North Korea

E

Health and Welfare

All North Korean citizens are entitled to disability benefits and retirement allowances. Medical care is free and available at people’s clinics throughout the country. In 1993 there were about 62,100 doctors (around 1 per 370 people). The official infant mortality rate in 2007 was 23 deaths per 1,000 live births.

F

Defence

The president of North Korea is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The KWP maintains political control of the military. Military service of three to ten years is compulsory for all males. In 2004 the total military personnel was about 1,106,000, distributed as follows: army, 950,000; navy, 46,000; and air force, 110,000. Reserve forces total 4.7 million. North Korea has one of the largest armies in East Asia, though its quality is regarded as poor.

G

International Organizations

North Korea has been a member of the United Nations (UN) since 1991. Otherwise, its membership of international organizations is limited.

VI

History

For the history of the Korean Peninsula before it was partitioned into North and South Korea, see Korea. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) was proclaimed in P’yǒngyang on September 9, 1948, but a more significant date of inception would perhaps be August 29, 1946, when North Korea’s Communist Party, properly known as the Korean Workers’ Party (KWP), was inaugurated under the leadership of Kim Tubong and Kim Il Sung.

A

Kim Il Sung’s Rise to Power

After the establishment of the KWP, Kim Il Sung enjoyed the support of the occupying Soviet forces (until they withdrew in late 1948), and began playing a leading role in Korean affairs north of the 38th parallel. Under the Communist Party and before the establishment of the DPRK, key political and economic reforms had already been made: elimination of moderate and right-wing elements, subordination of the formal government apparatus to Communist Party control, suppression of religious and most other sectarian groups, confiscation of land and wealth formerly belonging to the Japanese or to enemies of the regime, and the initiation of party-directed economic planning and development. Although Kim Il Sung emerged early as the principal leader, others contended for the top position. One of these, Pak Honyong, a Communist from the south, was executed after the Korean War; some believe that Pak was blamed for the loss of the war, the people of South Korea having failed to support the north as Pak had supposedly promised. Kim Tubong and other possible rivals were eliminated by the end of the 1950s, leaving Kim Il Sung in undisputed control. His personal power was buttressed by an extensive personality cult.