This essay is a part of a larger series examining some of North Korea’s key institutions. The series has also covered the State Affairs Commission, the Politburo and the Central Committee, the Central Military Commission, the Supreme People’s Assembly, the Cabinet of Ministers, non-Party organizations, paramilitaries, local administration, the system of jurisprudence, the Ministry of Railroads, the secret police, the criminal police, the education system,  the intelligence services, and the agriculture of North Korea.

North Korea is one of the most industrialized poor nations or, depending on your point of view, one of the poorest