred to a "socialist state", he argued that the working class would have to take control of the state apparatus and of the machinery of government in order to transition out of capitalism and to socialism. The dictatorship of
4470-669: A socialised economic system. The term can vary in its use from meaning a political system to adopting terms of a welfare state. This may either mean a system where the means of production, distribution, and exchange are nationalised or under state ownership, or simply a system in which social values or workers' interests have economic priority. However, the concept of a socialist state is mainly advocated by Marxist–Leninists and most socialist states have been established by political parties adhering to Marxism–Leninism or some national variation thereof such as Maoism , Stalinism , Titoism or Ho Chi Minh Thought . A state, whether socialist or not,
4619-557: A socialist state and proclaimed its commitment to building a socialist economy in its 1936 constitution and a subsequent 1977 constitution . It was governed by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union as a single-party state, ostensibly with a democratic centralism organization, with Marxism–Leninism remaining its official guiding ideology until the dissolution of the Soviet Union on 26 December 1991. The political systems of these Marxist–Leninist socialist states revolved around
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4768-416: A state under the control of a vanguard party that is organizing the economic, social, and political affairs of said state toward the construction of socialism. States run by communist parties that adhere to Marxism–Leninism, or some national variation thereof, refer to themselves as socialist states or workers' and peasants' states. They involve the direction of economic development toward the building up of
4917-554: A state would be a temporary affair and suggests that a new generation brought up in "new and free social conditions" will be able to "throw the entire lumber of the state on the scrap-heap". Socialists who embraced reformism , exemplified by the German politician Eduard Bernstein (1850-1932), took the view that both socialism and a socialist state will gradually evolve out of political reforms won by organized socialist political-parties and unions. More-orthodox Marxists regard these views as
5066-505: A time. The real fruit of their battles lies, not in the immediate result, but in the ever expanding union of the workers. [...] [I]t ever rises up again, stronger, firmer, mightier. It compels legislative recognition of particular interests of the workers, by taking advantage of the divisions among the bourgeoisie itself. Thus, the ten-hours' bill in England was carried. According to the orthodox Marxist conception, these battles eventually reach
5215-465: Is Paektu Mountain , a volcanic mountain with an elevation of 2,744 meters (9,003 ft) above sea level. Considered a sacred place by North Koreans, Mount Paektu holds significance in Korean culture and has been incorporated in the elaborate folklore and personality cult around the Kim family. For example, the song, "We Will Go To Mount Paektu" sings in praise of Kim Jong Un and describes a symbolic trek to
5364-451: Is a totalitarian dictatorship with a comprehensive cult of personality around the Kim family . Amnesty International considers the country to have the worst human rights record in the world. Officially, North Korea is an "independent socialist state " which holds democratic elections ; however, outside observers have described the elections as unfair, uncompetitive, and pre-determined, in
5513-612: Is a state representing the interests of the working class which presides over a state capitalist economy structured upon state-directed accumulation of capital with the goal of building up the country's productive forces and promoting worldwide socialist revolution , while the realization of a socialist economy is held as the long-term goal. In the Western world, particularly in mass media, journalism, and politics, these states and countries are often called communist states (although they do not use this term to refer to themselves), despite
5662-456: Is no need for a state in a socialist system because there would be no class to suppress and no need for an institution based on coercion and therefore, regard the state being a remnant of capitalism. They hold that statism is antithetical to true socialism, the goal of which is the eyes of libertarian socialists such as William Morris , who wrote as follows in a Commonweal article: "State Socialism? — I don't agree with it; in fact, I think
5811-470: Is opposed the most by anarchists, who reject the idea that the state can be used to establish a socialist society due to its hierarchical and arguably coercive nature, considering a socialist state or state socialism as an oxymoron . The concept of a socialist state is also considered unnecessary or counterproductive and rejected by some classical , libertarian , and orthodox Marxists, libertarian socialists and other socialist political thinkers who view
5960-402: Is the cornerstone of party works and government operations. Juche , part of the larger Kimilsungism–Kimjongilism along with Songun under Kim Jong Un, is viewed by the official North Korean line as an embodiment of Kim Il Sung's wisdom, an expression of his leadership, and an idea which provides "a complete answer to any question that arises in the struggle for national liberation". Juche
6109-541: Is undemocratic; and Marxism–Leninism is neither Marxism nor Leninism , but rather, a composite ideology which socialist leaders like Joseph Stalin used to expediently determine what is communism and what is not communism among the Eastern Bloc countries. Although most Marxist–Leninists distinguish between communism and socialism , Bordiga, who did consider himself a Leninist and has been described as being "more Leninist than Lenin", did not distinguish between
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6258-521: The Bolshevik -led revolution in Russia , many socialist groups—including reformists, orthodox Marxist currents such as council communism , and the Mensheviks , as well as anarchists and other libertarian socialists—criticized the idea of using the state to conduct planning and nationalization of the means of production as a way to establish socialism. Lenin himself acknowledged state capitalism as part of
6407-503: The Bolsheviks consolidated their power and sought to control and direct the social and economic affairs of the state and broader Russian society to safeguard against counterrevolutionary insurrection, foreign invasion, and to promote socialist consciousness among the Russian population while simultaneously promoting economic development. These ideas were adopted by Lenin in 1917 just prior to
6556-495: The Communist International ; and that a political vanguard organized by organic centralism was more effective than a vanguard organized by democratic centralism . The American Marxist Raya Dunayevskaya also dismissed it as a type of state capitalism because state ownership of the means of production is a form of state capitalism; the dictatorship of the proletariat is a form of democracy and single-party rule
6705-541: 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 . In 1948, separate governments were formed in Korea: the socialist and Soviet-aligned Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the north, and the capitalist, Western-aligned Republic of Korea in
6854-623: The European Economic Community because it demanded a free-market capitalist economy among its members. Nevertheless, public ownership in France and the United Kingdom during the height of nationalization in the 1960s and 1970s never accounted for more than 15–20% of capital formation , further dropping to 8% in the 1980s and below 5% in the 1990s after the rise of neoliberalism . The socialist policies practiced by parties such as
7003-637: The Joseon dynasty (1392–1897). In 1897, King Gojong proclaimed the Korean Empire , which was annexed by the Empire of Japan in 1910. From 1910 to the end of World War II in 1945, Korea was under Japanese rule . Most Koreans were peasants engaged in subsistence farming . In the 1930s, Japan developed mines, hydro-electric dams, steel mills, and manufacturing plants in northern Korea and neighboring Manchuria . The Korean industrial working class expanded rapidly, and many Koreans went to work in Manchuria. As
7152-468: The Kim family is the current Supreme Leader or Suryeong of North Korea. He heads all major governing structures: he is the general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs . 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
7301-769: The Kotjebi . In 1996, the government accepted UN food aid. The international environment changed once George W. Bush became U.S. President in 2001. His administration rejected South Korea's Sunshine Policy and the Agreed Framework. Bush included North Korea in his axis of evil in his 2002 State of the Union Address . The U.S. government accordingly treated North Korea as a rogue state , while North Korea redoubled its efforts to acquire nuclear weapons. On 9 October 2006, North Korea announced it had conducted its first nuclear weapons test . U.S. President Barack Obama adopted
7450-539: The Marxist tradition conceive of the state as representing the interests of its ruling class, partially out of material necessity for the smooth operation of the modes of production which the state presides over. Marxists trace the formation of the contemporary form of the sovereign state to the emergence of capitalism as a dominant mode of production, with its organizational precepts and functions designed by capitalists and by their supporters specifically to manage and regulate
7599-598: The October Revolution . Additional people's republics emerged following the Allied victory in World War II, mainly within the Eastern Bloc . In Asia, China became a people's republic following the Chinese Communist Revolution and North Korea also became a people's republic. During the 1960s, Romania and Yugoslavia ceased to use the term people's republic in their official name, replacing it with
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#17330943930607748-522: The People's Republic of China . The UNC, led by the United States, intervened to defend the South, and rapidly advanced into North Korea. As they neared the border with China, Chinese forces intervened on behalf of North Korea, shifting the balance of the war again. Fighting ended on 27 July 1953, with an armistice that approximately restored the original boundaries between North and South Korea, but no peace treaty
7897-524: The Socialist Republic of Vietnam states that Vietnam only entered a transition stage between capitalism and socialism after the country was reunified under the Communist Party of Vietnam in 1976. The 1992 constitution of the Republic of Cuba states that the role of the Communist Party of Cuba is to "guide the common effort toward the goals and construction of socialism (and the progress toward
8046-697: The South on 25 June 1950, and swiftly overran most of the country. The United Nations Command (UNC) was subsequently established following the UN Security Council 's recognition of North Korean aggression against South Korea. The motion passed because the Soviet Union , a close ally of North Korea and a member of the UN Security Council, was boycotting the UN over its recognition of the Republic of China rather than
8195-629: The United States , and Ukraine . Germany is unusual in maintaining a North Korean embassy. German Ambassador Friedrich Lohr says most of his time in North Korea involved facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid and agricultural assistance to a population plagued by food shortages. North Korea enjoys a close relationship with China which is often called North Korea's closest ally. Relations were strained beginning in 2006 because of China's concerns about North Korea's nuclear program. Relations improved after Xi Jinping , General Secretary of
8344-458: The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), known as Juche . Originally regarded as a variant of Marxism–Leninism, Juche was declared to be fully distinct by his son and successor, Kim Jong Il , and was adopted as the official state ideology in the 1972 constitution of North Korea . Further developed throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Juche made significant ideological breaks with Marxism–Leninism, and in
8493-624: The Yellow Sea and Korea Bay , and to its east lies Japan across the Sea of Japan . Early European visitors to Korea remarked that the country resembled "a sea in a heavy gale" because of the many successive mountain ranges that crisscross the peninsula. Some 80 percent of North Korea is composed of mountains and uplands, separated by deep and narrow valleys. All of the Korean Peninsula's mountains with elevations of 2,000 meters (6,600 ft) or more are located in North Korea. The highest point in North Korea
8642-483: The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, when all Soviet aid was suddenly halted. An internal CIA study acknowledged various achievements of the North Korean government post-war: compassionate care for war orphans and children in general, a radical improvement in the status of women, free housing, free healthcare, and health statistics particularly in life expectancy and infant mortality that were comparable to even
8791-577: The laws of capitalism still operated fully and private enterprise dominated the economy, some political commentators claimed that during the post-war period, when socialist parties were in power, countries such as Britain and France were democratic socialist states and the same is now applied to the Nordic countries and the Nordic model . In the 1980s, the government of President François Mitterrand aimed to expand dirigisme and attempted to nationalize all French banks, but this attempt faced opposition of
8940-518: The lower-phase communism . For Bordiga, both stages of socialist or communist society —with stages referring to historical materialism —were characterized by the gradual absence of money, the market, and so on, the difference between them being that earlier in the first stage, a system of rationing would be used to allocate goods to people, while in communism this could be abandoned in favour of full free access. This view distinguished Bordiga from Marxist–Leninists, who tended, and still tend, to telescope
9089-405: The productive forces to underpin the establishment of a socialist economy and usually include that at least the commanding heights of the economy are nationalized and under state ownership . This may or may not include the existence of a socialist economy, depending on the specific terminology adopted and level of development in specific countries. The Leninist definition of a socialist state
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#17330943930609238-536: The state ideology . Pyongyang's international isolation sharply accelerated from the 1980s onwards as the Cold War came to an end. The fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 then brought about a sharp decline to the North Korean economy. From 1994 to 1998, North Korea suffered a famine with the population continuing to suffer from malnutrition. In 2024, the DPRK formally abandoned efforts to peacefully reunify Korea . North Korea
9387-526: The 1972 July 4 South–North Joint Statement that established principles of working toward peaceful reunification. The talks ultimately failed because in 1973, South Korea declared its preference that the two Koreas should seek separate memberships in international organizations. The Soviet Union was dissolved on 26 December 1991, ending its aid and support to North Korea. In 1992, as Kim Il Sung's health began deteriorating, his son Kim Jong Il slowly began taking over various state tasks. Kim Il Sung died of
9536-597: The Allied Military Government . In April 1948, an uprising of the Jeju islanders was violently crushed. The South declared its statehood in May 1948 and two months later the ardent anti-communist Syngman Rhee became its ruler. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea was established in the North on 9 September 1948. Shtykov served as the first Soviet ambassador, while Kim Il Sung became premier. Soviet forces withdrew from
9685-744: The Chinese Communist Party and Chinese President visited North Korea in June 2019. North Korea continues to have strong ties with several Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam , Laos , Cambodia , and Indonesia . Relations with Malaysia were strained in 2017 by the assassination of Kim Jong-nam . North Korea has a close relationship with Russia and has voiced support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine . Socialist state List of forms of government A socialist state , socialist republic , or socialist country , sometimes referred to as
9834-466: The North in 1948, and most American forces withdrew from the South in 1949. Ambassador Shtykov suspected Rhee was planning to invade the North and was sympathetic to Kim's goal of Korean unification under socialism. The two successfully lobbied Soviet leader Joseph Stalin to support a quick war against the South, which culminated in the outbreak of the Korean War. The military of North Korea invaded
9983-610: The October Revolution in Russia and published in The State and Revolution . With the failure of the worldwide revolution, or at least European revolution, envisaged by Lenin and Leon Trotsky , the Russian Civil War and finally, Lenin's death, war measures that were deemed to be temporary, such as forced requisition of food and the lack of democratic control, became permanent and a tool to boost Joseph Stalin 's power, leading to
10132-414: The One-Ideology System") which establishes standards for governance and a guide for the behaviors of North Koreans. The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), a communist party led by a member of the Kim family , has an estimated 6.5 million members and is in control of North Korean politics. It has two satellite parties, the Korean Social Democratic Party and the Chondoist Chongu Party . Kim Jong Un of
10281-399: The Paris Commune as the prototype for a revolutionary government of the future, "the form at last discovered" for the emancipation of the proletariat. Engels noted that "all officials, high or low, were paid only the wages received by other workers. [...] In this way, an effective barrier to place-hunting and careerism was set up". Commenting on the nature of the state, Engels continued: "From
10430-401: The SPA Standing Committee, whose Chairman ( Choe Ryong-hae since 2019) is the third-ranking official in North Korea. Deputies formally elect the chairman, the vice chairpersons and members of the Standing Committee 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
10579-442: The Singaporean People's Action Party (PAP) during its first few decades in power were of a pragmatic kind as characterized by its rejection of nationalization. Despite this, the PAP still claimed to be a socialist party , pointing out its regulation of the private sector, state intervention in the economy, and social policies as evidence of this. The Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew also stated that he has been influenced by
10728-501: The South which is depicted by the North Korean government as an imperialist occupation force. It claims that the Korean War was caused by the United States and South Korea. In October 2024, North Korea claims that 1.4 million people have joined its military after accusing South Korea of a drone intrusion. In response, South Korea is restricting leaflet launches near the border to prevent potential conflict, while both sides engage in psychological warfare, including disturbing broadcasts at
10877-538: The Soviet Union a socialist state, nor did he claim that it had achieved socialism. He adopted state capitalist policies, defending them from left-wing criticism, but arguing that they were necessary for the future development of socialism and not socialist in themselves. On seeing the Soviet Union's growing coercive power, Lenin was quoted as saying that Russia had reverted to "a bourgeois tsarist machine [...] barely varnished with socialism". A variety of non-state, libertarian communist and socialist positions reject
11026-520: The State, including major policies of the State, and to carry out the directions of the president of the commission, Kim Jong Un. The SAC also directly supervises the Ministry of Defence , Ministry of State Security and the Ministry of Social Security . Legislative power is held by the unicameral Supreme People's Assembly (SPA). Its 687 members are elected every five years by universal suffrage , though
11175-459: The Welfare State have come to be used as interchangeable terms, and in the mouths of some people, as terms of reproach. Why this is so it is not difficult to understand, if you view everything from the angle of a strictly individualistic competitive society. A free health service is pure Socialism and as such, it is opposed to the hedonism of capitalist society. Although, as in the rest of Europe,
11324-500: The administration of things", thereby ceasing to be a state by the traditional definition. With the fall of the 1871 Paris Commune , Marx cautiously argued in The Civil War in France that "the working class cannot simply lay hold of the ready-made state machinery, and wield it for its own purposes. The centralized state power, with its ubiquitous organs of standing army, police, bureaucracy, clergy, and judicature—organs wrought after
11473-400: The affairs of a capitalist economy. Because this involves governance and laws passed in the interest of the bourgeoisie as a whole, and because government officials either come from the bourgeoisie or are dependent upon bourgeois interests, Marx characterized the capitalist state as a dictatorship of the bourgeoisie . Extrapolating from this, Marx described a post-revolutionary government on
11622-613: The armistice was interrupted by border skirmishes, celebrity abductions, and assassination attempts. The North failed in several assassination attempts on South Korean leaders, such as in 1968 , 1974, and the Rangoon bombing in 1983; tunnels were found under the DMZ and tensions flared over the axe murder incident at Panmunjom in 1976. For almost two decades after the war, the two states did not seek to negotiate with one another. In 1971, secret, high-level contacts began to be conducted culminating in
11771-444: The border. The post-war 1950s and 1960s saw an ideological shift in North Korea, as Kim Il Sung sought to consolidate his power. Kim Il Sung was highly critical of Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev and his de-Stalinization policies and critiqued Khrushchev as revisionist. During the 1956 August Faction Incident , Kim Il Sung successfully resisted efforts by the Soviet Union and China to depose him in favor of Soviet Koreans or
11920-462: The central role of the party which holds ultimate authority. Internally, the communist party practiced a form of democracy called democratic centralism . During the 22nd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1961, Nikita Khrushchev announced the completion of socialist construction and declared the optimistic goal of achieving communism in twenty years . The Eastern Bloc
12069-561: The character of the national power of capital over labour, of a public organized for social enslavement , of an engine of class despotism'". One of the most influential modern visions of a transitional state representing proletarian interests stemmed from the example of the Paris Commune, in which the workers and working poor took control of the city of Paris in 1871 in reaction to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. Marx described
12218-401: The concept of a socialist state altogether, believing that the modern state is a byproduct of capitalism and cannot be used for the establishment of a socialist system. They reason that a socialist state is antithetical to socialism and that socialism will emerge spontaneously from the grassroots level in an evolutionary manner , developing its own unique political and economic institutions for
12367-400: The concept of establishing a socialist state instead of abolishing the bourgeois state apparatus outright. They use the term state socialism to contrast it with their own form of socialism, which involves either collective ownership (in the form of worker cooperatives ) or common ownership of the means of production without state centralized planning . Those socialists believe there
12516-414: The conflict with pro-Soviet and pro-Chinese dissenters, and Korea's centuries-long struggle for independence. Juche was introduced into the constitution in 1972. Juche was initially promoted as a "creative application" of Marxism–Leninism , but in the mid-1970s, it was described by state propaganda as "the only scientific thought... and most effective revolutionary theoretical structure that leads to
12665-565: The country's productive forces while simultaneously promoting world communism . Academics, political commentators, and other scholars tend to distinguish between authoritarian socialist and democratic socialist states, with the first representing the Soviet Bloc and the latter representing Western Bloc countries which have been democratically governed by socialist parties such as Britain , France , Italy , and Western social democracies in general, among others, all of which operate within
12814-498: The country's 1992 constitution, all references to Marxism–Leninism and communism were removed from state and party materials. Scholars are divided over the classification of the modern-day Juche , with some considering it to be a departure from Marxist–Leninist principles, given the primacy of family lineage and nationalism over class struggle , and where social distinction and hierarchy are promoted over classless society and egalitarianism , and others considering it to still be
12963-505: The cult of personality, particularly surrounding Kim Il Sung, has been crucial for legitimizing the family's hereditary succession. The control the North Korean government exercises over many aspects of the nation's culture is used to perpetuate the cult of personality surrounding Kim Il Sung, and Kim Jong Il. While visiting North Korea in 1979, journalist Bradley Martin wrote that nearly all music, art, and sculpture that he observed glorified "Great Leader" Kim Il Sung, whose personality cult
13112-404: The democratic socialist British Labour Party. Because most existing socialist states operated along Marxist–Leninist principles of governance, the terms Marxist–Leninist regime and Marxist–Leninist state are used by scholars, particularly when focusing on the political systems of these countries. A people's republic is a type of socialist state with a republican constitution. Although
13261-481: The desired workers' state which he forecast would follow. Following Stalin's consolidation of power in the Soviet Union and static centralization of political power, Trotsky condemned the Soviet government's policies for lacking widespread democratic participation on the part of the population and for suppressing workers' self-management and democratic participation in the management of the economy. Because these authoritarian political measures were inconsistent with
13410-469: The development of socialism. Socialist states in the Marxist–Leninist sense are sovereign states under the control of a vanguard party which is organizing the country's economic, political, and social development toward the realization of socialism. Economically, this involves the development of a state capitalist economy with state-directed capital accumulation with the long-term goal of building up
13559-454: The elections have been described by outside observers as similar to elections in the Soviet Union . Elections in North Korea have also been described as a form of government census, due to the near 100% turnout. Although the elections are not pluralistic , North Korean state media describes the elections as "an expression of the absolute support and trust of all voters in the DPRK government". Supreme People's Assembly sessions are convened by
13708-400: The emergence of Marxism–Leninism and Stalinism , as well as the notion that socialism can be created and exist in a single state with theory of socialism in one country . Lenin argued that as socialism is replaced by communism, the state would " wither away " as strong centralized control progressively reduces as local communities gain more empowerment. As he put it succinctly, "[s]o long as
13857-463: The fact that these countries never claimed to have achieved communism in their countries—rather, they claim to be building and working toward the establishment of socialism and the development towards communism thereafter in their countries. Terms used by communist states include national-democratic , people's democratic , people's republican , socialist-oriented , and workers' and peasants' states. Karl Marx and subsequent thinkers in
14006-603: The famine of the 1990s was partially caused by natural disasters out of Kim Jong Il's control. The song " No Motherland Without You ", sung by the North Korean army choir, was created especially for Kim Jong Il and is one of the most popular tunes in the country. Kim Il Sung is still officially revered as the nation's "Eternal President". Several landmarks in North Korea are named for Kim Il Sung , including Kim Il Sung University , Kim Il Sung Stadium , and Kim Il Sung Square . Defectors have been quoted as saying that North Korean schools deify both father and son. Kim Il Sung rejected
14155-403: The final form of capitalism rather than socialism. Some Trotskyists following on from Tony Cliff deny that it is socialism, calling it state capitalism. Other Trotskyists agree that these states could not be described as socialist, but deny that they were state capitalist. They support Leon Trotsky 's analysis of pre-restoration Soviet Union as a workers' state that had degenerated into
14304-501: The first post-war Labour government and the architect of the National Health Service , disputed the claim that Britain was a socialist state. For Crosland and others who supported his views, Britain was a socialist state. According to Bevan, Britain had a socialist National Health Service which stood in opposition to the hedonism of Britain's capitalist society, making the following point: The National Health service and
14453-403: The first time since the 2017 crisis. In September 2022, North Korea passed a law that declared itself a nuclear state . On December 30, 2023, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un provocatively declared South Korea a "colonial vassal state", marking a significant departure from the longstanding position of mutual claims over the entire Korean Peninsula by both North and South Korea. This statement
14602-429: The first two stages and so have money and the other exchange categories surviving into socialism. But Bordiga would have none of this. For him, no society in which money, buying and selling, and the rest survived could be regarded as either socialist or communist—these exchange categories would die out before the socialist rather than the communist stage was reached. Stalin made the claim that the Soviet Union had reached
14751-515: The foreign embassies accredited to North Korea are located in Beijing rather than in Pyongyang . In the 1960s and 1970s, it pursued an independent foreign policy, established relations with many developing countries, and joined the Non-Aligned Movement . In the late 1980s and the 1990s its foreign policy was thrown into turmoil with the collapse of the Soviet Bloc . Suffering an economic crisis, it closed
14900-604: The future of communist society". Juche eventually replaced Marxism–Leninism entirely by the 1980s, and in 1992 references to the latter were omitted from the constitution. The 2009 constitution dropped references to communism and elevated the Songun military first policy while explicitly confirming the position of Kim Jong Il. However, the constitution retains references to socialism. The WPK reasserted its commitment to communism in 2021. Juche ' s concepts of self-reliance have evolved with time and circumstances, but still provide
15049-572: The groundwork for the spartan austerity, sacrifice, and discipline demanded by the party. Since the founding of the nation, North Korea's supreme leadership has stayed within the Kim family, which in North Korea is referred to as the Mount Paektu Bloodline . It is a three-generation lineage descending from the country's first leader, Kim Il Sung, who developed North Korea around the Juche ideology , and stayed in power until his death. Kim developed
15198-577: The law of value no longer directs economic activity, namely, that monetary relations in the form of exchange-value , profit , interest, and wage labour would not operate and apply to Marxist socialism. Unlike Stalin, who first claimed to have achieved socialism with the Soviet Constitution of 1936 and then confirmed it in the Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR , Lenin did not call
15347-566: The leader was announced "Eternal General Secretary" and "Eternal Chairman of the National Defence Commission" after his death in 2011. According to the constitution, there are officially three main branches of government. The first of these is the State Affairs Commission (SAC), which acts as "the supreme national guidance organ of state sovereignty". Its role is to deliberate and decide the work on defense building of
15496-447: The legitimate government of the entire Korean Peninsula and adjacent islands. Despite its official title as the "Democratic People's Republic of Korea", some observers have described North Korea's political system as a "hereditary dictatorship". It has also been described as a Stalinist dictatorship . Kimilsungism–Kimjongilism is the official ideology of North Korea and the WPK, and
15645-527: The lower stage of communism and argued that the law of value still operated within a socialist economy. Marx did not use the term socialism to refer to this development and instead called it a communist society that has not yet reached its higher-stage. The term socialism to mean the lower-state of communism was popularized during the Russian Revolution by Lenin. This view is consistent with, and helped to inform early concepts of, socialism in which
15794-422: The modern state as a byproduct of capitalism , which would have no function in a socialist system. A socialist state is to be distinguished from a multi-party liberal democracy governed by a self-described socialist party , where the state is not constitutionally bound to the construction of socialism. In such cases, the political system and machinery of government is not specifically structured to pursue
15943-505: The modern state would have no function and would gradually "wither away" or be transformed into a new form of governance. Influenced by the pre-Marxist utopian-socialist philosopher Henri de Saint-Simon (1760-1825), Friedrich Engels theorized that the nature of the state would change during the transition to socialism. Both Saint-Simon and Engels described a transformation of the state from an entity primarily concerned with political rule over people (via coercion and law-creation) to
16092-470: The most advanced nations up until the North Korean famine . Life expectancy in the North was 72 before the famine which was only marginally lower than in the South. The country once boasted a comparatively developed healthcare system; pre-famine North Korea had a network of nearly 45,000 family practitioners with some 800 hospitals and 1,000 clinics. The relative peace between the North and South following
16241-551: The most general phases of the development of the proletariat, we traced the more or less veiled civil war, raging within existing society, up to the point where that war breaks out into open revolution, and where the violent overthrow of the bourgeoisie lays the foundation for the sway of the proletariat. Other historic reformist or gradualist movements within socialism, as opposed to revolutionary approaches, include Fabian socialist and Menshevik groupings. Whereas Marx, Engels, and classical Marxist thinkers had little to say about
16390-606: The mountain. Other prominent ranges are the Hamgyong Range in the extreme northeast and the Rangrim Mountains , which are located in the north-central part of North Korea. Mount Kumgang in the Taebaek Range , which extends into South Korea, is famous for its scenic beauty. The coastal plains are wide in the west and discontinuous in the east. A great majority of the population lives in the plains and lowlands. According to
16539-558: The north at the Yalu (Amnok) and Tumen rivers, and South Korea to the south at the Korean Demilitarized Zone . The country's 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 sole legitimate government of the entire peninsula and adjacent islands . Pyongyang is the capital and largest city. The Korean Peninsula
16688-678: The northern half of the peninsula occupied by the Soviet Union and the southern half by the United States . Negotiations on reunification failed. Soviet general Terenty Shtykov recommended the establishment of the Soviet Civil Administration in October 1945, and supported Kim Il Sung as chairman of the Provisional People's Committee of North Korea , established in February 1946. In September 1946, South Korean citizens rose up against
16837-425: The notion that he had created a cult around himself and accused those who suggested this of " factionalism ". Following the death of Kim Il Sung, North Koreans were prostrating and weeping to a bronze statue of him in an organized event; similar scenes were broadcast by state television following the death of Kim Jong Il. Critics maintain that Kim Jong Il's personality cult was inherited from his father. Kim Jong Il
16986-423: The organization of the state in a socialist society, presuming the modern state to be specific to the capitalist mode of production, Vladimir Lenin pioneered the idea of a revolutionary state based on his theory of the revolutionary vanguard party and organizational principles of democratic centralism . Adapted to the conditions of semi-feudal Russia, Lenin's concept of the dictatorship of the proletariat involved
17135-517: The organizational precepts of socialism, Trotsky characterized the Soviet Union as a deformed workers' state that would not be able to effectively transition to socialism. Ostensibly socialist states where democracy is lacking, yet the economy is largely in the hands of the state, are termed by orthodox Trotskyist theories as degenerated or deformed workers' states and not socialist states. Many democratic and libertarian socialists, including anarchists, mutualists , and syndicalists , criticize
17284-565: The outset, the Commune was compelled to recognize that the working class, once come to power, could not manage with the old state machine". Engels states that in order to avoid overthrow once having conquered power, the working class "must, on the one hand, do away with all the old repressive machinery previously used against it itself, and, on the other, safeguard itself against its own deputies and officials, by declaring them all, without exception, subject to recall at any moment". Engels argues that such
17433-414: The part of the working class or proletariat as a dictatorship of the proletariat because the economic interests of the proletariat would have to guide state affairs and policy during a transitional state. Alluding further to the establishment of a socialist economy where social ownership displaces private ownership and thus, class distinctions on the basis of private-property ownership are eliminated,
17582-405: The plan of a systematic and hierarchic division of labor originates from the days of absolute monarchy, serving nascent middle class society as a mighty weapon in its struggle against feudalism". In other words, "the centralized state power inherited by the bourgeoisie from the absolute monarchy necessarily assumes, in the course of the intensifying struggles between capital and labor, 'more and more
17731-437: The pro-Chinese Yan'an faction . Some scholars believe that the 1956 August incident was an example of North Korea demonstrating political independence. However, most scholars consider the final withdrawal of Chinese troops from North Korea in October 1958 to be the latest date when North Korea became effectively independent. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, North Korea sought to distinguish itself internationally by becoming
17880-404: The proletariat would represent this transitional state and would involve working-class interests dominating government policy in the same manner that capitalist-class interests dominate government policy under capitalism (the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie). Engels argued that as socialism developed, the state would change in form and function. Under socialism, it is not a "government of people, but
18029-463: The repatriation of Japanese citizens in the country. The same year, North Korea revalued the North Korean won , which held greater value than its South Korean counterpart. Until the 1960s, economic growth was higher than in South Korea, and North Korean GDP per capita was equal to that of its southern neighbor as late as 1976. However, by the 1980s, the economy had begun to stagnate; it started its long decline in 1987 and almost completely collapsed after
18178-567: The same divided country as their compatriots in the South, and foreign visitors are discouraged from using the former term. According to Korean mythology in 2333 BCE, the Gojoseon Kingdom was established by the god-king Dangun . Following the unification of the Three Kingdoms of Korea under the name Unified Silla in 668 AD, Korea was subsequently ruled by the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) and
18327-593: The second-ranking official after Kim Jong Un. 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 . North Korea, like its southern counterpart, claims to be
18476-584: The south. North Korean invasion of South Korea in 1950 started the Korean War . In 1953, the Korean Armistice Agreement brought about a ceasefire and established a demilitarized zone (DMZ), but no formal peace treaty has ever been signed. Post-war North Korea benefited greatly from economic aid and expertise provided by other Eastern Bloc countries. However, Kim Il Sung , North Korea's first leader, promoted his personal philosophy of Juche as
18625-514: 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 has been headed by Premier Kim Tok Hun since 14 August 2020, who's officially
18774-399: The state exists, there is no freedom. When there will be freedom, there will be no state". In this way, Lenin was thereby proposing a classically dynamic view of progressive social structure which, during his own short period of governance, emerged as a defensive and preliminary bureaucratic centralist stage. He regarded this structural paradox as the necessary preparation for and antithesis of
18923-417: The structure and development paths of these countries' political and economic systems. Currently, these countries include Algeria , Bangladesh , Guyana , India , Nepal , Nicaragua , Sri Lanka and Tanzania . The idea of a socialist state stems from the broader notion of state socialism , the political perspective that the working class needs to use state power and government policy to establish
19072-533: The structure and guidance of these country's machinery of government and economic system . The preamble to the 1976 Constitution of Portugal states that the Portuguese state has, as one of its goals, opening "the way to socialist society". Another broad example is that of Slovenia, which defines itself as a "state governed by the rule of law and a social state". Algeria, the Congo, India, and Sri Lanka have directly used
19221-724: The term socialism was often used in reference to an Arab socialist / nationalist philosophy adopted by specific regimes, such as that of Gamal Abdel Nasser and that of the various Ba'ath parties . Examples of countries directly using the term socialist in their names include the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, while a number of countries make references to socialism in their constitutions, but not in their names. These include India and Portugal. In addition, countries such as Belarus, Colombia, France, Russia, and Spain use
19370-422: The term socialist in their official constitution and name. Croatia, Hungary, and Poland directly denounce "Communism" in their founding documents in reference to their past regimes. In these cases, the intended meaning of socialism can vary widely and sometimes the constitutional references to socialism are left over from a previous period in the country's history. In the case of many Middle Eastern states,
19519-451: The term socialist republic as a mark of their ongoing political development. Czechoslovakia also added the term socialist republic into its name during this period. It had become a people's republic in 1948, but the country had not used that term in its official name. Albania used both terms in its official name from 1976 to 1991. The term socialist state is widely used by Marxist–Leninist parties, theorists, and governments to mean
19668-538: The term initially became associated with populist movements in the 19th century such as the German Völkisch movement and the Narodniks in Russia, it is now associated with Communist Party ruled states. A number of the short-lived communist states which formed during World War I and its aftermath called themselves people's republics . Many of these sprang up in the territory of the former Russian Empire following
19817-574: The term socialist states in relation to countries such as China and previously of Soviet Union and Eastern and Central European states before what some term the "collapse of Stalinism " in 1989. Anti-authoritarian communists and socialists such as anarchists, other democratic and libertarian socialists, as well as revolutionary syndicalists and left communists claim that the so-called socialist states actually presided over state capitalist economies and cannot be called socialist. Those socialists who oppose any system of state control whatsoever believe in
19966-470: The transition from capitalism to socialism. Critical of the economy and government of socialist states, left communists such as the Italian Amadeo Bordiga said that their socialism was a form of political opportunism which preserved rather than destroyed capitalism because of the claim that the exchange of commodities would occur under socialism ; the use of popular front organisations by
20115-568: The travel writings of the Dutch East India Company 's Hendrick Hamel . After the division of the country into North and South Korea, the two sides used different terms to refer to Korea: Chosun or Joseon ( 조선 ) in North Korea, and Hanguk ( 한국 ) in South Korea. In 1948, North Korea adopted Democratic People's Republic of Korea ( Korean : 조선민주주의인민공화국 , Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk ; listen ) as its official name. In
20264-431: The two in the same way Marxist–Leninists do. Both Lenin and Bordiga did not see socialism as a separate mode of production from communism, but rather, just as how communism looks as it emerges out of capitalism before it has "developed on its own foundations". This is coherent with Marx and Engels, who used the terms communism and socialism interchangeably. Like Lenin, Bordiga used socialism to mean what Marx called
20413-435: The two words contradict one another, and that it is the business of Socialism to destroy the State and put Free Society in its place". Classical and orthodox Marxists also view state socialism as an oxymoron, arguing that while an association for managing production and economic affairs would exist in socialism, it would no longer be a state in the Marxist definition , which is based on domination by one class . Preceding
20562-409: The varied term social state , leaving a more ambiguous meaning. In the constitutions of Croatia, Hungary, and Poland, direct condemnation is made to the respective past socialist regimes. The autonomous region of Rojava , which operates under the principles of democratic confederalism , has been described as a socialist state. During the post-war consensus , nationalization of large industries
20711-466: The wider world, because its government controls the northern part of the Korean Peninsula , it is commonly called North Korea to distinguish it from South Korea, which is officially called the Republic of Korea in English. Both governments consider themselves to be the legitimate government of the whole of Korea . For this reason, the people do not consider themselves as 'North Koreans' but as Koreans in
20860-645: Was a political and economic bloc of Soviet-aligned socialist states in Eastern and Central Europe which adhered to Marxism–Leninism, Soviet-style governance , and economic planning in the form of the administrative-command system and command economy . China's socio-economic structure has been referred to as "nationalistic state capitalism" and the Eastern Bloc (Eastern Europe and the Third World ) as "bureaucratic-authoritarian systems." The People's Republic of China
21009-568: Was first inhabited as early as the Lower Paleolithic period. Its first kingdom was noted in Chinese records in the early 7th century BCE. Following the unification of the Three Kingdoms of Korea into Silla and Balhae in the late 7th century, Korea was ruled by the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) and the Joseon dynasty (1392–1897). The succeeding Korean Empire (1897–1910) was annexed in 1910 into
21158-562: Was followed by a call on January 15, 2024, for a constitutional amendment to redefine the boundary with South Korea as the 'Southern National Borderline,' further intensifying the rhetoric against South Korea. Kim Jong-un also stated that in the event of a war, North Korea would seek to annex the entirety of South Korea. North Korea occupies the northern portion of the Korean Peninsula , lying between latitudes 37° and 43°N , and longitudes 124° and 131°E . It covers an area of 120,540 square kilometers (46,541 sq mi). To its west are
21307-419: Was founded on 1 October 1949, and proclaims itself to be a socialist state in its 1982 constitution . The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) used to adhere to orthodox Marxism–Leninism since its founding until mid-1950s, by which point the supreme leader of North Korea, Kim Il Sung , sought to develop a distinct Korean re-interpretation of the ideology in order to solidify his position within
21456-399: Was often the center of attention throughout ordinary life. His birthday is one of the most important public holidays in the country . On his 60th birthday (based on his official date of birth), mass celebrations occurred throughout the country. Kim Jong Il's personality cult, although significant, was not as extensive as his father's. One point of view is that Kim Jong Il's cult of personality
21605-513: Was pronounced in December 1955 in a speech called On Eliminating Dogmatism and Formalism and Establishing Juche in Ideological Work in order to emphasize a Korea-centered revolution. Its core tenets are economic self-sufficiency , military self-reliance and an independent foreign policy. The roots of Juche were made up of a complex mixture of factors, including the popularity of Kim Il Sung,
21754-505: Was relatively widespread and it was not uncommon for commentators to describe some European countries as democratic socialist states seeking to move their countries toward a socialist economy . In 1956, leading British Labour Party politician and author Anthony Crosland claimed that capitalism had been abolished in Britain, although others such as Welshman Aneurin Bevan , Minister of Health in
21903-547: Was signed. Approximately 3 million people died in the Korean War, with a higher proportional civilian death toll than World War II or the Vietnam War . In both per capita and absolute terms, North Korea was the country most devastated by the war, which resulted in the death of an estimated 12–15% of the North Korean population ( c. 10 million), "a figure close to or surpassing the proportion of Soviet citizens killed in World War II ," according to Charles K. Armstrong . As
22052-518: Was solely out of respect for Kim Il Sung or out of fear of punishment for failure to pay homage, while North Korean government sources consider it genuine hero worship. As a result of its isolation, North Korea is sometimes known as the " hermit kingdom ", a term that originally referred to the isolationism in the latter part of the Joseon Dynasty . Initially, North Korea had diplomatic ties only with other communist countries, and even today, most of
22201-546: Was then being extended to his son, "Dear Leader" Kim Jong Il. Claims that the family has been deified are contested by B. R. Myers: "Divine powers have never been attributed to either of the two Kims. In fact, the propaganda apparatus in Pyongyang has generally been careful not to make claims that run directly counter to citizens' experience or common sense." He further explains that the state propaganda painted Kim Jong Il as someone whose expertise lay in military matters and that
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