Ancient Korea
The Korean Peninsula was settled by prehistoric tribes and by 2333 BC, according to legend, the ancient kingdom of Gojoseon was founded. Over subsequent centuries, the peninsula saw the rise of Three Kingdoms – Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla. In 668 AD, the Silla kingdom unified most of Korea with Tang China's aid. Later, the Goryeo Dynasty (918–1392) and Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910) ruled a unified Korea for many centuries, developing a distinct Korean culture and identity.
Japanese Colonial Rule (1910–1945)
In the late 19th–early 20th century, Korea became a pawn of imperial powers. Japan won control over Korea after defeating China (1895) and Russia (1905) in war. In 1910, Japan formally annexed Korea, beginning a harsh colonial rule that sought to suppress Korean language and culture. This era lasted until the end of World War II in 1945.
Division of Korea (1945)
With Japan's defeat in WWII, Korea was liberated in 1945 but immediately partitioned. The peninsula was split at the 38th parallel – the Soviet Union occupied the north and the United States occupied the south. This was meant to be temporary, but Cold War rivalry solidified the division into two separate regimes.
Founding of North Korea (1948)
On September 9, 1948, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) was proclaimed in the north under the leadership of Kim Il-sung, a former anti-Japanese guerrilla backed by the Soviet Union. Kim Il-sung established a communist government with himself as President (Great Leader) and the Workers' Party of Korea (KWP) as the ruling (and only) party. Around the same time, the Republic of Korea (South Korea) was established in the south. The division of Korea became permanent, setting the stage for conflict.
Korean War (1950–1953)
On June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, aiming to unify the peninsula by force. Backed by Soviet equipment and later Chinese troops, North Korea's offensive initially advanced, but a United Nations coalition led by the U.S. intervened to aid South Korea. The war raged for three years, laying waste to most of Korea. It ended in July 1953 with an Armistice Agreement, not a peace treaty, effectively restoring the pre-war borders around the 38th parallel and creating the DMZ. The conflict left millions dead and entrenched the hostility between North Korea and the U.S./South Korea.
Post-War and Kim Il-sung Era
After 1953, Kim Il-sung focused on consolidating an autocratic one-party rule and rebuilding the war-torn country. With extensive aid from the Soviet Union and China, North Korea initially achieved rapid industrial growth and built a cult of personality around Kim Il-sung as the "Great Leader." In the 1950s–60s, North Korea purged internal dissent and distanced itself alternately from the Soviet and Chinese models to pursue an independent line.
Juche Ideology
Kim Il-sung promulgated the state ideology of Juche ("self-reliance") in the 1960s, emphasizing political independence, economic self-sufficiency, and military self-defense. In practice, Juche became a tool for extreme nationalism and near-religious veneration of Kim Il-sung.
By the 1970s, North Korea had become a highly centralized totalitarian state with a command economy. Kim Il-sung's regime also established a hereditary succession: in 1980, he anointed his son Kim Jong-il as heir apparent.
Late Cold War (1970s–1980s)
North Korea's economic growth stagnated in the 1970s, falling behind South Korea. The country maintained a policy of military readiness and carried out provocative actions against the South (such as infiltration attempts, assassination plots, and militant incidents along the DMZ) during this period. North Korea also began a secret nuclear program by the late 1980s.
The Arduous March – 1990s
In 1991, the collapse of the Soviet Union (North Korea's chief benefactor) triggered a dramatic economic crisis in the DPRK. With the loss of Soviet subsidies for food and fuel, and a series of natural disasters (droughts and floods) in the mid-1990s, North Korea's state-run economy collapsed. A devastating famine struck from about 1994 to 1998, euphemistically called the "Arduous March." Industrial output plummeted, the public distribution system failed, and hundreds of thousands (possibly millions) of people died of starvation.
During this time, many desperate citizens began bartering and black-market trading to survive, marking the rise of informal "jangmadang" markets. In July 1994, Kim Il-sung died of a heart attack after ruling for 46 years. His son Kim Jong-il succeeded him, becoming the new supreme leader.
Kim Jong-il Era (1994–2011)
Kim Jong-il inherited a country in crisis. He continued the regime's absolute control while slightly tolerating the emerging gray markets as a "pressure valve" for the crippled economy. North Korea pursued a policy of "Songun" (military-first), further prioritizing the army in distribution of scarce resources.
During Kim Jong-il's rule, North Korea developed nuclear weapons: it withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2003, and conducted its first nuclear test in 2006, followed by additional nuclear tests in 2009 and 2013. The regime also built long-range missile capabilities, test-firing ballistic missiles like the Taepodong in the late 1990s and 2000s.
Internationally, this era saw intermittent engagement and aid, but ultimately relations soured. A brief warming with South Korea occurred during the Sunshine Policy years (2000 inter-Korean summit), yet no lasting reconciliation was achieved. Kim Jong-il groomed his youngest son, Kim Jong-un, as his successor around 2010.
Kim Jong-un Era (2011–present)
After Kim Jong-il's death in December 2011, his son Kim Jong-un, then in his late 20s, assumed power as the third-generation leader. He was quickly hailed as "Supreme Leader" and took on top titles (Chairman of the National Defense Commission, later State Affairs Commission, and General Secretary of the Workers' Party).
Under Kim Jong-un, North Korea initially intensified its nuclear and missile programs – conducting more powerful nuclear tests in 2016 and 2017, and successfully test-launching intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of reaching the U.S. by 2017. These actions provoked new rounds of tough UN sanctions.
In 2018, Kim Jong-un pivoted to diplomacy: he engaged in historic summits with South Korea's President (crossing the DMZ for meetings) and with U.S. President Donald Trump, as well as talks with China's leader. These led to a temporary thaw, including a moratorium on nuclear tests and missile launches. However, by 2019–2020 the negotiations faltered without a denuclearization deal. North Korea has since reasserted its weapons development.
Recent Developments
North Korea remains an isolated, heavily sanctioned state. In 2020, it closed its borders entirely in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, cutting off the limited trade and tourism it had, which further shrank the economy. This self-imposed isolation persisted for several years, only easing slightly by 2023.
Throughout the pandemic, Kim Jong-un acknowledged the country's economic struggles and food shortages in rare public admissions, but he has continued to emphasize "self-reliance" and tightened control over the economy. As of 2025, North Korea remains essentially a family-run dictatorship under Kim Jong-un, with an impoverished economy and ongoing human rights concerns. The goal of unifying Korea under Pyongyang's rule is still enshrined in its constitution, and state propaganda continues to portray the U.S. and South Korea as hostile enemies. The Korean War armistice endures, meaning the two Koreas are technically still at war after over 70 years.