• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
• /
• v.17 no.3
• /
• pp.135-139
• /
• 2014

A nationwide nutrition survey began when the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) requested assistance from international relief organizations in 1997 due to flooding in 1995-1996, followed by the worsening food shortage peak in 1997. According to reported data for the 15 years since the active intervention and assistance from international societies, the malnutrition and mortality rates of children in the DPRK have improved. However, the prevalence of the stunting reported in the latest 2012 report is 27.9%, which is still a moderate-severe level, and worrisome in terms of international standards. In particular, the prevalence in Ryangangdo, which is regarded as the worst region in the DPRK, is 39.6%, which is a very high level of stunting. To alleviate such regional deviation will be a major task for future assistance. In addition, one cannot emphasize too highly the importance of early nutritional assistance for pregnant women and infants, considering that the recovery from stunted growth is low after two years of age, and the aftereffects would continue for the rest of their lives.

• Communications for Statistical Applications and Methods
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.1-10
• /
• 2015

The re-unification of the two Koreas is seen as a potential solution to the aging problem and low fertility, along with the increase in the old population structure of the Republic of Korea. Population structure is an indicator of national competitiveness or growth, but little is known officially about the populations of Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Understanding the population structure of the DPRK is important to prepare for re-unification and estimate the socio-economic costs of national welfare under a re-unified Korea. In this paper, we assess reliability of the two modern national censuses of DPRK and use the limited resources available to reconstruct the intercensal populations between these two censuses. Excess deaths from the 1995 famine are estimated at 489,972 to 574,306 and are close to the estimates of Goodkind et al. (2011) and the reconstructed populations in the of DPRK implies a big difference between two Koreas.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.46 no.3
• /
• pp.118-126
• /
• 2013

We investigated the major trends in health aid financing in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) by identifying the primary donor organizations and examining several data sources to track overall health aid trends. We collected gross disbursements from bilateral donor countries and international organizations toward the DPRK according to specific health sectors by using the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development creditor reporting system database and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs financial tracking service database. We analyzed sources of health aid to the DPRK from the Republic of Korea (ROK) using the official records from the ROK's Ministry of Unification. We identified the ROK, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) as the major donor entities not only according to their level of health aid expenditures but also their growing roles within the health sector of the DPRK. We found that health aid from the ROK is comprised of funding from the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund, private organizations, local governments, and South Korean branches of international organizations such as WHO and UNICEF. We also distinguished medical equipment aid from developmental aid to show that the majority of health aid from the ROK was developmental aid. This study highlights the valuable role of the ROK in the flow of health aid to the DPRK, especially in light of the DPRK's precarious international status. Although global health aid from many international organizations has decreased, organizations such as GFATM and UNFPA continue to maintain their focus on reproductive health and infectious diseases.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
• /
• v.27 no.3
• /
• pp.63-67
• /
• 2018

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or the DPRK, is one of the poorest country in world facing chronic economic, energy and food security issues. Prolonged improper management of economic and natural resources has led to extreme poverty, malnutrition and critically vulnerability to nature's forces. Presistent deforestation and forest degradation in the DPRK has national and global consequences which has attracted attention from international community, whose offering financial and technical assistance for targeted interventions. Through REDD+ programs, the DPRK has the opportunity to establish its credentials as a responsible nation while improving the quality of life of its population. This study offers an enabling context under which suitable climate change action related to forestry can be identified and implemented in the DPRK.

• Journal of International Area Studies (JIAS)
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.3-30
• /
• 2010

The focus of this paper is the determines of asymmetric cooperation between the European Union(and EC) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea(DPRK). By analyzing the varying degree of cooperation and conflict by the EU and the DPRK, it argues that the outcomes of the asymmetric cooperation and conflict can be fully explained by the domestic and international variables.

• Journal of Environmental Policy
• /
• v.11 no.3
• /
• pp.123-148
• /
• 2012

Deforestation and forest degradation in Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) accelerated from the mid 1980s through the economic crisis in 1990s and is still happening. DPRK has conducted afforestation and reforestation activities against this trend. However there are not many official documents on achievement of forest rehabilitation in DPRK. "Rodong Shinmun," as an official newspaper published by North Korean Workers Party, represents governmental policies and is one of a few accessible information on DPRK which is available in Republic of Korea (ROK). This paper aims to investigate the national forest policies of the DPRK represented in Rodong Shinmun. Total of 499 articles using the word 'Sanlim (forest)' and 'Rimsan (forest product)' in the title of articles were selected for content analysis. The national forest plans and forest policy instruments contained in the selected articles were analyzed. The subjects of represented forest policies were classified into four groups; forestation, forest management, land management and forest protection or conservation. The focus of forest policy was changed from economic utilization of forest resources such as timber production in the 1990s to forest protection in the 2000s. Rodong Shinmun reported more frequently about regulatory instruments and informational instruments than the economic instruments. Official commendation and awards were the main incentives given to the people who contributed to forestry achievements. In particular, forest policies were emphasized by Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il and afforestation and forest protection were described as patriotic activities in the Rodong Shinmun. In conclusion, this research revealed that Rodong Shinmun plays a role as a means for introducing, propagating and instigating forest policies in the society of the DPRK. The findings help to understand the forest policies of the DPRK which could be useful when designing development aids for DPRK.

• Korean Medical Education Review
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.21-25
• /
• 2016

The government of South Korea and its medical personnel must make a way by which health professionals who have escaped from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) can play a positive and practical role in unification and south-north medical unification while south-north authority talks on DPRK public health and medicine manpower development are not going smoothly. Medical personnel escaped from the DPRK have to be recruited for the interviewer of the national examination, to improve the accuracy of national examination interviews. For those medical professionals who have escaped from the DPRK with 6 years' medical college education, but failed the interview on the national examination, we propose here a course of 3.6 months for them to have a right to apply the Korean Medical Licensing Examinations (KMLE). We also propose that medical professionals who have escaped from the DPRK who have graduated from a 6-year medical college in the DPRK and who are medical doctors over the fifth grade or with more than 6 years of experience can be qualified as unification medical doctors and be exempted from the KMLE, getting the right to go directly into an internship and residency. They should be permitted to work in manpower development projects for the health professions. They should also be given opportunities such as to become psychiatrists who treat the mental illness of persons escaped from the DPRK and people from North Korea after unification. Medical students in South Korea should earn college credits on the topic of medical unification and not only students, but all South Korean medical personnel, should prepare for north-south medical unification with an open mind. A way for each medical college to participate in DPRK manpower development for the health professions through a memorandum of understanding between the medical colleges of the south and north.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.25 no.7
• /
• pp.558-564
• /
• 2004

This research investigated the connection between science textbook contents in Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and those in Republic of Korea (ROK). Both text books in the field of earth science were analyzed and classified into 70 categories based on the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Comparison was specifically made between the elementary and middle school text books of both countries; the result are as follows: First, the scope and the level of the textbooks' contents are quite different between DPRK and ROK. Text books in the South are much limited in concepts and terms than those in the North. In contrast, textbooks in DPRK are written mainly to explain concepts. Second, there are many common contents of the textbooks in DPRK and Republic of Korea. The level and scope of the contents in Republic of Korea are more inquisitive, quantitative and detailed than those in DPRK. Third, we found content connections in science textbooks between primary and secondary schools in both countries: 27 items (38.5%) are related in ROK and 19 items (27.1%) in DPRK.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.15-21
• /
• 2024

The Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is the basis of global efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. In Republic of Korea, safety measures are integrated with NPT approval through agreements with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Safeguards Agreement. In contrast, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), initially an NPT member, withdrew, refusing IAEA nuclear inspections. This inhibits the precise management of DPRK's nuclear facilities and limits access to related information. The Korean Peninsula, politically divided, sees DPRK in control of nuclear weapons. Although the IAEA periodically evaluates DPRK's nuclear facilities, there's a research gap in contamination and site management with nuclear activities. Recognizing the presence or absence of such activities is crucial for peaceful nuclear endeavors. This proposal suggests the number and locations for environmental sample collection using the Visual Sample Plan (VSP) software for nuclear activity analysis. VSP software is sample collection locations and quantities through statistical tests on collected data, ensuring reliability for decision-making. The proposal identifies sites and facilities for nuclear activity analysis based on IAEA safety reports, utilizing the software's embedded methods. Suggested sampling locations for undisclosed nuclear activities employ VSP's embedded techniques, including 'Show that at least some high % of the sampling area is acceptable' to confirm contamination and 'Estimate the Mean' to evaluate the average contamination level.

• Journal of Species Research
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.33-44
• /
• 2015

A total of 34 species belonging to 11 families and 21 genera in the Order Mestostigmata are reported from the Korean Peninsula, of which 20/34 species are new for the fauna of the Korean Peninsula (Lasioseius furcisetus Athias-Henriot, 1959, Cheiroseius nepalensis Evans & Hyatt, 1960, Cheiroseius curtipes (Halbert, 1923), Hypoaspis imitatus Reitblat, 1963, Hypoaspis presternalis Willmann, 1949, Hypoaspis kargi Costa, 1968, Pseudoparasitus placentulus (Berlese, 1887), Gamasiphis novipulchellus Ma & Yin, 1998, Parholaspulus bregetovaae Alexandrov, 1965, Parholaspulus paradichaetes Petrova, 1967, Neparholaspis arcuatus Petrova, 1977, Neparholaspus simplex Evans, 1956, Parholaspulus excentricus Petrova, 1967, Gamasholapis asiaticus Petrova, 1967, Veigaia carpillaris Tseng, 1994, Veigaia anmashanensis Tseng, 1994, Leptogamasus bicorniger Witalinski, 1977, Neogamasus insignis (Holzman, 1969), Iphidinychus kakumeiensis Hiramatsu & Hirschmann, 1992, Trigonuropoda sanguinea Hirschmann & Hiramatsu, 1977). A total of 19 of the previously unreported species were collected in soil samples from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), while 13 species were collected from soil samples from the Republic of Korea (ROK). Only two species were found in both the DPRK and the ROK. Illustrations and short descriptions for previously unreported species provided.