A Country Study: North Korea

North Korea Foreword Acknowledgements Preface Country Profile Country Geography Society Economy Transportation and Telecommunications Government and Politics National Security Introduction Chapter 1 - Historical Setting (Bruce G. Cumings) Historical Setting The Origins of the Korean Nation The Period of the Three Kingdoms Korea under Silla Unification by Kory The Chosn Dynasty: Florescence Dynastic Decline Korea in the 19th Century World Order The Legacy of Japanese Colonialism The Rise of Korean Nationalism and Communism The National Division and the Origins of the DPRK The Korean War The Post-War Economy and Patterns of Industrialization Corporatism and the Chuch'e Idea International Relations Chapter 2 - The Society and its Environment (Donald M. Seekins) The Physical Environment Topography and Drainage Climate Environmental Protection Population Size and Growth Rate Population Structure and Projections Settlement Patterns and Urbanization Koreans Living Overseas Social Structure and Values Confucian and Neo-Confucian Values Chosn Dynasty Social Structure The Traditional Family and Kinship The Colonial Transformation of Korean Society Tradition and Modernity in North Korea Chuch'e and Contemporary Social Values Classes and Social Strata Urban Life Village Life Family Life The Role of Women The Role of Religion Ethnicity, Culture, and Language in Contemporary Society Contemporary Cultural Expression Literature, Music and Film Architecture and City Planning The Korean Language Education Educational Themes and Methods Primary and Secondary Education Social Education Higher Education Adult Education Public Health Chapter 3 - The Economy (Joseph S. Chung) Economic Setting Korea under the Japanese Occupation Developmental Strategy Economic Development and Structural Change Record of Economic Performance Postwar Economic Planning Budget and Finance Organization and Management of the Economy Planning The Ch'ongsan-ni Method The Taean Work System Mass Production Campaigns Industry Development in Major Sectors Mining and Metal Processing Manufacturing Services and Marketing Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Resource Development Production and Distribution of Crops and Livestock Organization and Management Forestry Fisheries Infrastructure Transportation and Communications Railroads Maritime Transportation Civil Aviation Roads Telecommunications Energy and Power Foreign Economic Relations Economic Assistance Foreign Trade Foreign Investment and Joint Ventures Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation Economic Outlook Chapter 4 - Government and Politics (Pan Suk Kim) Relationship Between the Government and the Party The Korean Workers' Party Constitutional Framework Organization of the Government The Supreme People's Assembly The Executive Branch The President and Vice Presidents The Central People's Committee The State Administration Council The Judiciary Local Government Political Ideology: The Role of Chuch'e Party Leadership and Elite Recruitment Party Members Party Cadres The Ruling Elite Leadership Succession Mass Organizations The Media Foreign Policy Inter-Korean Affairs China and the Soviet Union Japan The United States Prospects Chapter 5 - National Security (Guy R. Arrigoni) Military Heritage The Armed Forces National Command Authority Formulation of National Security Policy The Army Organization and Disposition Weapons and Equipment Special Operations Forces Military Capability, Readiness, Training, and Recent Trends The Navy Organization and Disposition Weapons and Equipment Military Capability and Coastal Defense The Air Force Organization and Disposition Weapons and Equipment Trends, Training, Readiness, and Military Capability Air Defense Civil Aviation Officer Corps: Recruitment and Education Military Conscription and Terms of Service Reserves and Paramilitary Forces Role in National Life Relations Between the Military and the Korean Workers' Party Military Doctrine and Strategy The Evolution of North Korean Military Thought Emergence of the New Doctrine Operational Practice in the 1980s and 1990s Employment in Offensive Scenario Defense Industry and Infrastructure Military Industry Special Weapons Chemical Weapons Missile Developments The Nuclear Option Foreign Military Relations Relations with China and the Soviet Union Relations with the Third World Incidents and Infiltrations: Targeting South Korea Geopolitical Changes: New World Order and North Korean Security Internal Security Social Control The Public Security Apparatus The Judicial System Historical Influences The Judiciary Punishment and the Penal System Prospects Appendix. Tables Bibliography

[edit] PREFACE

This edition of North Korea: A Country Study replaces the previous edition, published in 1981. Like its predecessor, this study attempts to review the history and treat in a concise manner the dominant social, political, economic, and military aspect of contemporary North Korea. Sources of information included books, scholarly journals, foreign and domestic newspapers, official reports of governments and international organizations, and numerous periodicals on Korean and East Asian affairs. A word of caution is necessary, however. The government of a closed communist society such as that of North Korea controls information for internal and external consumption, limiting both the scope of coverage and its dissemination. For instance, data from North Korea are, on the whole, dated, limited, and couched in vagaries--and are often provided as percentages of increases over previous years rather than as hard numbers. In addition, information coming from the outside is subject to the political bent of its originator. Data from South Korea, for example, seek, by and large, to show the superiority of that country's economic and political system. North Korea's 1991 admission to the United Nations, however, may result in the release of more statistics.

Chapter bibliographies appear at the end of the book, and brief comments on some of the more valuable sources recommended for further reading appear at the end of each chapter. A Glossary also is included.

Spellings of place-names used in the book are in most cases those approved by the United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN); the spelling of some of the names, however, cannot be verified, as the BGN itself notes. The generic parts appended to some geographic names have been dropped and their English equivalents substituted: for example, Mayang Island, not Mayangdo , and South P'yngan Province, not P'yngan-namdo. The name North Korea has been used where appropriate in place of the official name, Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The McCuneReischauer system of transliteration has been employed except for the names of some prominent national figures and internationally recognized corporations where the more familiar journalistic equivalent is used. The names of Korean authors writing in English are spelled as given.

Measurements are given in the metric system. A conversion table is provided to assist those readers who are unfamiliar with metric measurements (see table 1, Appendix).

The body of the text reflects information available as of June 30, 1993. Certain other portions of the text, however, have been updated: the Introduction discusses significant events that have occurred since the completion of research, the Country Profile includes updated information as available, and the Bibliography lists recently published sources thought to be particularly helpful to the reader.

Data as of June 1993