Statistical information North Korea 2023

North Korea in the World

North Korea - Introduction 2023

The first recorded kingdom (Choson) on the Korean Peninsula dates from approximately 2,300 B.C. Over the subsequent centuries, three main kingdoms - Kogoryo, Paekche, and Silla - were established on the Peninsula. By the 5^th century A.D., Kogoryo emerged as the most powerful, with control over much of the Peninsula, as well as part of Manchuria (modern-day northeast China). However, Silla allied with the Chinese to create the first unified Korean state in the late 7^th century (688). Following the collapse of Silla in the 9^th century, Korea was unified under the Koryo (Goryeo; 918-1392) and the Chosen (Joseon; 1392-1910) dynasties. Korea became the object of intense imperialistic rivalry between the Chinese (its traditional benefactor), Japanese, and Russian empires in the latter half of the 19th and early 20^th centuries. Following the Sino-Japanese War (1894-95) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05), Korea was occupied by Imperial Japan. In 1910, Japan formally annexed the entire peninsula. After World War II, Korea was split along the 38th parallel with the northern half coming under Soviet-sponsored communist control.

In 1948, North Korea (formally known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea or DPRK) was founded under President KIM Il Sung, who consolidated power and cemented autocratic one-party rule under the Korean Worker's Party (KWP). After the Korean War (1950-53), during which North Korea failed to conquer UN-backed South Korea (formally the Republic of Korea or ROK), North Korea demonized the US as the ultimate threat to its social system through state-funded propaganda and molded political, economic, and military policies around the core ideological objective of eventual unification of Korea under Pyongyang's control. North Korea also declared a central ideology of juche ("self-reliance") as an internal check against outside influence while continuing to rely heavily on China and the Soviet Union for economic support. Establishing a policy of hereditary succession in North Korea, KIM Il Sung's son, KIM Jong Il, was officially designated as his father's successor in 1980, assuming a growing political and managerial role until the elder KIM's death in 1994. Under KIM Jong Il's reign, North Korea continued developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. KIM Jong Un was publicly unveiled as his father's successor in 2010. Following KIM Jong Il's death in 2011, KIM Jong Un quickly assumed power and has since occupied the regime's highest political and military posts.

North Korea - Geography 2023

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Location: Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea

Geographic coordinates: 40 00 N, 127 00 E

Map reference: Asia

Area
Total: 120,538 km²
Land: 120,408 km²
Water: 130 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than Virginia; slightly smaller than Mississippi

Land boundaries
Total: 1,607 km
Border countries: (3) China 1,352 km; South Korea 237 km; Russia 18 km

Coastline: 2,495 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Note: military boundary line 50 nm in the Sea of Japan and the exclusive economic zone limit in the Yellow Sea where all foreign vessels and aircraft without permission are banned

Climate: temperate, with rainfall concentrated in summer; long, bitter winters

Terrain: mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; wide coastal plains in west, discontinuous in east

Elevation
Highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m
Lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m
Mean elevation: 600 m

Natural resources: coal, iron ore, limestone, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, precious metals, hydropower

Land use

Land use
Agricultural land: 21.8% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 19.5% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 1.9% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 0.4% (2018 est.)
Forest: 46% (2018 est.)
Other: 32.2% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 14,600 km² (2012)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 900 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Industrial: 1.15 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Agricultural: 6.61 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 77.15 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Natural hazards: late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall

Geography
Note: strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated

North Korea - People 2023

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Population
Distribution: population concentrated in the plains and lowlands; least populated regions are the mountainous provinces adjacent to the Chinese border; largest concentrations are in the western provinces, particularly the municipal district of Pyongyang, and around Hungnam and Wonsan in the east: 26,072,217 (2023 est.)
Growth rate: 0.4% (2023 est.)
Below poverty line: NA

Nationality
Noun: Korean(s)
Adjective: Korean

Ethnic groups: racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese

Languages: Korean
Major-language samples:

월드 팩트북, 필수적인 기본 정보 제공처 (Korean)

Gheos World Guide, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions: traditionally Buddhist and Confucian, some Christian and syncretic Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way)
Note: autonomous religious activities now almost nonexistent; government-sponsored religious groups exist to provide illusion of religious freedom

Demographic profile

Age structure

Age structure
0-14 years: 20.24% (male 2,696,287/female 2,580,346)
15-64 years: 69.16% (male 8,992,254/female 9,040,025)
65 years and over: 10.6% (2023 est.) (male 992,424/female 1,770,881)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 43.5
Youth dependency ratio: 27.2
Elderly dependency ratio: 16.3
Potential support ratio: 6.1 (2021 est.)

Median age
Total: 35.6 years (2023 est.)
Male: 34.2 years
Female: 37.1 years

Population growth rate: 0.4% (2023 est.)

Birth rate: 13.4 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate: 9.5 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution: population concentrated in the plains and lowlands; least populated regions are the mountainous provinces adjacent to the Chinese border; largest concentrations are in the western provinces, particularly the municipal district of Pyongyang, and around Hungnam and Wonsan in the east

Urbanization
Urban population: 63.2% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 0.85% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 3.158 million PYONGYANG (capital) (2023)

Environment
Current issues: water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; waterborne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation
International agreements party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
International agreements signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Law of the Sea

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 41.46 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 28.28 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 18.68 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.56 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio: 107 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 16.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Male: 17.9 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 14.5 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 72.9 years (2023 est.)
Male: 69.5 years
Female: 76.5 years

Total fertility rate: 1.82 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 70.2% (2017)

Drinking water source
Improved urban: 97.8% of population
Improved rural: 89.1% of population
Improved total: 94.5% of population
Unimproved urban: 2.2% of population
Unimproved rural: 10.9% of population
Unimproved total: 5.5% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure: NA

Physicians density: 3.68 physicians/1,000 population (2017)

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban:

92.7% of population

rural: 73.1% of population

total: 85.3% of population

Unimproved urban:

7.3% of population

rural: 26.9% of population

total: 14.7% of population (2020 est.)

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 6.8% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 3.61 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 0.12 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 3.48 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use
Total: 17.4% (2020 est.)
Male: 34.8% (2020 est.)
Female: 0% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 9.3% (2017)

Education expenditures: NA

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 100%
Male: 100%
Female: 100% (2015)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 11 years
Male: 11 years
Female: 11 years (2015)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 6.1% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 5.4%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 6.9%

North Korea - Government 2023

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Country name
Conventional long form: Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Conventional short form: North Korea
Local long form: Choson-minjujuui-inmin-konghwaguk
Local short form: Choson
Abbreviation: DPRK
Etymology: derived from the Chinese name for Goryeo, which was the Korean dynasty that united the peninsula in the 10th century A.D.; the North Korean name "Choson" means "[Land of the] Morning Calm"

Government type: dictatorship, single-party state; official state ideology of "Juche" or "national self-reliance"

Capital
Name: Pyongyang
Geographic coordinates: 39 01 N, 125 45 E
Time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Time zone note: on 5 May 2018, North Korea reverted to UTC+9, the same time zone as South Korea
Etymology: the name translates as "flat land" in Korean

Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 4 special administration cities (si, singular and plural)

Dependent areas

Independence: 15 August 1945 (from Japan)

National holiday: Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948)

Constitution
History: previous 1948, 1972; latest adopted 1998 (during KIM Jong-il era)
Amendments: proposed by the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA); passage requires more than two-thirds majority vote of the total SPA membership; revised several times, last in 2019

Legal system: civil law system based on the Prussian model; system influenced by Japanese traditions and Communist legal theory

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of North Korea
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: unknown

Suffrage: 17 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch
Chief of state: State Affairs Commission President KIM Jong Un (since 17 December 2011); note - within the North Korean system, KIM Jong Un's role as chief of state is secondary to his role as general secretary of the Korean Workers' Party; chief of state is used to engage with non-communist countries such as the US; North Korea revised its constitution in 2019 to define "the Chairman of the State Affairs Commission" as "the supreme leader who represents the state"; functions as the commander-in-chief and chief executive; the specific titles associated with this office have changed multiple times under KIM's tenure, however, KIM Jong Un has been supreme leader since his father's death in 2011
Head of government: Supreme People's Assembly President CHOE Ryong Hae (since 11 April 2019); note - functions as the technical head of state and performs related duties, such as receiving ambassadors' credentials
Cabinet: Cabinet or Naegak members appointed by the Supreme People's Assembly except the Minister of People's Armed Forces
Elections/appointments: chief of state and premier indirectly elected by the Supreme People's Assembly; election last held on 10 March 2019 (next to be held in March 2024)
Election results: KIM Jong Un reelected unopposed
Note 1: KIM Jong Un's titles include general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (KWP), chairman of the KWP Central Military Commission, president of the State Affairs Commission, and supreme commander of the Korean People's Army

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral Supreme People's Assembly or Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui (687 seats; members directly elected by majority vote in 2 rounds if needed to serve 5-year terms); note - functions as a rubberstamp legislature; the Korean Workers' Party selects all candidates
Elections: last held on 10 March 2019 (next to be held in March 2024)
Election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - KWP 607, KSDP 50, Chondoist Chongu Party 22, General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) 5, religious associations 3; ruling party approves a list of candidates who are elected without opposition; composition as of March 2022 - men 566, women 121, percent of women 17.6%
Note: KWP, KSDP, Chondoist Chongu Party, and Chongryon are under the KWP's control; a token number of seats reserved for minor parties

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme Court or Central Court (consists of one judge and 2 "People's Assessors" or, for some cases, 3 judges)
Judge selection and term of office: judges elected by the Supreme People's Assembly for 5-year terms
Subordinate courts: lower provincial courts as determined by the Supreme People's Assembly

Political parties and leaders:

major partiesKorean Workers' Party or KWP (formally known as Workers' Party of Korea) [KIM Jong Un, general secretary]
General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) [HO Chong Man]
minor parties: Chondoist Chongu Party [RI Myong Chol] (under KWP control)
Social Democratic Party or KSDP [PAK Yong Il] (under KWP control)

International organization participation: ARF, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IMSO, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: none; North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York
From the us embassy: none; the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the US as consular protecting power

Flag description

: three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in white; on the hoist side of the red band is a white disk with a red five-pointed star; the broad red band symbolizes revolutionary traditions; the narrow white bands stand for purity, strength, and dignity; the blue bands signify sovereignty, peace, and friendship; the red star represents socialism

National symbols: red star, chollima (winged horse); national colors: red, white, blue

National anthem
Name: "Aegukka" (Patriotic Song)
Lyrics/music: PAK Se Yong/KIM Won Gyun
Note: adopted 1947; both North Korea's and South Korea's anthems share the same name and have a vaguely similar melody but have different lyrics; the North Korean anthem is also known as "Ach'imun pinnara" (Let Morning Shine)

National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites: 2 (both cultural)
Selected World Heritage Site locales:

North Korea - Economy 2023

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Economy overview: one of the last centrally planned economies; hard hit by COVID-19, crop failures, international sanctions, and isolationist policies; declining growth and trade, and heavily reliant on China; poor exchange rate stability; economic data integrity issues

Real gdp purchasing power parity:

$40 billion (2015 est.)
$40 billion (2014 est.)
$40 billion (2013 est.)

Note:

data are in 2015 US dollars

North Korea does not publish reliable National Income Accounts data; the data shown are derived from purchasing power parity (PPP) GDP estimates that were made by Angus MADDISON in a study conducted for the OECD; his figure for 1999 was extrapolated to 2015 using estimated real growth rates for North Korea's GDP and an inflation factor based on the US GDP deflator; the results were rounded to the nearest $10 billion.

Real gdp growth rate:

-1.1% (2015 est.)
1% (2014 est.)
1.1% (2013 est.)

Real gdp per capita:

$1,700 (2015 est.)
$1,800 (2014 est.)
$1,800 (2013 est.)

Note: data are in 2015 US dollars

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: (2014 est.) NA
Government consumption: (2014 est.) NA
Investment in fixed capital: (2014 est.) NA
Investment in inventories: (2014 est.) NA
Exports of goods and services: 5.9% (2016 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -11.1% (2016 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 22.5% (2017 est.)
Industry: 47.6% (2017 est.)
Services: 29.9% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: rice, maize, vegetables, apples, potatoes, cabbages, fruit, sweet potatoes, beans, soybeans

Industries: military products; machine building, electric power, chemicals; mining (coal, iron ore, limestone, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals), metallurgy; textiles, food processing; tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 1% (2017 est.)

Labor force: 17.16 million (2021 est.)
Note: estimates vary widely

Labor force

Unemployment rate:

2.59% (2021 est.)
2.92% (2020 est.)
2.59% (2019 est.)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 6.1% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 5.4%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 6.9%

Population below poverty line: NA

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10%: NA
Highest 10%: NA

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $3.2 billion (2007 est.)
Expenditures: $3.3 billion (2007 est.)
Surplus or deficit: -0.4% (of GDP) (2007 est.)

Taxes and other revenues: 11.4% (of GDP) (2007 est.)
Note: excludes earnings from state-operated enterprises

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: NA

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports:

$222 million (2018)
$4.582 billion (2017 est.)
$2.908 billion (2015 est.)

Partners: China 67%, Suriname 6% (2019)
Commodities: refined petroleum, iron alloys, electricity, cars, vaccines and cultures (2021)

Imports:

$2.32 billion (2018 est.)
$3.86 billion (2016 est.)

Partners: China 96% (2019)
Commodities: clothing and apparel, soybean oil, rice, wheat products, clocks/watches (2019)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $5 billion (2013 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:

North Korean won (KPW) per US dollar (average market rate) 135 (2017 est.)
130 (2016 est.)
130 (2015 est.)
98.5 (2013 est.)
155.5 (2012 est.)

North Korea - Energy 2023

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Electricity
Access population without electricity: 19 million (2020)
Access electrification-total population: 52.6% (2021)
Access electrification-urban areas: 36% (2020)
Access electrification-rural areas: 11% (2020)
Installed generating capacity: 8.413 million kW (2020 est.)
Consumption: 13,930,320,000 kWh (2019 est.)
Exports: 0 kWh (2020 est.)
Imports: 0 kWh (2020 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 2.146 billion kWh (2019 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 15.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources solar: 0.1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources wind: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 84.1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

Coal
Production: 16.376 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Consumption: 6.698 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Exports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Imports: 22,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 600 million metric tons (2019 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2021 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 20,300 bbl/day (2019 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate imports: 10,600 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 0 barrels (2021 est.)

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 11,270 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports: 8,260 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Consumption: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Imports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 18.465 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 15.252 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 3.213 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 12.61 million Btu/person (2019 est.)

North Korea - Communication 2023

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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 1.18 million (2021 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 5 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 6 million (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 23 (2021 est.)

Telephone system

Broadcast media: no independent media; radios and TVs are pre-tuned to government stations; 4 government-owned TV stations; the Korean Workers' Party owns and operates the Korean Central Broadcasting Station, and the state-run Voice of Korea operates an external broadcast service; the government prohibits listening to and jams foreign broadcasts (2019)

Internet
Country code: .kp

Broadband fixed subscriptions

North Korea - Military 2023

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Military expenditures: between 2010 and 2019, military expenditures accounted for an estimated 20-25% of North Korea's GDP annually; in 2023, North Korea announced that it would spend nearly 16% of state expenditures on defense; North Korea in the 2010s and 2020s has increasingly relied on illicit activities — including cybercrime — to generate revenue for its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs to evade US and UN sanctions

Military and security forces:

Korean People's Army (KPA): KPA Ground Forces, KPA Navy, KPA Air Force and Air Defense Forces, KPA Strategic Forces (missile forces), KPA Special Forces (special operations forces); Security Guard Command (aka Bodyguard Command); Military Security Command
Ministry of Social Security: Border Guard General Bureau, civil security forces; Ministry of State Security

Note 1: North Korea employs a systematic and intentional overlap of powers and responsibilities among its multiple internal security organizations to prevent any potential subordinate consolidation of power and assure that each unit provided a check and balance on the other
Note 2: the Security Guard Command protects the Kim family, other senior leadership figures, and government facilities
Note 3: the North also has a large paramilitary/militia force organized into the Worker Peasant Red Guard and Red Youth Guard; these organizations are present at all levels of government (province, county, ward) and are under the control of the Korean Workers' Party in peacetime, but revert to KPA control in crisis or war; they are often mobilized for domestic projects, such as road building and agricultural support

Military service age and obligation: 17 years of age for compulsory military service for men and women; service obligation varies from 5-13 years; reportedly up to 10 years (7 for women) for those serving in combat units and 13 years (7 for women) for specialized combat units, such as missile forces (2023)
Note: the bulk of the KPA is made up of conscripts; as many as 20% of North Korean males between the ages of 16 and 54 are in the military at a given time and possibly up to 30 percent of males between the ages of 18 and 27, not counting the reserves or paramilitary units; women comprise about 20% of the military by some estimates

Space program
Overview: North Korea’s leader has emphasized the development of space capabilities, particularly space launch vehicles (SLVs) and remote sensing (RS) satellites; manufactures small satellites; manufactures and launches rockets/SLVs; note - the SLV program is closely related to North Korea’s development of intercontinental ballistic missiles (2023)
Overview note: further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in appendix S

Terrorist groups

North Korea - Transportation 2023

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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 1 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 4
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 103,560 (2018)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 250,000 (2018) mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: P

Airports: 82 (2021)
With paved runways: 39
With paved runways note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
With unpaved runways: 43
With unpaved runways note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control

Heliports: 23 (2021)

Pipelines: 6 km oil (2013)

Railways
Total: 7,435 km (2014)
Standard gauge: 7,435 km (2014) 1.435-m gauge (5,400 km electrified)
Note: figures are approximate; some narrow-gauge railway also exists

Roadways
Total: 25,554 km (2006)
Paved: 724 km (2006)
Unpaved: 24,830 km (2006)

Waterways: 2,250 km (2011) (most navigable only by small craft)

Merchant marine
Total: 270 (2022)
By type: bulk carrier 9, container ship 5, general cargo 193, oil tanker 33, other 30

Ports and terminals
Major seaports: Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam, Namp'o, Songnim, Sonbong (formerly Unggi), Wonsan

North Korea - Transnational issues 2023

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Disputes international: North Korea-China: risking arrest, imprisonment, and deportation, tens of thousands of North Koreans have crossed the 1,400-km-long border into China to escape famine, economic privation, and political oppression; the adjacent areas of northeastern China (the provinces of Jilin, Heilongjiang, and Liaoning) includes a significant Korean minority population of an estimated 2 million people; in the 2020s, North Korea has built hundreds of kilometers of new or upgraded border fences, walls, and guard posts along the border; North Korea and China dispute the sovereignty of certain islands in Yalu and Tumen Rivers

Refugees and internally displaced persons
IDPs: undetermined (2021)

Illicit drugs: at present there is insufficient information to determine the current level of involvement of government officials in the production or trafficking of illicit drugs, but for years, from the 1970s into the 2000s, citizens of North Korea , many of them diplomatic employees of the government, were apprehended abroad while trafficking in narcotics; police investigations in Taiwan, Japan and Australia during that period have linked North Korea to large illicit shipments of heroin and methamphetamine