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South Korea vs. North Korea

Geography

South KoreaNorth Korea
LocationEastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow SeaEastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea
Geographic coordinates37 00 N, 127 30 E40 00 N, 127 00 E
Map referencesAsiaAsia
Areatotal: 99,720 sq km

land: 96,920 sq km

water: 2,800 sq km
total: 120,538 sq km

land: 120,408 sq km

water: 130 sq km
Area - comparativeslightly smaller than Pennsylvania; slightly larger than Indianaslightly larger than Virginia; slightly smaller than Mississippi
Land boundariestotal: 237 km

border countries (1): North Korea 237 km
total: 1,607 km

border countries (3): China 1352 km, South Korea 237 km, Russia 18 km
Coastline2,413 km2,495 km
Maritime claimsterritorial sea: 12 nm; between 3 nm and 12 nm in the Korea Strait

contiguous zone: 24 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

continental shelf: not specified
territorial sea: 12 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

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
Climatetemperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter; cold winterstemperate, with rainfall concentrated in summer; long, bitter winters
Terrainmostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and southmostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; wide coastal plains in west, discontinuous in east
Elevation extremeshighest point: Halla-san 1,950 m

lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m

mean elevation: 282 m
highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m

lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m

mean elevation: 600 m
Natural resourcescoal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower potentialcoal, iron ore, limestone, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, precious metals, hydropower
Land useagricultural land: 18.1% (2018 est.)

arable land: 15.3% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 2.2% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 0.6% (2018 est.)

forest: 63.9% (2018 est.)

other: 18% (2018 est.)
agricultural land: 21.8% (2018 est.)

arable land: 19.5% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 1.9% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 0.4% (2018 est.)

forest: 46% (2018 est.)

other: 32.2% (2018 est.)
Irrigated land7,780 sq km (2012)14,600 sq km (2012)
Natural hazards

occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; low-level seismic activity common in southwest

volcanism: Halla (1,950 m) is considered historically active although it has not erupted in many centuries

late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall

volcanism: Changbaishan (2,744 m) (also known as Baitoushan, Baegdu or P'aektu-san), on the Chinese border, is considered historically active

Environment - current issuesair pollution in large cities; acid rain; water pollution from the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents; drift net fishing; solid waste disposal; transboundary pollutionwater pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; waterborne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation
Environment - international agreementsparty to: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Law of the Sea
Geography - notestrategic location on Korea Strait; about 3,000 mostly small and uninhabited islands lie off the western and southern coastsstrategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated
Total renewable water resources69.7 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)77.15 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)
Population distributionwith approximately 70% of the country considered mountainous, the country's population is primarily concentrated in the lowland areas, where density is quite high; Gyeonggi Province in the northwest, which surrounds the capital of Seoul and contains the port of Incheon, is the most densely populated province; Gangwon in the northeast is the least populatedpopulation 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

Source: CIA Factbook