State · 1948 – present
North Korea
A state of 1948 – present — 78 years, still standing in East and Southeast Asia. It replaced People's Committee of North Korea and Korea. The atlas records 20 things within it — wars and battles 10 · unrest and atrocity 2 · famine and plague 2 · treaties 1 · people 5. Its line of rulers holds 3 people.
- Still standing: the span runs to the year of the build, 2026.
For the full story, the article on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); this page holds what the record says of the state.
- Stood
- 78 years
- and still standing
- Rulers
- 3
- the Supreme Leader of North Korea
- Most ground
- 129,300 km²
- in 1948
- Within it
- 20
- recorded rows
- Symbols
- 3
- on record, with years
Where it sits in time
Five thousand years, 3000 BCE to 2026; the state in gold, what it replaced or followed and what replaced or followed it in grey.
Before and after
The states the record files it as replacing or following, and those that replaced or followed it - Wikidata's own statements, each read from this state's side.
Before it
- Korea · replaces
- People's Committee of North Korea · replaces · 1947 – 1948
Rulers
The line of Supreme Leader of North Korea - the office this state names as its head of state.
| Ruler | Reign | Length | How it ended · source | To the ruler before |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kim Il Sung | 1948 – 1994 | 46 years | died in office of natural causesWikidata's manner of death | |
| Kim Jong Il | 1994 – 2011 | 17 years | died in office of natural causesWikidata's manner of death | child |
| Kim Jong Un | 2011 – in office | in office since 2011 | still in office | child |
3 rulers, 3 with terms dated as terms, covering 1948 – 2011. Median reign 31.5 years. 0 of 2 handovers irregular - a killing, a deposition, a rival claimant, a rising or a coup beside it. A blank in the last column means no kin on record, which is coverage, never “unrelated”.
Heads of government
The line of Premier of North Korea, drawn and never measured: a cabinet is not a reign.
| Kim Il Sung | 1948 – 1972 |
| Kim Il | 1972 – 1976 |
| Pak Song-chol | 1976 – 1977 |
| Yon Hyong-muk | 1988 – 1992 |
| Hong Song-nam | 1998 – 2003 |
| Pak Pong-ju | 2003 – 2007 |
| Kim Yong-il | 2007 – 2010 |
| Choe Yong-rim | 2010 – 2013 |
| Pak Pong-ju | 2013 – 2019 |
| Kim Jae-ryong | 2019 – 2020 |
| Kim Tok-hun | 2020 – … |
| Pak Thae-song | 2024 – … |
Ground held, by year
km² inside its borders as the borders dataset draws them, measured on an equal-area grid; a step series, held between the years the dataset maps.
129,300 km² in 1948, 126,700 km² in 2018; at its largest 129,300 km² in 1948. Cliopatria, CC BY 4.0.
Flags and arms, in order
Each symbol with the years its own statement gives; the timeline flies the one of the year on screen.
.svg/120px-Emblem_of_North_Korea_(1948%E2%80%931993).svg.png)
coat of arms, 1948 – 1992Emblem of North Korea (1948–1993) · Public domain 
flag, from 1948Flag of North Korea · Public domain 
coat of arms, from 1992Emblem of North Korea · Public domain
What happened within it, by century
Every row the atlas hosts under this state, by the century it began in: wars and battles in red, risings, regime changes and massacres beside them, everything else in grey. A tall bar is a century the record is full for, which is partly a fact about Wikipedia.
1900 – 199916 rows · 7 wars and battles · 2 risings, regime changes and massacres
- Kim Jong Un · ruler · 1982 – present
- Kim Il Sung · ruler · 1912 – 1994
- Kim Jong Il · ruler · 1941 – 2011
- Kim Yo Jong · politician · 1987 – present
- Kim Jong-nam · politician · 1971 – 2017
- Korean Armistice Agreement · treaty · 1953
- 1990s North Korean famine · famine · 1994 – 2000
- Battle of Chosin Reservoir · battle · 1950
and 8 more in the atlas.
2000 – 20994 rows · 3 wars and battles
- COVID-19 pandemic in North Korea · plague · 2022
- 2017–2018 North Korea crisis · war · 2017
- Daecheong incident · battle · 2009
- August 2017 North Korean missile launch over Japan · battle · 2017
Among all states
Each measure against the states that carry it, never against all of them: a bar is the share of those states below this one.
- How long it stood78 years
stood longer than 42% of 3,187 states with a recorded end or still standing.
- The most ground it held129,300 km²
held more ground at its peak than 51% of 1,465 states with a border in Cliopatria.
- Wars recorded per century2.0
had more wars on record per century than 97% of 3,187 states, counting the wars the atlas hosts under each.
- How long a reign lasted, at the median46 years
had longer reigns, at the median, than 93% of 967 states whose dated line can carry a median.
- Rulers on record3
has more rulers on record than 48% of 1,968 states with a line of rulers.
What led to it, and what came of it
The investigation's own picture: 10 causes the record names and 0 results, the strongest six of each at their own years, joined to the state by the kind of claim - a recorded statement solid, the article's sentence dashed, a theory dash-dot.
Open the investigation: every row with its evidence, the conditions at the time, the theories condition by condition, and the succession analysed.
Open in the atlas
- On the timeline, 1938 – 2036, with everything that stood beside it.
- On the map in 1948, live: scrub the year and watch its borders move.
- Investigate it: what led to it, what came of it, and its succession analysed.
Wikidata Q423 (CC0) · borders Cliopatria, CC BY 4.0 · coast and rivers Natural Earth · symbols from Wikimedia Commons, each credited above · data built 2026-10-06 · Pastlas v2.9.1, by Oleh Voronko. The published atlas and its data are for non-commercial use.