North Korea

C

Mineral Resources

North Korea is one of the richer nations in Asia in mineral resources, possessing major reserves of anthracite coal, iron ore, tungsten, magnesite, and graphite. Among the other minerals present are copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, silver, uranium, and zinc. Most estimates suggest that North Korea’s vast anthracite coal reserves exceed 10 billion tons. Iron ore reserves, centered in Musan-ŭp, are estimated to be 3 billion tons; lead and zinc, concentrated in the Komdŏok area of the northeast, roughly 12 million tons each; tungsten, a strategic mineral needed in jet engines and missiles, 232,000 tons; and magnesite, found in Tanch’ ŏn-ŭp, Ryongyang, and Taehŭung-ni, 6 billion tons. Together with adjacent deposits in China, North Korea’s magnesite reserves are among the world’s largest. Steel manufacturers must have this fire-resistant mineral to line blast furnaces. Gold mines are located at Unsan-dong, Sangnong, and Hŏ-ch’on, but the extent of North Korea’s unexploited gold potential is unknown. American and Japanese companies operated these mines prior to the creation of North Korea.

Mineral production has declined or stopped altogether at many North Korean mines since 1990, reflecting the economic dislocations resulting from the decline of aid from China and the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Problems in maintaining the infrastructure, especially the breakdown of transportation links with the mountainous mining areas, also contributed to declining mineral production. In 2003 China became the main importer of the minerals still produced by North Korean mines that have remained operational.

Preliminary geological studies suggest the possibility of significant oil and gas reserves in the seabed along the west coast on the North Korean side of the Yellow Sea. Two foreign consulting companies engaged by North Korea—Cantek of Canada and an affiliate of Nissho-Iwai of Japan—estimated potential reserves of 12 billion barrels of oil in the seabed near Anju-ŭp, according to the North Korea Petroleum Ministry.

III

Population

North Korea is one of the most ethnically homogeneous countries in the world, with no racial or linguistic minorities other than a small resident foreign (mainly Chinese) population. Koreans are believed to have descended from people who began to migrate to the Korea Peninsula from the northeastern part of the Asian mainland as early as 5000 bc.

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A

Population Characteristics

The population (2007 estimate) of North Korea is 23,301,725. The average population density is 194 persons per sq km (501 per sq mi). The population, however, is very unevenly distributed and is largely concentrated in the lowland plains of the west. Urbanization of the North Korean population has progressed rapidly since the 1950s; 62 percent of the total population of North Korea is now classified as urban.

B

Principal Cities

P’yŏngyang, the capital, is North Korea’s largest city. Other major cities include Ch’ŏngjin, Namp’o, Sinŭiju, Wŏnsan, and Kaesŏng.

C

Language and Religion

North Korea’s national language is Korean, which is written in a phonetic script known as Chosŏn'gŭl (called Hangeul in South Korea).

Religious freedom is guaranteed by the North Korean constitution, but in practice religious activity is discouraged, and about two-thirds of the people are nonreligious. Perhaps the most prominent religious tradition belongs to the indigenous Ch’ŏndogyo (“Religion of the Heavenly Way”), which combines elements of Confucianism and Daoism (Taoism).

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