Class on the 6th of December

Today in class we reviewed for our map quiz on Friday and discussed our due date for our Bushido project.  (2nd period will be due on the 13th)  You have a packet on North Korea due tomorrow and your current event on Japan is due on Monday the 12th.

Legal Name ______________

Period ______________

 

Country Breakdown Guide

Summarize the History of North Korea.

Describe the government of North Korea.

Summarize the economy of North Korea.

Does North Korea have a good relationship with the international community?  Explain.

What fact do you find the most interesting in this breakdown?

In two to three paragraphs state what should Americans know about North Korea.

10	9-8	7-6	5	4-1
All items in the are thoroughly completed.  Answers are all in complete sentences. Answers show complete understanding. Student went above and beyond what was expected (analysis & thoroughness).	One part of the assignment may not be thorough enough. Answers are mostly in complete sentences. Answers show substantial understanding of the question(s), but more analysis could lead to greater understanding. Student met expectations of activity.	More than half the assignment is completed, but not analyzed thoroughly enough. Answers show understanding of the question(s), but they could use more detail, analysis, examples, and/or connections.	More than half the assignment is incomplete. Answers shows limited understanding of the question(s), and needs a lot more detail and analysis.	Assignment is either dreadfully incomplete or needs significantly more detail and analysis.

CIA FACTBOOK North Korea

An independent kingdom for much of its long history, Korea was occupied by Japan beginning in 1905 following the Russo-Japanese War. Five years later, Japan formally annexed the entire peninsula. Following World War II, Korea was split with the northern half coming under Soviet-sponsored communist control. After failing in the Korean War (1950-53) to conquer the US-backed Republic of Korea (ROK) in the southern portion by force, North Korea (DPRK), under its founder President KIM Il Sung, adopted a policy of ostensible diplomatic and economic "self-reliance" as a check against outside influence. The DPRK 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. 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. 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 now taken on most of his father's former titles and duties. After decades of economic mismanagement and resource misallocation, the DPRK since the mid-1990s has relied heavily on international aid to feed its population. The DPRK began to ease restrictions to allow semi-private markets, starting in 2002, but then sought to roll back the scale of economic reforms in 2005 and 2009. North Korea's history of regional military provocations; proliferation of military-related items; long-range missile development; WMD programs including tests of nuclear devices in 2006, 2009, 2013, and 2016; and massive conventional armed forces are of major concern to the international community. The regime in 2013 announced a new policy calling for the simultaneous development of its nuclear weapons program and its economy.

Economy - overview:

North Korea, one of the world's most centrally directed and least open economies, faces chronic economic problems. Industrial capital stock is nearly beyond repair as a result of years of underinvestment, shortages of spare parts, and poor maintenance. Large-scale military spending draws off resources needed for investment and civilian consumption. Industrial and power outputs have stagnated for years at a fraction of pre-1990 levels. Frequent weather-related crop failures aggravated chronic food shortages caused by on-going systemic problems, including a lack of arable land, collective farming practices, poor soil quality, insufficient fertilization, and persistent shortages of tractors and fuel.

The mid 1990s were marked by severe famine and widespread starvation. Significant food aid was provided by the international community through 2009. Since that time, food assistance has declined significantly. In the last few years, domestic corn and rice production has been somewhat better, although domestic production does not fully satisfy demand. A large portion of the population continues to suffer from prolonged malnutrition and poor living conditions. Since 2002, the government has allowed informal markets to begin selling a wider range of goods. It also implemented changes in the management process of communal farms in an effort to boost agricultural output.

In December 2009, North Korea carried out a redenomination of its currency, capping the amount of North Korean won that could be exchanged for the new notes, and limiting the exchange to a one-week window. A concurrent crackdown on markets and foreign currency use yielded severe shortages and inflation, forcing Pyongyang to ease the restrictions by February 2010. In response to the sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan and the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island in 2010, South Korea’s government cut off most aid, trade, and bilateral cooperation activities, with the exception of operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex. North Korea continued efforts to develop special economic zones and expressed willingness to permit construction of a trilateral gas pipeline that would carry Russian natural gas to South Korea. North Korea is also working with Russia to refurbish North Korea’s dilapidated rail network and jointly rebuilt a link between a North Korean port in the Rason Special Economic Zone and the Russian rail network.

The North Korean government continues to stress its goal of improving the overall standard of living, but has taken few steps to make that goal a reality for its populace. In 2013-14, the regime rolled out 20 new economic development zones - now totaling 25 - set up for foreign investors, although the initiative remains in its infancy. Firm political control remains the government’s overriding concern, which likely will inhibit changes to North Korea’s current economic system.

Disputes - international:

risking arrest, imprisonment, and deportation, tens of thousands of North Koreans cross into China to escape famine, economic privation, and political oppression; North Korea and China dispute the sovereignty of certain islands in Yalu and Tumen Rivers; Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km-wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic incidents in the Yellow Sea with South Korea which claims the Northern Limiting Line as a maritime boundary; North Korea supports South Korea in rejecting Japan's claim to Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Take-shima)

Refugees and internally displaced persons:

IDPs: undetermined (periodic flooding and famine during mid-1990s) (2007)

Trafficking in persons:

current situation: North Korea is a source country for men, women, and children who are subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking; many North Korean workers recruited to work abroad under bilateral contracts with foreign governments, most often Russia and China, are subjected to forced labor and do not have a choice in the work the government assigns them, are not free to change jobs, and face government reprisals if they try to escape or complain to outsiders; tens of thousands of North Koreans, including children, held in prison camps are subjected to forced labor, including logging, mining, and farming; many North Korean women and girls, lured by promises of food, jobs, and freedom, have migrated to China illegally to escape poor social and economic conditions only to be forced into prostitution, domestic service, or agricultural work through forced marriages

tier rating: Tier 3 - North Korea does not fully comply with minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so; the government continued to participate in human trafficking through its use of domestic forced labor camps and the provision of forced labor to foreign governments through bilateral contracts; officials did not demonstrate any efforts to address human trafficking through prosecution, protection, or prevention measures; no known investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of trafficking offenders or officials complicit in trafficking-related offenses were conducted; the government also made no efforts to identify or protect trafficking victims and did not permit NGOs to assist victims (2015)

Illicit drugs:

for years, from the 1970s into the 2000s, citizens of the Democratic People's Republic of (North) Korea (DPRK), many of them diplomatic employees of the government, were apprehended abroad while trafficking in narcotics, including two in Turkey in December 2004; police investigations in Taiwan and Japan in recent years have linked North Korea to large illicit shipments of heroin and methamphetamine, including an attempt by the North Korean merchant ship Pong Su to deliver 150 kg of heroin to Australia in April 2003

North Korea country profile

For decades North Korea has been one of the world's most secretive societies. It is one of the few countries still under nominally communist rule.

North Korea's nuclear ambitions have exacerbated its rigidly maintained isolation from the rest of the world.

The country emerged in 1948 amid the chaos following the end of World War II. Its history is dominated by its Great Leader, Kim Il-sung, who shaped political affairs for almost half a century.

After the Korean War, Kim Il-sung introduced the personal philosophy of Juche, or self-reliance, which became a guiding light for North Korea's development. Kim Il-sung died in 1994, but the post of president has been assigned "eternally" to him.

First Chairman, National Defence Commission: Kim Jong-un

Kim Jong-un, the youngest son of previous leader Kim Jong-il, succeeded his father on the latter's death from a heart attack in December 2011.

In 2010 he had already been unveiled as Kim Jong-il's heir apparent, and was made a four-star general despite lacking any military experience.

Soon after the death of his father, North Korean state media lauded Kim Jong-un, the newly-appointed army supreme commander, as "a great person born of heaven"

It also anointed him the "great successor" of the philosophy of juche (self-reliance), signalling a continuation of the personality cult of the Kim family into a third generation.

In April 2012 he formally took over as leader of the ruling Workers Party, with the new title of first secretary, as his late father became "eternal general secretary".

He also became first chairman of the important National Defence Commission, with his late father promoted to "eternal chairman". His grandfather Kim Il-sung, who died in 1994, is the country's "eternal president".

He ousted army chief Ri Yong-ho, who had overseen the succession to power, in July 2012 and took the title of "marshal" for himself, marking the consolidation of his political and military power.

Mentor executed

It is widely believed that the task of guiding and mentoring Kim Jong-un when he assumed power was entrusted to his aunt, Kim Kyung-hee, and her husband, Chang Song-thaek.

Mr Chang had been seen as close to Kim Jong-il and was thought to enjoy considerable influence over Kim Jong-un

But in late 2013 he was found guilty of attempting to overthrow the state and was summarily executed, in what was seen as the biggest leadership upheaval since Kim Jong-il's death.

In 2016, Mr Kim called the first congress of the Workers Party in nearly four decades, in a move aimed at further cementing his position as leader.

Details of Kim Jong-un's early life are scant. Born in 1983 or early 1984, he is reported to have gone to school in Switzerland and later studied at Kim Il-sung University in North Korea.

After becoming leader he began to display a more informal style in public appearances, but official media swiftly quashed any hopes that this might mean a relaxation in totalitarian controls.

There are concerns about the young leader's health, given his obesity. State media reported that he was suffering "physical discomfort" in September 2014 after he had been seen limping for several months, and he disappeared from public view for six weeks.

Under Kim Jong-un, North Korea has continued its policy of promoting the military at home while sending mixed signals to the rest of the world about its nuclear programme.

The launch of a satellite in 2012, using rocket technology banned under UN ballistic missile sanctions on North Korea, boosted Kim's standing in the ruling elite while angering his neighbours, including sole ally China.

North Korea's defiant third nuclear test in February 2013 earned it another escalation of UN Security Council sanctions, approved by China.

North Korea in turn stepped up its bellicose rhetoric and announced it would restart all facilities at its main Yongbyon nuclear complex, including a reactor mothballed in 2007.

In 2014, North Korea test-fired two medium-range Nodong ballistic missiles .

The challenges the country faces under Kim Jong-un are the same as those it had to cope with during his father's reign - a moribund economy, international isolation and widespread poverty.

Radio and TV sets in North Korea are pre-tuned to government stations that pump out a steady stream of propaganda.

The press and broadcasters - all of them under direct state control - serve up a menu of flattering reports about North Korea's leader. Economic hardship and famines are not reported. North Korea is one of the hardest countries for foreign media to cover.

Ordinary North Koreans caught listening to foreign broadcasts risk harsh punishments, such as forced labour. The authorities attempt to jam foreign-based and dissident radio stations.

A glimmer of hope, says watchdog Reporters Without Borders, is the "communications black market" on the North Korean-Chinese border where recordings of South Korean TV soaps and films are said to circulate.

North Korea has a minimal internet presence. News agency KCNA and the party newspaper Rodong Sinmun are among a handful of official sites. Their output is aimed largely at audiences outside North Korea.