Editing Democratic People's Republic of Korea

{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Democratic People's Republic of Korea
| native_name = 조선민주주의인민공화국
| image_coat = Emblem of the DPRK.svg
| image_flag = Flag of the DPRK.svg
| symbol_type = Emblem
| image_map = Democratic People's Republic of Korea (orthographic_projection).svg
| map_caption = Territories of Korea presently occupied by the United States are shown in light green.
| map_width = 220px
| capital = Pyongyang
| largest_city = capital
| government_type = [[Socialist state]] guided by the [[Juche|Juche idea]]
| established_event1 = Founding of the DPRK
| established_date1 = 9 September 1948
| established_event2 = Start of partial US occupation
| established_date2 = 8 September 1945
| population_estimate = 25,845,400 </br>(77,048,000 including Koreans under neocolonial occupation)
| population_estimate_year    = 2020
| leader_title1               = General Secretary of the Workers' Party
| leader_name1                = Kim Jong-un
| leader_title2               = President of the Presidium
| leader_name2                = Choe Ryong-hae
| leader_title3               = Prime Minister
| leader_name3                = Pak Pong-ju
| leader_title4               = First Vice Chairman of the State Affairs Commission
| leader_name4                = Choe Ryong-hae
| leader_title5               = Premier of the Cabinet
| leader_name5                = Kim Tok-hun
| leader_title6               = Chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly
| leader_name6                = Pak Thae-song
}}
'''People's Korea''', officially the '''Democratic People's Republic of Korea''' ('''DPRK'''), is a country in East Asia. It's located on the northern half of the Korean Peninsula, while the southern part is occupied by the [[Republic of Korea]]. It is led by the [[Workers' Party of Korea]] (WPK). According to its constitution, the DPRK is an "independent [[socialist state]]", guided by the [[Juche|Juche idea]].<ref>Articles 1 and 3 of the [https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Peoples_Republic_of_Korea_1998.pdf?lang=en Constitution of the DPRK]</ref> 

While the DPRK distanced itself from [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics|USSR]]'s ideological leadership in the 1960s, it can be considered a [[Marxism–Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]] socialist state.<ref>{{Textcite|author=Thomas Stock|year=2019|title=North Korea’s Marxism-Leninism: fraternal criticisms and the development of North Korean ideology in the 1960s|pdf=|lg=|doi=10.1215/21581665-7258081}}</ref>

In 1965 [[Che Guevara]] said that the DPRK "was a model to which revolutionary [[Republic of Cuba|Cuba]] should aspire"<ref>https://gowans.blog/2007/03/03/understanding-north-korea/</ref><ref>{{Textcite|author=Bruce Cumings|year=2005|title=Korea’s place in the sun: a modern history|pdf=|publisher=W.W. Norton & Company; p. 404|lg=}}</ref>

==History==
Following the defeat of [[Japanese Empire|Japan]] and the end of the [[Second World War]], Japan lost control of its colonies, including what was formerly the [[Korean Empire]]. As a result of negotiations between the [[Soviet Union]] and the [[United States]], the [[Korea|Korean Peninsula]] was divided into occupation zones along the 38th Parallel North. Although there was an attempt at establishing the [[People's Republic of Korea]], the nascent state was outlawed by American forces.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea was founded the 9th of September, 1948. The illegitimate government of [[Occupied Korea]] (often referred to as "South Korea") was also established the same year, when the dictator [[Syngman Rhee]] came to power due to American influence. [[Kim Il-Sung]] became the first [[Premier of the DPRK]], a position he would hold until 1972.

The Occupied Korean government was hostile to socialism and to the DPRK. Even though Western media accuses the DPRK of initiating the [[Fatherland Liberation War]] (often referred to as the "Korean War"), numerous acts of violence were perpetrated by the illegitimate southern government that were tantamount to war. Namely the [[Jeju Uprising|massacre on Jeju Island]] that targeted communists. The death toll was composed of civilians, many of whom were not affiliated with the [[Workers' Party of South Korea]] or communism at all. Paramilitary groups from Occupied Korea illegally crossed the border into the DPRK on multiple occasions.

During the Fatherland Liberation War, DPRK forces almost repelled the illegal occupation army; however, additional forces were sent by the [[United Nations]] the United States to fight DPRK troops. Western forces pushed DPRK forces all the way to the border of the newly formed [[China|People's Republic of China]], which had itself repelled reactionary [[Kuomintang]] forces from the [[Mainland China|mainland]]. PRC forces intervened to protect Korean sovereignty, repelling Western troops once more as part of [[The War to Resist the U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea]] campaign. The majority of the fighting during the rest of the Fatherland Liberation War took place near the 38th Parallel North, with only minor border changes occurring after a ceasefire was signed. The DPRK technically remains at war with its illegitimate southern neighbour.

==Economy ==
North Korea has maintained one of the most closed and centralized economies in the world since the 1940s. For several decades, it followed the Soviet pattern of five-year plans with the ultimate goal of achieving self-sufficiency.

The economy is heavily nationalized. Food and housing are extensively subsidized by the state; education and healthcare are free; and the payment of taxes was officially abolished in 1974.

Foreign trade surpassed pre-crisis levels in 2005 and continues to expand. North Korea has a number of special economic zones (SEZs) and Special Administrative Regions where foreign companies can operate with tax and tariff incentives while North Korean establishments gain access to improved technology.

==References==
<references />
==External Links==
*[https://dprkstudyguide.wordpress.com DPRK Study Guide]
[[Category:Countries]]