EverydayKorea.com

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

THE POST-WAR ECONOMY AND PATTERNS OF INDUSTRIALIZATION

North Korea has a socialist command economy. Beginning with the Three-Year Plan (1954-56) at the end of the Korean War and the shortened Five-Year Plan (1957-60) that succeeded it, reconstruction and the priority development of heavy industry has been stressed, with consumer goods a low priority. This strategy of industrialization, biased toward heavy industry, pushed the economy forward at record growth rates in the 1950s and 1960s. The First Seven-Year Plan (1961-70--extended for three years because of Soviet aid stoppages in the early 1960s caused by North Korea's support for China in the Sino-Soviet dispute)--also projected a higher than average growth rate (see Economic Development and Structural Change , ch. 3).

By the early 1970s, North Korea had clearly exhausted extensive development of its industries based on its own, prewar Japanese, or new Soviet technologies, and therefore turned to the West and Japan to purchase turnkey plants. These purchases ultimately caused North Korea's problems with servicing its external debt-- estimated at between US$2 billion and US$3 billion for the years 1972-79 (see Foreign Trade , ch. 3). Later seven- and ten-year plans failed to reach projected growth rates; still, a study published by the United States Central Intelligence Agency in 1978 estimated that North Korea's per capita gross national product (GNP--see Glossary) equaled South Korea's as late as 1976. Since that time, however, it has fallen behind South Korea, and transportation bottlenecks and fuel resource problems have plagued the economy (see Industry , ch. 3).

Agriculture was collectivized after the Korean War, in stages that went from mutual aid teams to second-stage cooperatives, but stopped short of building the huge state farms found in the Soviet Union or the communes of China (see Organization and Management , ch. 3). Relying mostly on cooperative farms corresponding to the old natural villages and using material incentives (there was apparently little ideological bias against using such incentives), North Korea pushed agricultural production ahead, and its general agricultural success was acknowledged. The United States government estimated in 1978 that grain production had grown more rapidly in North Korea than in South Korea and that living standards in North Korea's rural areas had probably improved more quickly than those in South Korea. Nevertheless, production has fallen behind and North Korea has failed to reach projected targets, for example, the production of 10 million tons of grain by 1986.

Data as of June 1993

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