| 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
|
| Area: |
total:
120,540 sq km
land:
120,410 sq km
water:
130 sq km
|
| Area - comparative: |
slightly smaller than Mississippi
|
| Land boundaries: |
total:
1,673 km
border countries:
China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 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
|
| Terrain: |
mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east
|
| Elevation extremes: |
lowest point:
Sea of Japan 0 m
highest point:
Paektu-san 2,744 m
|
| Natural resources: |
coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower
|
| Land use: |
arable land:
14%
permanent crops:
2%
permanent pastures:
0%
forests and woodland:
61%
other:
23% (1993 est.)
|
| Irrigated land: |
14,600 sq km (1993 est.)
|
| Natural hazards: |
late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall
|
| Environment - current issues: |
water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; water-borne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation
|
| Environment - international agreements: |
party to:
Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea
|
| Geography - note: |
strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated
|
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