Korea, North
Following World War II, Korea was split into a northern, communist half and a southern, Western-oriented half. KIM Chong-il has ruled North Korea since his father and the country's founder, president KIM Il-sung, died in 1994. After decades of mismanagement, the North relies heavily on international food aid to feed its population, while continuing to expend resources to maintain an army of over 1 million, the fifth largest in the world. North Korea's long-range missile development and research into nuclear and chemical weapons are of major concern to the international community.
The demise of the Soviet Union and the death of Kim Il Sung opened the way for Pyongyang to establish contact with Japan and other East Asian nations. Unfortunately, the truculent and often belligerent behavior of the North Korean government has damaged much of this diplomatic work. The attitudes of old allies in Beijing and Moscow, who saw more to gain by developing their relations with the rest of East Asia has not worked to the North's advantage.
Relations with the South Korea have worsened following a number of recent military incursions, both by land and by sea. Two related issues have caused international problems for the North Koreans. The first is the long-standing nuclear program, which Pyongyang has refused to open to inspection by the International Atomic Energy Authority, and which is suspected in some quarters (especially the USA) of being engaged in a nuclear weapons program). The second is the country's ballistic missile project, which has been reasonably successful and has allowed the sale of several of the Rodong series of medium-range missiles abroad. Test firings into the Sea of Japan have drawn major diplomatic protests from Japan and the USA. As far as Washington is concerned, North Korea is one of the small group of 'rogue states' whose posture and activities are considered to threaten the new world order. But as well as taking a hard line in international forums, the USA is also sponsoring four-way negotiations with China and both Koreas aimed at producing a final political settlement for the peninsula.
More pressing for the North Korean leadership, however, is the country's now chronic inability to feed itself. The problem appears to date back to the collapse of former trading relations with the ex-Soviet Union, which were both extensive and essential. A series of poor harvests, exacerbated by serious flooding during 1994 and 1995 has undermined North Korea's agricultural sector and the country now faces a major annual shortfall in basic foodstuffs. Although external food aid has helped, there have been many deaths from malnutrition between 1995 and 1998 (Chinese sources and Western estimates based on the accounts of defectors agree on a figure between 2 and 3 million). The situation has started to undermine social order as corruption and lawlessness has reached unprecedented levels.
Repeated predictions of the regime's imminent demise as a result of the crisis has been proved premature but there is no doubt that it faces its most severe test yet. Yet although, in every respect, Kim Jong Il is a shadow of his late father, the North Korean leadership is still sufficiently cohesive to maintain control of the country. And it will probably continue to do so as long as it retains the support of the military. The attitude of the military will therefore be decisive in the immediate future in setting North Korea's policies towards the South and the rest of the world. Signs from the military during 1999 have suggested it desires to maintain an aggressive posture against both the south and the west.
Persons of North or South Korean ethnicity may be considered by North Korean officials to be dual nationals or even North Korean citizens and may therefore be treated more harshly under North Korean laws. These laws may impose special obligations upon North Korean nationals, e.g., military service or taxes. North Korean authorities may seize documents, literature, audio and video tapes, compact discs, and letters that they deem religious, pornographic, or political in nature or intended for religious proselytizing. Persons seeking to enter North Korea with religious materials in a quantity deemed to be greater than that needed for personal use can be detained, fined and expelled.
In one case in 1998, a foreigner was held for nearly two months and was finally expelled from the DPRK and without ever having been seen by consular authorities, despite their repeated requests for access
