North Korea: Geography#
| 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 40.0,127.0 |
| Area | total: 120,538 sq km land: 120,408 sq km water: 130 sq km We are unable to verify those figures from Factbook, since the 6 main sources we used for checking give different figures as follows: Factbook: 120538 DBpedia: 120540 Geoname: 120540 Infoplease: 120540 Britannica: 122762 Wolfram: 120538 Attempted Explanation: Please help us to try to explain the discrepancies by sending us helpful information to office nospam@TUGraz.at @global-geography.org |
| Land boundaries | total: 1,672 km border countries: China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 18 km |
| Coastline | 2,495 km |
| Elevation Extremes | lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m |
| Highest Mountains | Due to difference in mountain rankings taken from two data sources we are listing here both lists : According to Wolfram: Mount Baekdu 2744 m According to Geonames: Puksubaek-san 2522 m; Paek-san 2476 m; Namp'ot'ae-san 2428 m; Yonhwa-san 2355 m; Sol-lyong 2350 m Attempted Explanation: Please help us to try to explain the discrepancies by sending us helpful information to office nospam@TUGraz.at @global-geography.org |
| Terrain | mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east |
| Natural Hazards | late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall volcanism: Changbaishan (elev. 2,744 m) (also known as Baitoushan, Baegdu or P'aektu-san), on the Chinese border, is considered historically active |
| Natural Resource | coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower |
| Land Use | arable land: 19.08% permanent crops: 1.7% other: 79.22% (2011) |
| Climate | temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer |
| Irrigated Land | 14,600 sq km (2003) |
| Renewable Water Resources | 77.15 cu km (2011) |
| Environment_CurrentIssues | water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; waterborne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
| Large Cities | Pyongyang; Hamhung; Nampo; Hvngnam; Kaesong [Verified] Important Cities |
| Geography-note | strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated Important Lakes |