north korea

• country located in the far east
the democratic people's republic of korea is a country which occupies the northern portion of the korean peninsula in east asia. the korean peninsula was occupied by japan from 1905 until 1945, when northern korea was occupied by soviet troops and southern korea was occupied by us troops. in 1948 the two areas were formally divided into north korea and south korea. north korean forces crossed the 38th parallel in 1950, beginning the korean war, which ended in 1953. marshal kim il sung, who led the korean people's revolutionary army against japan and commanded the north korean army during the korean war, founded the korean workers' party (kwp) in 1945. he led north korea from 1946 until his death in 1994. his son, kim jong il, became an important government leader in the 1980s and was appointed supreme commander of the armed forces in 1991. kang song san became premier in 1992. the kwp is the sole legal party. north korea exports coal, minerals, and metals. in the early 1990s north korea's refusal to allow international inspection of its nuclear facilities became a source of tension.