North Korea is an independent nation in Eastern Asia. With the capital city of Pyongyang, North Korea 2020 population is estimated at 25,778,827 according to countryaah. State formations have existed on the Korean Peninsula since well before our era. From the end of the 1300s, Korea was ruled by the Chosond dynasty (also called the Yid dynasty), although invasions and the exercise of power from surrounding areas occurred. The pressure from Japan increased in the late 1800s and in 1910 the Japanese annexed Korea, which was for the first time fully colonized.
- AbbreviationFinder.org: Comprehensive guide to and popular abbreviations of North Korea, covering history, economy, and social conditions.
Best known for early state formation on the Korean peninsula, Choson is, according to legend founded in 2333 BC by Tangun, a relative of the sun god. Choson’s center was on the river Taedong in the northwest. The empire expanded northward but was crushed in 108 BC by Chinese forces, which founded military colonies throughout the peninsula. For North Korea political system, please check carswers.
Outside the colonies, Korean city-states were developed, including Koguryo, who drove the Chinese away in the early 300s. At that time, there were three major Korean kingdoms: Paekche in the southwest, Silla in the southeast, and Koguryo in the north. During the 600s, Silla subordinated the others and united the entire peninsula. After a short period of prosperity, Silla fell apart in the late 700s, and in 918 a new dynasty, Koryo, came to power.
In the 13th century the peninsula was invaded by Mongols, and in the 13th century came attacks from China. In 1392, the Choson Dynasty (also called the Yi Dynasty) was founded – with Seoul as its capital. It had a brief heyday in the 15th century, when the Hangul writing language was created, but then Choson weakened. At the end of the 16th century, Korea was exposed to Japanese attacks that devastated the country. The attacks were followed by Chinese invasions in the early 17th century, and Korea became a Chinese sound state.
Apart from contacts with China, Korea then isolated itself from the outside world until 1875. At that time, Korea was forced to give the Japanese access to Korean ports. Korea became a Japanese protectorate in 1905. Five years later, the Japanese annexed the country and pursued a harsh colonization policy.
2015
December
Hydrogen bomb hints
Kim Jong-Un comes in a statement suggesting that the country has developed a hydrogen bomb.
New US sanctions
The United States is imposing new sanctions on North Korea for its actions in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and conventional weapons. The sanctions are directed at the Strategic Rocket Force and three shipping companies and two banks, prohibiting transactions and freezing assets in the United States. Shipping companies are suspected of carrying illegal weapons.
November
Government representatives in conversation
Government representatives for North Korea and South Korea meet for talks. Meetings should plan for upcoming meetings.
Reunification of families
Hundreds of South Koreans travel to North Korea for a reunion with family members. Thousands of families split during the Korean War and have had little or no contact since then. The International Red Cross organizes meetings between South and North Koreans.
September
Nuclear reactor active again
North Korea announces that nuclear reactor in Yongbyon is back on track. The Yongbyon plant has produced plutonium for North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
August
Critical position after loudspeaker exclamation
According to state media, Kim Jong-Un is said to have put the country’s troops in combat readiness. The reaction comes after South Korea resumed propaganda broadcasts aimed at North Korea via speakers at the border after a period of eleven years. Shelling from both sides of the border also occurs. South Korea’s military was also in readiness. To end the loudspeaker calls, South Korea, in return, demands that Pyongyang apologize for putting out landmines in the demilitarized zone between the countries, which injured two South Korean soldiers. Both countries for high-level talks to resolve the tense situation. A few days later, the countries will agree that South Korea will cease speaker broadcasts and North Korea in return withdraw troops mobilized at the border.
Own time zone is introduced
North Korea faces its own time zone, Pyongyang Time. Instead of being like Japan and South Korea, nine hours before GMT (Greenwich Mean Time and eight hours before Swedish time), the clocks are reset half an hour on August 15. The whole is a mark against Japan in connection with the celebration of the end of the Second World War 70 years ago. Japan, during its occupation of Korea, changed the time zone of the Korean Peninsula.
June
Severe drought
State media reports that the country was hit by the worst drought in a hundred years. Authorities fear that agricultural production could fall by more than 20 percent if drought continues in July.
May
Deputy Prime Minister executed
Later comes information that even Deputy Prime Minister Choe Yong-Gon was executed after he questioned Kim Jong-Un’s policies.
The Minister of Defense is executed
Defense Minister Hyon Yong-Choi has been executed, South Korea’s intelligence service said. The Defense Minister, who was one of Kim Jong-Un’s closest men, must have fallen asleep at a meeting and failed to follow orders and therefore executed with a weapon intended to shoot down aircraft.
March
Report on abducted foreigners
The UN Human Rights Council strongly criticizes North Korea for its “systematic kidnapping” of foreigners. According to a UN report, nearly 200,000 foreigners from at least twelve countries had been abducted over the years. Most of them were South Koreans.
More missiles are fired
North Korea launches two short-range missiles into the sea on the same day as the US and South Korea launch the annual joint military exercises.
February
Missiles are fired in protest
North Korea launches five short-range missiles into the sea in a protest against US and South Korea military exercises next month.
Shipping company is accused in UN report
In an expert report to the UN Security Council, the black-listed North Korean shipping company is accused of circumventing the sanctions by renaming their vessels and registering them in other countries. OMM was blacklisted by the Security Council in July 2014 after trying to smuggle North Korean weapons to Cuba. One year earlier, one of the company’s vessels with arms smuggling was captured through the Panama Canal.
New ship missile is being tested
At the beginning of the month, North Korea is testing a new missile to be used against ships. According to state media, it is a whole new type of rocket that will mean a lot to the country’s defense of its sea areas. The missile is said to have been developed by domestic scientists, but according to analysts around the world it is similar to a Russian missile, KH-35.
January
US sanctions following cyber attack
The United States imposes sanctions on three organizations and ten individuals in North Korea, as a direct result of the cyber attack against Sony. The sanctions are aimed, among other things, at the country’s most important intelligence service, the largest arms dealer and a trading company that supports defense research. Trade between the United States and North Korea is very limited, so the sanctions are mostly symbolic.
Invitation to Summit
In a New Year’s speech, Kim Jong-Un invites to the summit at the highest level with South Korea. If Pyongyang’s terms are approved, he may want to meet his South Korean colleague Park Geun-Hye, he says.
