Democratic People's Republic of Korea

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea or commonly known as "North Korea" is a state located in the North East Asia on the Northern half of the Korean Peninsula, adjacent to China and Russia.

Founded in 1948 under Soviet influence, following the legacy of Japanese occupation and the Division of Korea, North Korea has led a hostile political rivalry with its Southern counterpart over the question of who is the legitimate government of all Korea. In 1950, following a series of border skirmishes, the Korean war developed with the North initiating a full scale invasion of the South. However, with the intervention of the United Nations and the subsequent counter-offensive by China, the war ended with a stalemate armistice entrenching the status quo between the two countries.

North Korea has since developed into what it describes as a "juche" or self-reliant socialist state, emphasizing national self determination, sovereignty and undisputed centralized leadership as its normative values; it is largely seen as Stalinist by its detractors and criticized as a totalitarian regime. Nonetheless, many of its political ideas in fact strive from Neo-Confucian values and Korean traditional thought. However, the state has became notorious for the pursuance of its political will and survival in disregard of its citizens, such as choosing to endure economic collapse in 1990s than to reform and cede power.

North Korea pursues a highly defensive but likewise provocative foreign policy, designed to appear deliberately unpredictable and erractic. This has been notably expressed through its persistent defiance of the international community in pursuance a program of nuclear profileration, with nuclear tests in 2006, 2009, 2013 and 2016. Such actions have brought condemnation, reprecussions and sanctions upon the country, which has thus far refused to change its track. Beyond profileration, North Korea has long pursued a "songun" or "military first" policy, concentrating resources on the military, effectively leading it to be the most militarized society on Earth.