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North Korea

American  
[nawrth kuh-ree-uh, kaw-, koh-] / ˈnɔrθ kəˈri ə, kɔ-, koʊ- /

noun

  1. Official Name Democratic People's Republic of Korea.  a country in East Asia: formed 1948 after the division of the former country of Korea at the 38th parallel. 50,000 sq. mi. (129,500 sq. km). Pyongyang.


North Korea British  

noun

  1. Official name: Democratic People's Republic of Korea.  Korean name: Chosŏn.  a republic in NE Asia, on the Sea of Japan (East Sea) and the Yellow Sea: established in 1948 as a people's republic; mostly rugged and mountainous, with fertile lowlands in the west Language: Korean. Currency: won. Capital: Pyongyang. Pop: 24 720 407 (2013 est). Area: 122 313 sq km (47 225 sq miles)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

North Korea Cultural  
  1. Republic on northern Korean Peninsula on east coast of Asia, bounded on the north by China, on the northeast by Russian Siberia, on the east by the Sea of Japan, on the south by South Korea, and on the west by the Yellow Sea and Korea Bay. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang.


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The Korean War began in 1950, when North Korean forces invaded South Korea. Supplied by the Soviets, and eventually joined by the Chinese, North Korea fought forces of South Korea and the United Nations.

It was established in 1948 after two occupation zones were set up in northern and southern Korea during World War II.

Run by one most closed and repressive regimes on Earth, North Korea has suffered from food shortages and a deteriorating economy.

A communist country that used to have close ties with the Soviet Union, North Korea, continues to maintain a close relationship with China.

Other Word Forms

  • North Korean adjective

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The strategy also outlines a "more limited" role for US deterrence of North Korea.

From BBC

Of the nine countries known to possess nuclear weapons -- Russia, the United States, China, France, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Israel and North Korea -- only Pyongyang has conducted nuclear tests since the 1990s.

From Barron's

Nuclear-armed North Korea, which is under multiple sets of sanctions over its weapons programmes, has long struggled with its moribund state-managed economy and chronic food shortages.

From Barron's

I’ve been saying for the past six months, as I’ve been out talking about my book, that Iran is not North Korea.

From Salon

The Berlin Blockade, a Soviet-backed coup in Czechoslovakia, Mao’s victory in China and North Korea’s invasion of South Korea transformed Truman into a reluctant hawk.

From The Wall Street Journal