| 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 |
| Map references | Asia |
| Area | total: 120,538 sq km land: 120,408 sq km water: 130 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than Virginia; slightly smaller than Mississippi |
| Land boundaries | total: 1,607 km border countries (3): China 1352 km, South Korea 237 km, Russia 18 km |
| Coastline | 2,495 km |
| Maritime claims | 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 |
| 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 |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m mean elevation: 600 m |
| Natural resources | coal, iron ore, limestone, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, precious metals, hydropower |
| Land use | 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 land | 14,600 sq km (2012) |
| Total renewable water resources | 77.15 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Natural hazards | 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 |
| Geography - note | strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
