North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is a country in East Asia constituting the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. Pyongyang is the nation's capital and largest city. Wikipedia

Capital: Pyongyang

Supreme leader: Kim Jong-un

Population: 25.37 million (2016) World Bank

Premier: Pak Pong-ju

The following summary of facts on NK appeared on CNN on Jan 30/2017:

Here's some background information about the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), also called North Korea. It borders China, Russia and South Korea.
About North Korea:
(from the CIA World Factbook)
Area: 120,538 sq km, slightly smaller than Mississippi
Population: 25,115,311 (July 2016 est.)
Median age: 33.8 (2016 est.)
Capital: Pyongyang
Ethnic Groups: Racially homogenous, small ethnic Chinese and Japanese populations
Religion: Traditionally Buddhist and Confucianist, with some Christian and other sects
GDP (purchasing power parity): $40 billion (2014 est.)
GDP per capita: $1,800 (2014 est.)
Other Facts:
North Korea has no diplomatic representation in the United States. They do have a permanent mission to the United Nations.
The United States does not have any diplomatic representation in North Korea. The Swedish Embassy represents the United States as consular protecting power.
A history of North Korea's weapons program
North Korea's nuclear missile tests for the last ten years
Timeline:
1910-1945 - Japan controls the Korean peninsula.
August 1945 - After Japan surrenders in World War II, the US occupies the southern half of the peninsula while the USSR occupies the northern half.
1945-1994 - Kim Il-Sung is the country's first leader.
1948 - Separate governments for the northern and southern parts of the Korean peninsula are established after an international stalemate fails to resolve the issue.
June 25, 1950 - North Korea invades South Korea. Peace negotiations begin in 1951, but hostilities continue until 1953.
July 8, 1994 - Kim Jong Il becomes the leader of North Korea when Kim Il-Sung, his father, dies.
2000 - Kim Dae Jung, the leader of South Korea, and Kim Jong Il meet for the first time since the country was separated 50 years earlier.
January 10, 2003 - North Korea withdraws from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
December 11, 2007 - Freight trains begin crossing the border between North and South Korea, resuming a regular service that last ran in the 1950s.
March 3, 2008 - After the US and South Korea begin six days of joint military exercises, North Korea's foreign minister denounces the exercises and warns that North Korea will explore all countermeasures necessary for its protection. Approximately 27,000 US troops and aircraft carrier USS Nimitz take part in the exercises.
December 28, 2008 - The freight trains that began crossing between the border of North and South Korea in December 2007 suspend service due to souring relations between the two countries, dashing hopes of reconciliation.
March 8, 2009 - The Supreme People's Assembly holds elections, delayed since August 2008. Kim Jong Il is unanimously re-elected in his district, with a 100% voter turnout.
June 8, 2009 - The state-run media reports that US journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, accused of spying, have been sentenced to 12 years in a labor prison.
August 4, 2009 - Former President Bill Clinton sits down with Kim Jong Il to discuss the release of American journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling. Both Lee and Ling are later given a full pardon from Kim Jong Il and released.
May 20, 2010 - South Korea formally accuses North Korea of firing a torpedo to sink the Cheonan, a South Korean Navy ship, in March, killing 46 sailors. North Korea denies responsibility and warns that any retaliation would lead to "all-out war."
May 24, 2010 - South Korean President Lee Myung-bak severs all trade ties and asks the UN Security Council to punish North Korea.
September 28-29, 2010 - North Korea's ruling party, the Workers' Party of Korea, meets for the first time since 1980. Kim Jong Il is re-elected as general secretary of the party.
November 23, 2010 - North Korea launches artillery at Yeonpyeong Island in South Korea, killing two South Korean marines.
February 7-9, 2011 - Military officials from both North and South Korea meet at the DMZ to defuse tensions and restart international aid talks without much success.
April 29, 2011 - The US State Department refutes charges by former President Jimmy Carterthat the US and South Korea are withholding food aid from North Korea for political motives. The US had suspended aid two years ago to North Korea, because it suspected the donated food was not reaching those most in need.
April 29, 2011 - The UN World Food Programme announces plans to begin emergency food distribution to 3.5 million North Koreans, primarily women and children, who are starving after a harsh winter destroyed crops.
December 17, 2011 - North Korean leader Kim Jong Il dies at the age of 69.
December 31, 2011 - Kim Jong Un, a son of Kim Jong Il, assumes command of the North Korean army.
December 12, 2012 - North Korea successfully launches an Unha-3 long-range rocket from the Sohae Space Center in Cholsan County and puts a "working satellite" into orbit, days after Pyongyang suggested the launch could be delayed.
January 22, 2013 - The UN condemns the recent North Korean rocket launch and expands existing sanctions against North Korea with Resolution 2087.
January 24, 2013 - North Korea's National Defense Commission says it will continue nuclear testing and long-range rocket launches, all of which are a part of an "upcoming all-out action" aimed at the US, "the sworn enemy of the Korean people."
March 11, 2013 - A spokesman for the North Korean military announces the 1953 armistice agreement is being "scrapped," citing US-led international moves to impose new sanctions against it over its recent nuclear test.
March 27, 2013 - North Korea cuts its military hotline with South Korea. Earlier in the month a Red Cross hotline through Panmunjom is cut.
December 13, 2013 - Kim Jong Un's uncle, Jang Song Thaek, is executed. Jang had once been considered the second-most powerful person in the country. North Korea's official news agency accuses Jang of trying to overthrow the state, describing him as "despicable human scum."
February 17, 2014 - The UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights publishes a report on widespread human rights abuses in North Korea.
March 9, 2014 - Elections are held. State media reports there is 100% voter turnout, and Kim Jong Un receives 100% of the vote.
December 19, 2014 - The FBI says it has concluded the North Korean government is responsible for a cyberattack on Sony Pictures. In November, hackers broke into Sony's servers, published private emails and information and threatened to attack movie theaters screening "The Interview," a comedy film about an assassination plot on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
March 11, 2015 - The Russian Foreign Ministry announces an agreement that 2015 will be a "Year of Friendship" between the two countries and that Kim Jong Un will visit Moscow.
March 26, 2015 - North Korea claims to arrest two South Korean men for "spying" and accuses them of collecting intelligence and military secrets from North Korea.
April 2015 - South Korean lawmaker Shin Kyung-min says that according to an assessment by South Korean intelligence agents, Kim Jong Un has ordered the execution of about 15 senior officials so far this year. Shin further says that four members of the Unhasu Orchestra were also executed in March.
May 12, 2015 - South Korean media reports that North Korea publicly executed Defense Chief Hyon Yong Chol by fire from an anti-aircraft gun. An official with the South Korean Intelligence Service later tells CNN that while the agency was sure Hyon had been "purged," it had not confirmed whether he had been executed.
August 21, 2015 - North Korea orders front-line military units to enter "a wartime state" after an exchange of fire with South Korea, according to the country's state-run Korean Central News Agency. A day earlier, the two countries traded artillery fire over their heavily fortified border.
January 2, 2016 - Otto Frederick Warmbier, a University of Virginia college student, is detained in North Korea after being accused of a "hostile act" against the government there, according to North Korean state media.
January 11, 2016 - A man who identifies himself as Kim Dong Chul, a naturalized American, tells CNN in an exclusive interview that he is being held by North Korea on espionage charges. Kim says he was detained in October 2015. CNN is unable to verify Kim's claim.
March 2, 2016 - The UN Security Council votes to impose a broad array of sanctions against North Korea because of its recent nuclear test and missile launch -- both of which defied current international sanctions. The resolution aims to cripple parts of the North Korean economy that fuel its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
November 30, 2016 - The UN Security Council votes unanimously for stricter measures against North Korea nearly three months after the secretive nation carried out its fifth nuclear test. By severely limiting North Korea's exports of coal and non-ferrous metals, such as copper, the UN expects to cut the country's revenue by more than $800 million every year.

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The following is sourced from VOA News: Link at the bottom.

April 26, 2017 5:30 PM

• VOA News

FILE - A man watches a TV news program, Oct. 16, 2016, showing a file image of a missile launch conducted by North Korea.

What is the controversy surrounding North Korea?

Washington and Pyongyang have moved closer to the brink of conflict over the growing nuclear threat on the Korean Peninsula.Since North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January 2016, neither Washington nor Pyongyang seem willing to make any conciliatory gestures. Under former President Barack Obama, the U.S. rallied international support for increased sanctions against the North Korean government.Pyongyang responded by accelerating nuclear and ballistic missile tests.Earlier this month at a massive military parade in Pyongyang, North Korea showed off what appeared to be new forms of ballistic missile technology, which it hopes will soon be capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the continental United States.President Donald Trump has further increased pressure by emphasizing possible military strikes to prevent North Korea from developing an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking the U.S. mainland.

What is the United States doing to address escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula?

Trump and U.S. officials have repeatedly said all options remain "on the table" to deal with further North Korean provocations.Trump said the Security Council must be prepared to impose additional and stronger sanctions on North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs."North Korea is a big world problem, and it's a problem we have to finally solve," Trump said recently. "People have put blindfolds on for decades, and now it's time to solve the problem."The comments came after Trump made his latest round of separate telephone calls to the leaders of Japan, China and Germany to discuss concerns about North Korea.FILE - Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks to reporters at his office in this photo taken by Kyodo, in Tokyo, Japan, April 24, 2017, after speaking with U.S. President Donald Trump on the phone.

Which countries are involved?Trump has had discussions with the leaders of Japan, China and Germany about the threat posed by North Korea.A phone call this week between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was meant to increase pressure on Pyongyang not to engage in further provocative actions, but was not prompted by any significant change in the situation, according to officials in Tokyo.Abe also said he and Trump agreed that a larger role in dealing with Pyongyang should be played by China.Trump subsequently spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping about North Korea. In their conversation Sunday, the Chinese president said he hopes all sides avoid doing anything to worsen the tense situation on the Korean peninsula, according to the Xinhua news agency.In addition, the U.S. and China are launching four rounds of talks, as Trump heads to China later this year in a visit aimed at strengthening cooperation to reduce tensions in the Korean Peninsula.

What is being done to address the nuclear problem in North Korea?

The United Nations slapped economic sanctions on North Korea for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and is now considering tougher measures, including a global ban on Air Koryo, the country's state-run airline, to punish North Korea for its continuing weapons tests.During his visit to the North Korean border earlier this month, Vice President Mike Pence announced that Washington's strategy of so-called "strategic patience" is over with the North.The U.S. and its allies for decades have tried variations of that strategy without much success. North Korea's authoritarian leaders have continued to conduct nuclear and missile tests, seeing the programs as crucial to their survival.This week, Pence said the U.S. is not interested in talks or minor concessions from the North, and all options, including a military strike, are on the table.That is a change in tone for Trump, who during the presidential campaign said he was open to talking with North Korea, and would even invite Kim Jong Un, the country's young leader, to the U.S. for negotiations.

What is the desired endgame?

The Trump administration has repeatedly expressed its displeasure with what it calls North Korea's "belligerence" and "provocations" in the region and vowed to defend U.S. ally South Korea.Coordinating efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and addressing the threat posed by North Korea's missile and nuclear programs are chief among U.S. interests in this confrontation.The administration has described its policy toward North Korea as one of "maximum pressure and engagement." The policy heavily emphasizes the use of economic pressure from China in an effort to bring the country's nuclear program to an end, though the administration has released few other details.

How would North Korea respond to a U.S. strike on its nuclear program?

While North Korea doesn't possess the capability to prevent a U.S. strike on its nuclear program, it could easily retaliate and inflict significant damage on nearby nations, according to a recent report from Stratfor, a private intelligence firm.Upon engagement, North Korea's immediate reaction would most likely be to start barraging Seoul with artillery fire, the report said, resulting in at least a partial destruction of the city.North Korea's artillery capabilities are limited, though, by technical failures and practical issues. About a quarter of its shells and rockets failed to detonate on target in past artillery skirmishes with South Korea, and poorly trained artillery crews wouldn't be able to keep up the rate of fire needed to perform a successful barrage campaign, the report added.The North also possesses more than 1,000 ballistic missiles capable of reaching Seoul and targets much further away, including U.S. military positions in Japan. The most significant threat from the North's ballistic capabilities comes from its ability to fasten nuclear warheads on the missiles. A single nuclear strike on the South would likely result in massive casualties and destruction.

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