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North Korea: Closed, Hungry, Heavily Armed

A statue in Pyongyang of the late Kim Il Sung, who founded North Korea and is called the Great Leader. (By Blaine Harden / The Washington Post)
A statue in Pyongyang of the late Kim Il Sung, who founded North Korea and is called the Great Leader. (By Blaine Harden / The Washington Post)
In North Korea, the military now issues economic orders
SEOUL -- North Korea's military, whose nuclear program vexes the Obama administration, has grabbed nearly complete command of the nation's state-run economy and staked out a lucrative new trade in mineral sales to China to make money for its supreme commander, Kim Jong Il.
 
N. Korea Swiftly Expanding Its Special Forces
SEOUL -- North Korea has massively increased its special operations forces, schooled them in the use of Iraqi-style roadside bombs and equipped them to sneak past the heavily fortified border that divides the two Koreas.
 

Interactive Map

Explore North Korean Prison Camps

North Korea's government says political prison camps don't exist, but high-resolution satellite images show otherwise.

Graphic
Patterns of Privation
Only those considered loyal to the government are permitted to live in and around Pyongyang, where food is relatively plentiful. For residents of the remoter provinces, severe malnutrition is a constant problem.
North Korean Prisons Have Become a System of Extortion, Refugees Say (Post, October 6, 2009)
 
N. Korea's Hard-Labor Camps: On the Diplomatic Back Burner (Post, July 20, 2009)
 
North Korea Tightening Its Restrictions on Markets, Food Aid (Post, July 14, 2009)
 
China Trade Helps Shield N. Korea: Cash Aids Military, May Offset Sanctions (Post, June 27, 2009)
 
Economic Experiment of the Two Koreas Is Fighting for Its Survival (Post, June 19, 2009)
 
Global Insurance Fraud By North Korea Outlined: Government Has Collected Millions Of Dollars on Large, Suspicious Claims (Post, June 18, 2009)
 
N. Korean Women Who Flee to China Suffer in Stateless Limbo: Many Are Sold Into Marriage (Post, June 10, 2009)
 
N. Korean Defectors Bewildered By the South (Post, April 12, 2009)
 
North Korean Missile Test a Growing Possibility (Post, March 27, 2009)
 
At the Heart of North Korea's Troubles, an Intractable Hunger Crisis (Post, March 6, 2009)
 
N. Korea Discordant on Obama Era, Nuclear Arsenal: Better U.S. Ties Seen, But Arms to Remain (Post, January 18, 2009)
 
Escapee Tells of Horrors in North Korean Prison Camp (Post, December 11, 2008)
 
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