Korea, North:     Maps, History, Geography, Government, Culture, Facts, Guide & Travel/Holidays/Cities
UN Imposes Further Sanctions after Provocations
Geography
Korea is a 600-mile (966km) peninsula jutting     out from Manchuria and China (and a small portion of the USSR). North     Korea occupies an area—slightly smaller than     Pennsylvania—north of the 38th parallel.
The country is almost completely covered by a     series of north-south mountain ranges separated by narrow valleys. The     Yalu River forms part of the northern border with Manchuria.
Government
Authoritarian socialist; one-man     dictatorship.
History
The ancient history of the Korean peninsula can     be traced to the Neolithic Age, when Turkic-Manchurian-Mongol peoples     migrated into the region from China. The first agriculturally based     settlements appeared around 6000 B.C. Some of     the larger communities of this era were established along the Han-gang     River near modern-day Seoul, others near Pyongyang and Pusan. According to     ancient lore, Korea's earliest civilization, known as Choson, was founded     in 2333 B.C. by Tan-gun.
In the 17th century, Korea became a vassal state     of China and was cut off from outside contact until the Sino-Japanese War     of 1894–1895. Following Japan's victory, Korea was granted     independence. By 1910, Korea had been annexed by Japan, which developed     the country but never won over the Korean nationalists, who continued to     agitate for independence.