Abstract
Following the collapse of Japan in 1945 Soviet forces arrived in North Korea, one month ahead of the Americans, and established a Communist-led provisional government. A Democratic People’s Republic was proclaimed on 9 Sept. 1948 and Kim Il-sung became premier, purging all rivals. On 25 June 1950 North Korea invaded the south; its advance was stopped with the aid of UN forces. Chinese Communist ‘volunteers’ joined the war in Oct. 1950. Truce negotiations were begun in 1951 and concluded on 27 July 1953. A demilitarized zone was set up along the final battle line between North and South Korea. On 13 Dec. 1991 the prime ministers of North and South Korea signed a declaration of non-aggression, agreeing not to interfere in each other’s internal affairs. Three agreements were reached between the North and South Korean prime ministers in 1992 on proposals for military, economic, political and social co-operation. Kim Il-sung, head of state, Communist Party and the military since 1948, died on 8 July 1994, and was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong II. On 21 Oct. 1994 an agreement to restrict nuclear power to peaceful purposes in Korea was signed by North Korea and the USA. Since then, negotiations have foundered on evidence of continuing nuclear activity, and in Oct. 2002 North Korea admitted that it had a secret nuclear weapons programme.
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Further Reading
Harrison, S., Korean Endgame: A Strategy for Reunification and US Disengagement. Princeton Univ. Press, 2002
Hunter, H., Kim Il-Song’s North Korea. Praeger Publishers, Westport (CT), 1999
Kleiner, J., Korea: a Century of Change. World Scientific Publishing Co., Singapore, 2001
Oh, K. and Hassig, R. C., North Korea Through the Looking Glass. Brookings Institution Press. Washington (D. C), 2000
Sigal, L. V., Disarming Strangers: Nuclear Diplomacy with North Korea. Princeton Univ. Press. 1999
Smith, H., et al., (eds.) North Korea in the New World Order. London, 1996
National statistical office: Central Statistics Bureau, Pyongyang.
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© 2003 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
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Turner, B. (2003). North Korea. In: Turner, B. (eds) The Statesman’s Yearbook. The Statesman’s Yearbook. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230271326_196
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230271326_196
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-43025-3
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