World Factbook
North Korea
Choson-minjujuui-inmin-konghwaguk
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Area
land
120,408 sq km
water
130 sq km
total
120,538 sq km
Climate
temperate, with rainfall concentrated in summer; long, bitter winters
Terrain
mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; wide coastal plains in west, discontinuous in east
Land use
other
14.5% (2023 est.)
forest
64% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
21.6% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 19.1% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 2.1% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 0.4% (2023 est.)
Location
Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea
Coastline
2,495 km
Elevation
lowest point
Sea of Japan 0 m
highest point
Paektu-san 2,744 m
mean elevation
600 m
Irrigated land
14,600 sq km (2012)
Map references
Asia
Land boundaries
total
1,607 km
border countries
China 1,352 km; South Korea 237 km; Russia 18 km
Maritime claims
note
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
territorial sea
12 nm
exclusive economic zone
200 nm
Natural hazards
late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall volcanism: P'aektu-san (2,744 m) (also known as Baitoushan, Baegdu, or Changbaishan), on the Chinese border, is considered historically active
Geography - note
strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated
Natural resources
coal, iron ore, limestone, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, precious metals, hydropower
Area - comparative
slightly larger than Virginia; slightly smaller than Mississippi
Geographic coordinates
40 00 N, 127 00 E
Population distribution
population concentrated in the plains and lowlands; least-populated regions are the mountainous provinces adjacent to the Chinese border; largest concentrations are in the western provinces, particularly the municipal district of Pyongyang, and around Hungnam and Wonsan in the east