Democratic People's 
Republic of Korea (North Korea)

26 Aug 1945 - 8 Sep 1948 Feb 1946 - 8 Sep 1948 Provisional People's Committee Flag Adopted 8 Sep 1948  Map of North Korea  Hear National Anthem "Aegukka" (Patriotic Song)  Text of National Anthem Adopted 1947 Constitution (28 Sep 2009) ---------------------------------- 1998 Constitution (27 Dec 1972; revised Apr 1992, 5 Sep 1998-28 Sep 2009) --------------------------------- 1948 Constitution (9 Sep 1948-27 Dec 1972) Capital: Pyongyang (Sinuiju 21 Oct 1950-1950; Kanggye 1950-1953) Currency: North Korean Won (KPW)  National Holidays: 15 Apr (1912) Taeyangjeol (Day of the Sun) (birthday of Kim Il Sung) --------------------------------- 9 Sep (1948) Day of the Foundation of the Republic Population: 25,381,085 (2018) GDP: $40 billion (2015) note: North Korea does not publish any reliable National Income Accounts data. Exports: $45.8 billion (2017) Imports: $43.7 billion (2017) Ethnic groups: Korean 99.8%, Chinese 0.2%, note: small Chinese community and a few ethnic  Japanese (1999) Total Active Armed Forces: 1,106,000 (2010) Declared Nuclear Power (2006): est. 45 weapons (2021) Merchant marine: 274 ships (2018) Religions: non-religious 55.6%, atheist 15.6%, traditional beliefs 12.3%, Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way) 12.9%, Christian 2.1%, Buddhist 1.5% (2000)   note: autonomous religious activities now almost non-existent. International Organizations/Treaties: ANT, APA, ARF, BTWC, ENMOD, ESCR, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IMSO, Intersputnik, IOC, IPU, ISA (observer), ISO, ITSO, ITU, NAM, OST, UN, UNCLOS (signatory), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFCC, UNFCC-KP, UNFCC-PA, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO North Korea Index Chronology 29 Aug 1910 - 15 Aug 1945  Korea is annexed by Japan. 22 Aug 1945                Soviet occupation of Pyongyang. 22 Aug 1945 -  8 Sep 1948  Korea occupied by the Soviet Union north of 38th                              parallel (Wonson occupied 14 Aug 1945), and by                              the U.S. south of the parallel (9 Sep 1945 -                              29 Jun 1949 [see South Korea]).  8 Sep 1948                Democratic People's Republic of Korea (Joson                              Minjujuui Inmin Konghwakuk)("North Korea")                              (solemn proclamation of the republic followed on                              9 Sep 1948). 28 Jun 1950 - 27 Sep 1950  Most of South Korea (except Pusan perimeter)                               occupied by North Korea. 19 Oct 1950 -  5 Dec 1950  Mostly occupied by United Nations and U.S. forces.  5 Dec 1950 - 26 Oct 1958  Chinese troops garrison North Korea. UN Occupation (1950-1951)  Sinuiju (2002-2004)  Map of  Korean Peninsula Map of Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)

Soviet Commanders-in-chief (of the 25th Army)
22 Aug 1945 -  3 Apr 1947  Ivan Mikhaylovich Chistyakov       (b. 1900 - d. 1979)  Mil
 3 Apr 1947 -  8 Sep 1948  Gennadiy Petrovich Korotkov        (b. 1898 - d. 1982)  Mil
Chairman of the Standing Committee of the People's Assembly
22 Feb 1947 -  8 Sep 1948  Kim Du Bong                        (s.a.)               CND
Chairmen of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly
 8 Sep 1948 - 20 Sep 1957  Kim Du Bong                        (s.a.)               CND
20 Sep 1957 - 28 Dec 1972  Choi Yong Kun                      (b. 1900 - d. 1976)  CND
President
28 Dec 1972 -  8 Jul 1994  Kim Il Sung                        (s.a.)               CND
 8 Jul 1994 -  5 Sep 1998  Vacant¹
Chairmen of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly²
 5 Sep 1998 - 11 Apr 2019  Kim Yong Nam                       (b. 1928)            CND
11 Apr 2019 -              Choe Ryong Hae                     (b. 1950)            CND

Chiefs of the Soviet Civil Administration in North Korea (all from Soviet Union)
 3 Oct 1945 - 1947         Andrey Alekseyevich Romanenko      (b. 1903 - d. 1979)  Mil
1947 -  8 Sep 1948         Nikolay Georgiyevich Lebedev       (b. 1901 - d. 1992)  Mil
Head of Civil Administration
Oct 1945 - 1948            Terentiy Fomich Shtykov            (b. 1907 - d. 1964)  Mil
Chairman of the Provincial People's Political Committee
22 Aug 1945 -  8 Oct 1945  Cho Man Sik                        (b. 1883 - d. 1950)  Non-party
Chairman of the Five Provinces People's Committee Council
 8 Oct 1945 - 19 Nov 1945  Cho Man Sik                        (s.a.)               Non-party
Chairman of the Five Provinces Administrative Bureau
19 Nov 1945 -  8 Feb 1946  Cho Man Sik                        (s.a.)               HM
Chairman of the (to 22 Feb 1947, Provisional) People's Committee for North Korea
 9 Feb 1946 -  8 Sep 1948  Kim Il Sung                        (s.a.)               CND
Chairmen of the Council of Ministers (premiers)
 9 Sep 1948 - 28 Dec 1972  Kim Il Sung                        (s.a.)               CND
28 Dec 1972 - 29 Apr 1976  Kim Il                             (b. 1910 - d. 1984)  CND
29 Apr 1976 - 15 Dec 1977  Pak Sung Chol                      (b. 1913 - d. 2008)  CND
15 Dec 1977 - 27 Jan 1984  Li Jong Ok                         (b. 1916 - d. 1999)  CND
27 Jan 1984 - 29 Dec 1986  Kang Song San (1st time)           (b. 1931 - d. 2007)  CND
29 Dec 1986 - 12 Dec 1988  Li Gun Mo                          (b. 1926 - d. 2001?) CND
12 Dec 1988 - 11 Dec 1992  Yon Hyong Muk                      (b. 1931 - d. 2005)  CND
11 Dec 1992 - 21 Feb 1997  Kang Song San (2nd time)           (s.a.)               CND
21 Feb 1997 -  3 Sep 2003  Hong Song Nam                      (b. 1929 - d. 2009)  CND
                             (acting to 5 Sep 1998)
 3 Sep 2003 - 11 Apr 2007  Pak Pong Chu (1st time)            (b. 1939)            CND 
11 Apr 2007 -  7 Jun 2010  Kim Yong Il                        (b. 1944)            CND
 7 Jun 2010 -  1 Apr 2013  Choe Yong Rim                      (b. 1930)            CND
 1 Apr 2013 - 11 Apr 2019  Pak Pong Chu (2nd time)            (s.a.)               CND
11 Apr 2019 - 13 Aug 2020  Kim Jae Ryong                      (b. 1959)            CND
13 Aug 2020 -              Kim Tok Hun                        (b. 1961)            CND

Commander-in-chief of United Nations Command
19 Oct 1950 - 11 Apr 1951  Douglas MacArthur (U.S.)           (b. 1880 - d. 1964) 

Commanders and Commissars of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army (in Korea) 
(Pinyin with Wade-Giles transliteration in parentheses)
19 Oct 1950 -  4 Sep 1954  Peng Dehuai (P'eng Tehuai)         (b. 1898 - d. 1974)
Aug 1953 - Oct 1954        Deng Hua (Teng Hua)                (b. 1910 - d. 1980)
                             (acting [for Peng Dehuai to 4 Sep 1954]) 
Oct 1954 - Mar 1955        Yang Dezhi (Yang Te-chih)          (b. 1911 - d. 1994)
Mar 1955 - 25 Oct 1958     Yang Yong (Yang Yung)              (b. 1912 - d. 1983)

 ¹Vice-presidents during the vacancy 8 Jul 1994 - 5 Sep 1998: Pak Song Chol (s.a.), Li Jong Ok (s.a.), Kim Yong Ju (b. 1922 - d. 2021), Kim Pyong Sik (b. 1919 - d. 1999).

 ²Performing ceremonial head of state functions only. Kim Jong Il (s.a.), in his capacity as chairman of the National Defense Commission (NDC) from 9 Apr 1993 (declared "the highest post of the state" 5 Sep 1998), was de facto ruler until his death 17 Dec 2011, followed by Kim Jong Un (s.a.) who was named first chairman of the NDC 13 Apr 2012; on 29 Jun 2016 the NDC was replaced by the State Affairs Commission (SAC) with Kim Jong Un (s.a.) as chairman. In a revised constitution approved by parliament 29 Aug 2019, the chairman of the SAC is also described as "representing the nation," which has been interpreted as making him regular head of state; however, the constitution still retains the role of the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly as representing the state and receiving credentials from foreign envoys.

Territorial Disputes: Risking arrest, imprisonment, and deportation, tens of thousands of North Koreans have crossed the 1,400-km-long border into China to escape famine, economic privation, and political oppression; the adjacent areas of northeastern China (the provinces of Jilin, Heilongjiang, and Liaoning) includes a significant Korean minority population of an estimated 2 million people; in the 2020s, North Korea has built hundreds of kilometers of new or upgraded border fences, walls, and guard posts along the border; North Korea and China dispute the sovereignty of certain islands in Yalu and Tumen Rivers; Russian troops guard the border and immediately return escapees they capture to the North Korean Government; the Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km-wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic incidents in the Yellow Sea with South Korea which claims the Northern Limiting Line as a maritime boundary and North Korea which since 1999 has claimed a more southerly Maritime Military Demarcation Line; North Korea supports South Korea in rejecting Japan's claim to Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Takeshima); North Korea has a history of provocative regional military actions and posturing that are of major concern to the international community. These include proliferation of military-related items; ballistic and cruise missile development and testing; WMD programs including tests of nuclear devices in 2006, 2009, 2013, 2016, and 2017; and large conventional armed forces. Despite high-level efforts to ease tensions during the 2018-19 timeframe, including summits with the leaders of China, South Korea, and the US, North Korea has continued developing its WMD programs and, in recent years, issued statements condemning the US and vowing to further strengthen its military capabilities, including long range missiles and nuclear weapons. 

Party abbreviations: CND = Choson Nodongdang (Korean Workers' Party, authoritarian, communist, only legal party, 1946-1949 named Puk Choson Nodongdang [North Korean Workers' Party], est.Dec 1945); Mil = Military;
- Former party: HM = Hanguk Minjudang (Korean Democratic Party, nationalist, social democratic, 3 Nov 1945-22 Jul 1946)