Geography of North Korea

Map of North Korea

North Korea is located on the northern half of the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. The state shares a border with Russia along the Tumen in the extreme northeast, with China along the Yalu in the north and northwest, and with South Korea along the demilitarized zone in the south. In the west is the Yellow Sea and the Korean Bay , in the east is the Sea of Japan . North Korea extends over an area of 120,540 km², of which 130 km² is water.

Limits

The borders of the state extend over a length of 1673 km, of which 1416 km are in China, 238 in South Korea and 19 km in Russia. The coastline of the approximately 1000 km long Korean Peninsula , which has a length of 8460 km, is very uneven. 2495 km of the coastline belong to North Korea. There are still 3,579 islands near the coast, most of them on the south and west coasts.

The North Korean government claims territorial waters that extend 12 nautical miles from the coastline. It also claims to be an exclusive economic zone that extends over 200 nautical miles on both coasts. In addition, a zone 50 nautical miles wide protrudes into the Sea of Japan, into which ships and aircraft are not allowed to enter or fly without the permission of the state. The same applies to the Yellow Sea, but here at a width of 200 nautical miles. The waters of the Yellow Sea were divided between North and South Korea on the so-called Northern Limit Line in 1953 by a unilateral measure by UN troops under the leadership of the US military . This border has not yet been recognized by the North Korean government and means that there are still skirmishes between the North and South Korean navies.

Topography and rivers

A satellite photo of the Korean Peninsula

North Korea consists largely of mountain and hill country, which is cut through by deep and narrow valleys. There are large coastal plains on the west coast, but on the east coast they are not contiguous and comparatively small.

The lowest point in the country is the coast of the Sea of Japan at 0 m, the highest point is Paektu-san , on the border with China, at 2744 m.

Early European visitors mentioned that Korea would resemble a sea in a strong hurricane as the peninsula is criss-crossed by many mountain ranges. About 80 percent of North Korea consists of mountains and hills, the highest peaks of which are over 2000 m in the north of the country. Most of the North Korean population lives in the plains and in the lowlands.

The area around Paektu-san on the Chinese border is of volcanic origin and includes a basalt lava plateau at an altitude between 1400 and 2000 m. The Hamgyŏng Mountains , in the extreme northeast of the peninsula, also have several high peaks, including the Kwanmosan at 1756 m. In the north of the country, the Nangnim Mountains run in a north-south direction , which makes communication between the west and east of the country even more difficult. The Kangnam Mountains are still on the border with China . Finally, on the east coast there is the Kŭmgangsan Mountains (diamond mountains), which extend over an area of 530 km² on the border with South Korea.

The plains of the country are for the most part quite small; the largest of them are the Pyongyang Plain and the Chaeryŏng Plain . Both extend over an area of approx. 500 km². Because of the mountains on the east coast that drop steeply into the sea, the plains there are naturally smaller than in the west of the peninsula.

The mountain ranges in the north and east of the country form the catchment area of most of the country's rivers, most of which drain in a westerly direction and flow into the Yellow Sea or the Korean Bay. The longest of them is the Yalu , which is navigable for 678 of 790 km in length. The Tumen , one of the few large rivers that flow into the Sea of Japan, is the second longest and because of its course in the mountains only 85 of 521 km are navigable. The third largest river, the Taedong , whose course runs through the capital Pyongyang, is navigable for 245 of its 297 km. The country's lakes are mostly small due to the lack of glacier activity and the region's stable earth crust. In contrast to the neighboring countries China and Japan, North Korea has only been shaken by a few major earthquakes . North Korea has 124 hot springs, according to a state source.

climate

Snowfall in Korea

Climate diagram Pyongyang

North Korea's climate is temperate, and most of the rainfall occurs in summer. Natural disasters that occur in North Korea include droughts in late spring, often followed by severe flooding, and typhoons , which occur in early fall .

Due to its location between 38 and 43 degrees north , North Korea has a continental climate with four distinct seasons . Long winters with very cold and clear weather and intermittent snowstorms result from north and north-westerly winds from Siberia . The average maximum and minimum temperatures for Pyongyang in January are -3 ° C and -13 ° C. Snow falls on average 37 days a year. The weather is rough in the mountainous north of the country. The North Korean summer is usually short, hot, humid and rainy and is characterized by the monsoons coming from the south and south-westerly directions , which bring moist air from the Pacific. The average minimum and maximum temperatures in Pyongyang in August are 20 ° C and 29 ° C, respectively. On average, around 60 percent of all rainfall occurs between June and September. Typhoons usually occur at least once a summer. Spring and autumn are characterized by mild temperatures, changing winds and pleasant weather.

environmental Protection

Current problems of environmental protection are local air pollution through inadequate controls of the industry, water pollution and the associated inadequate supply of drinking water. North Korea has committed itself to the following agreements:

The following agreements have been signed but not ratified:

The lack of information from North Korea makes it difficult to gauge the extent of the environmental damage caused by industrialization and urbanization in North Korea. Based on outdated technology from the former Soviet Union and China, the country has pursued ambitious industrialization since the end of the Korean War . However, air pollution is kept within limits through the use of electricity as the main energy source for industry and heating. In addition, the lack of any motorized individual transport (at least for private individuals) and the general restriction on the use of petrol-powered vehicles due to the persistent lack of fuel have a moderating effect on air pollution.

Resources and land use

North Korea can draw on the following natural resources:

Land use

14 percent of the land can be used for agriculture. Of this, 2 percent are permanent crops and 14,600 km² of land is irrigated. There is little or no pastureland. 61 percent of the country is forested.

40 128Coordinates: 40 ° 0 ' N , 128 ° 0' E