DPR Korea

Background on UNDP in DPR Korea

UNDP began operations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in 1981, as the first UN programme with a resident presence in the country. While UNDP’s operations in DPRK have always been modest (roughly US$3 million per year in programme expenditures and less than 10 international staff and consultants), UNDP’s on-the-ground presence helped facilitate the international response to the famines of the 1990s, and to expose DPRK to the standards and norms of the international community. In recent years UNDP has focused on food production and economic and environmental management.

Capital:	Pyongyang
Population:	Around 23.5 million
Land area:	120, 540 sq km
Terrain:	Mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east
Climate:	Temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer
Natural Resources:	Coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower	See a more detailed map of DPRK