Provinces of North Korea explained

Provinces of The Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea
Mapsize:	330px
Category:	Unitary state
Territory:	North Korea
Current Number:	16 (8 controlled by DPRK, 7 controlled by ROK & 1 split between DPRK and ROK)
Population Range:	719,269 (Ryanggang Province) – 4,051,696 (South Pyongan)
Area Range:	11255km2 (Kangwon) – 18970km2 (South Hamgyong) – 28955km2 (Kangwon including ROK controlled-parts)
Government:	Single-Party Government
Subdivision:	City, County

Provinces are the first-level division within North Korea. There are 9 provinces in North Korea: Chagang, North Hamgyong, South Hamgyong, North Hwanghae, South Hwanghae, Kangwon, North Pyongan, South Pyongan, and Ryanggang.

History

See main article: Provinces of Korea. Although the details of local administration have changed dramatically over time, the basic outline of the current three-tiered system was implemented under the reign of Gojong in 1895. A similar system also remains in use in South Korea.

A province are the highest-ranked administrative divisions in North Korea. Provinces have equal status to the special cities.

List of provinces

The populations listed for each province are from the 2008 North Korea Census. From this census, there are an additional 702,372 people living in military camps.

Name	Chosŏn'gŭl	Hancha	ISO	Population	Area (km^2)	Density (/km^2)	Capital	Region
Chagang	Korean: 자강도	Korean: 慈江道	KP-04	1,299,830	16,765	77.5	Kanggye	Kwanso
North Hamgyong	Korean: 함경북도	Korean: 咸鏡北道	KP-09	2,327,362	15,980	145.6	Chongjin	Kwanbuk
South Hamgyong	Korean: 함경남도	Korean: 咸鏡南道	KP-08	3,066,013	18,534	165.4	Hamhung	Kwannam
North Hwanghae	Korean: 황해북도	Korean: 黃海北道	KP-06	2,113,672	8,153.7	259.2	Sariwon	Haeso
South Hwanghae	Korean: 황해남도	Korean: 黃海南道	KP-05	2,310,485	8,450.3	273.4	Haeju	Haeso
Kangwon	Korean: 강원도	Korean: 江原道	KP-07	1,477,582	11,091	133.2	Wonsan	Kwandong
North Pyongan	Korean: 평안북도	Korean: 平安北道	KP-03	2,728,662	12,680.3	215.2	Sinuiju	Kwanso
South Pyongan	Korean: 평안남도	Korean: 平安南道	KP-02	4,051,696	11,890.6	340.7	Pyongsong	Kwanso
Ryanggang	Korean: 량강도	Korean: 兩江道	KP-10	719,269	13,880	51.8	Hyesan	Kwannam

Claimed provinces

North Korea claims seven provinces on the territory controlled by South Korea. While people's committees for these claimed provinces were elected in 1950 during the Korean War, no government-in-exile for them exists as of . These provinces are based on the divisions of the Japanese era, but correspond somewhat to the present South Korean provinces and the special cities partitioned out of them, owing to the alterations in the provincial division effected by South Korea being more conservative relatively to those effected by the north.

Historical province	Name	Chosŏn'gŭl	Hancha	Capital	Equivalent South Korean provinces
Ch'ungch'ŏng	North Ch'ungch'ŏng	Korean: 충청북도	Korean: 忠淸北道	Ch'ŏngju	North Chungcheong Province
					Sejong Special Self-Governing City (part)
Ch'ungch'ŏng		Korean: 충청남도	Korean: 忠淸南道	Taejŏn	South Chungcheong Province
					Daejeon Metropolitan City
					Sejong Special Self-Governing City (part)
Kyŏnggi	Kyŏnggi	Korean: 경기도	Korean: 京畿道	Sŏul	Gyeonggi Province (except parts of Pocheon and Yeoncheon County)
					Seoul Special City
					Incheon Metropolitan City
Kyŏngsang	North Kyŏngsang	Korean: 경상북도	Korean: 慶尙北道	Taegu	North Gyeongsang (except Uljin County)
					Daegu Metropolitan City
Kyŏngsang	South Kyŏngsang	Korean: 경상남도	Korean: 慶尙南道	Pusan	South Gyeongsang Province
					Busan Metropolitan City
					Ulsan Metropolitan City
Chŏlla	North Chŏlla	Korean: 전라북도	Korean: 全羅北道	Chŏnju	North Jeolla Province
Chŏlla	South Chŏlla	Korean: 전라남도	Korean: 全羅南道	Kwangju	South Jeolla Province
					Jeju Special Self-Governing Province
					Gwangju Metropolitan City

See also

• Administrative divisions of North Korea
• Special cities of North Korea
• Provinces of South Korea