• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.28-37
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• 2008

In this study, we perform land surface monitoring of NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) variation by using remote sensing data during 1999-2005 over North Korea, which can't easily access to measure directly land surface characteristics due to one of the world's most closed societies. North Korea forest region has most abundant forest vegetation - so called Lungs of Korea in the Korea peninsula. NDVI represents vegetation activity used in many similar studies. In this study, we detect vegetation variation and analysis factors of the change over North Korea. By using variation of NDVI, we can infer that effect of drought over North Korea, and reduced vegetation indices by typhoon in North Korea. Land surface type except barren ground with decreased NDVI value is considered as when North Korea region was suffering from drought and typhoon effects, which show lower than mean of 7-year NDVI value. Especially, in recently, the food production of North Korea with political and economical issues can be inferred indirectly these trends by using estimated output data from this study.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.189-197
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• 2007

GIS is the tool widely used for the practical solution of spatial problems in every region regardless of the language and ideology. In this paper research trends and tendencies of GIS in North Korea are reviewed compared with those in South Korea. For this purpose, academic publications on GIS in North Korea are surveyed and classified according to main subjects in GIS. Such classification by main subjects of GIS in North Korea are conducted on the basis of the classification of research trends and tendencies of GIS in South Korea. As a result, researches in North Korea are mainly focused upon such fields as geodetic surveying and measurement, map manufacture, atmospheric phenomena, agriculture and disasters, while there are few studies related to such fields as national GIS policy and circulation, GIS education, internet-based GIS, and traffic, to name but a few. Most parts of applied data are based on low and medium resolution image such as meteorological satellite images, Landsat images, and so on. This reflects the low level of the development of GIS DB infrastructure in North Korea.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.83-89
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• 2020

There is a noticeable gap in the personnel structures of clinical laboratories between North Korea and South Korea. In North Korea, 'Laboratory Doctor' is similar to the workforce of 'Medical Technologist (commonly known as Clinical Laboratory Technologist or Medical Laboratory Scientist)' in South Korea. Considering preceding research based on the verbal evidence of North Korean healthcare personnel defectors, it is estimated that the status of laboratory doctor in North Korea generally corresponds to physician and feldsher (such as physician assistant in Western countries). Physicians and feldshers are trained and fostered for five and a half years in medical universities and for three years in medical vocational schools (so-called junior college of medicine). Unlike South Korea, the North Korea's healthcare personnel system does not subdivide the tasks, education, qualifications and law regarding the specialties of health experts. It is thought that the Korean Association of Medical Technologists needs to collaboratively search and present the milestones for establishment of a professional system on clinical laboratory personnel in North Korea through cooperative research on policies with the related organizations for better preparation of the unification of the Korean Peninsula.

• Convergence Security Journal
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.127-135
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• 2017

Today, Kim Jong-un, the third-hereditary regime in North Korea, is committing Nuclear Provocation more aggressively than the past when Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il dominated. Past South Korea government had suggested plans to restrain the provocation from North Korea and bring stabilization in the Korean Peninsula. However, consequentially it was limited to the primary role of the President. When President Trump takes over the government in February 2017, it has attracted the expectation about the issues occurred on the Korean Peninsula due to the pledge that he promised during the presidential election and his govern style. However, various speeches about the Korean Peninsula that he spoke recently made situations depressed about what South Korean currently encounters. Furthermore, previous regime in North Korea has laid the foundation for Kim Jong-un to be obsessed more on the nuclear and missile which has led him to provoke more imprudently by highlighting the light weight, advanced, and various kinds of nuclear and missiles. Thus, we would like to propose counter measures in order for South Korean government to handle and solve the issues that they encounters by themselves based on North Korea's Nuclear Provocation instead of relying on other countries to get involved and help.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.712-720
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• 2014

In this article, legislational and economic meaning of Marine Pollution Prevention Law (MPPL) of North Korea was studied with review and comparison of North Korea's environmental legislation system. North Korea's MPPL is the basic legislation system against pollution activities. This law has the purpose of gaining of marine environmental protection and resources and declares mainly the marine environmental protection with little definition of action plan and means. To analyze economic achievements of MPPL, more macro- and microeconomic data of North Korea should be accumulated. However, environmental issues are relatively effective to discuss common goal of environmental protection and economical cooperation between Korea and North Korea. To prepare reunification, understanding of North Korea's MPPL is the first step for collaboration of marine environmental conservation.

• Journal of Korean Medical classics
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.67-87
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• 2021

Objectives :The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the significance of the 『Joseonbogeonsa』 by examining North Korea's perspective in its documentation of the history of medicine, and to further understand North Korea's perception of Korean Traditional Medicine. Methods : The focus of examination was on the perspective of historical description as shown in the first chapter of the 『Joseonbogeonsa』. Its unique features were made clear through comparison with historical texts of medicine of South Korea such as the 『History of Medicine in Korea』, and the 『History of Korean Medicine』. In order to grasp the current of historical research in North Korea, various Traditional Medicine related dictionaries and academic journals of North Korea along with the 『Joseontongsa』 were examined. Results & Conclusions : The historical views of the 『Joseonbogeonsa』 could be categorized as nation-focused, materialistic, and nationalistic. These are core elements that make up North Korea's self-reliance ideology, which influenced the interpretation of medical facts. While the text is valuable in that it introduced new historical material along with its interpretation, and argued for a more independent development of Traditional Medicine, its limitation of interpreting historical material from a conclusive, pre-determined standpoint cannot be overlooked. The North Korean 'Goryeo Medicine' is defined by its historical nature rather than academic characteristics, and its significance is determined by its clinical efficacy rather than theoretical value.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.37-45
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• 2021

We have analyzed 42 research papers regarding on the solar astronomy written by North Korea scientists to investigate the current status of astronomical activities in North Korea. The papers are surveyed from the 'Bulletin of Astronomy', the 'Physics', the 'Bulletin of Academy of Science', and the 'Natural Science' in North Korea, and SCI journals. In addition, we refer to the presentation material announced in the 2015 IAU by director of Pyongyang Astronomical Observatory (PAO) and the 2013 OAD/IAU reports. We have analyzed the papers statistically according to three criteria such as research subject, research field, and research members. The main research subjects are the sunspot (28%), observation system (21%), and space environments (19%). The research fields are distributed with data analysis (50%), numerical method (29%), and instrument development (21%). There have been 25 and 9 researchers in the solar astronomy and space environment, respectively since 1995. North Korea's solar research activities were also investigated in three area: instrument, solar physics, and international research linkage. PAO has operated two of sunspot telescope and solar horizontal telescope for spectroscopy and polarimetry, but there is no specific information on solar radio telescopes. North Korea has cooperated in solar research with Europe and China. We expect that the results of this study will be used as useful resource in supporting astronomical cooperation between South and North Korea in the future.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.137-152
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• 2000

North Korean fugitives is one of various nominations referring to the North Koreans who have secretly crossed the territorial border of their country. It is a new terminology that huts gained wider usage in our society as we entered the 1990s. North Koreans list various motives for escaping their county, such as food shortage and disillusionment of belief in the system. Most of the forced repatriation of North Korean escapees takes place in China. The purpose of this study examines the family knife of female fugitives from North Korea in order to provide pertinent alterntives which are needed to secure basic human right of the female fugitives and enable them to keep stability of their family lives and to adapt themselves into new socio-cultural circumstances in China. For this, the preliminary survey performed to examine the demographic characteristics on the female fugitives; to find out the incentives and channels of their escape out of North Korea; to investigate what types of family life and family relationship they manage in China; to grasp their problems and need of family life in adaptation into Chinese society. The specific questions for grasping the general characteristics of the female fugitives are composed of age, education level residential district in North Korea. In order to find out main causes and influential factors of their escape from North Korea, the following questions are included: what the most important incentives and motives are; the frequency of escape; and whether they discuss their escape with their family or not. The questions to find out their present actual life situations in China are about difficult things to adjust in China, family life, relationship with husband, and their conversational diction, the degree of their mastering the chinese language, the degree of their adaptation to chinese way of living, and so forth, which reveal to what extent they are adapted themselves to new cultural situation in China. This study collected the data through face-to-face personal interview from July to October, 1999 Yenben province along the China-North Korea border. Data from 202 female fugitives were used in final analysis. This study uses the SAS PC program for windows, Ver, 6.12 to analyze the data such as the distribution of frequency, percentage, mean and so on. The results from this analysis are follows; the most principal motive of North Korean women's escape to china is to eat to live because of famine. Concerning the year when the fugitives escape from North Korea, all of the interviewees haute escaped since 1990. After escape their continual contact with their family in North Korea, 81.7% of the respondent have not been in touch with their family. The main reasons for their not contacting with their family in North Korea are that it is not helpful although they contacts with their family. Female fugitives from North Korea have difficulties in life. They have rather stable relationship to their husband, but they have experienced difficulties in other aspects of family life. Their main difficulties are largely from their relationships to husbands'family members, and from the problems relate to their family in North Korea, and their children. Based on this study, further research has to present supportive policies that help North Korean female escapees live without being deprived and protect their human rights. And the development of practical program to help their efficient social adaptation has to be continued without stop together.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.371-379
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• 2001

The present study was conducted to determine whether the food shortage situation in North Korea has affected its people differentially according to social class. We performed a literature search on North Korean books and documents on food and nutrition. We also conducted a mail survey on North Korean defectors to estimate the energy and nutrient intake and the practice of foraging for wild foods at the time of food crisis in North Korea. The subjects were 150 adults, 104 men and 46 women, aged 20 years and older, who resettled in the South Korea after the food crisis. The mean energy intakes for men and women were estimated to be 1,260 kcal and 980.6 kcal, respectively, which were far less than 2,900 kcal and 2,600 kcal, the intake levels recommended for North Korean men and women, respectively. Thirty seven percent of the subjects reported a lack of foods adequate enough for work and other daily activities, and fifty seven percent reported a routine use of wild foods such as roots, grass, stalks, and tree bark with an average of 4 items per day. Food consumption patterns on a typical day were different by social classes with the high class people consuming an affluent diet in the midst of a severe food shortage.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.371-378
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• 2022

The Ryomyong Street project is the only construction project for which the construction cost is known, but its scale cannot be estimated because it is marked in North Korean Won. In this paper, the construction cost per m² of North Korean apartment building construction was calculated based on the construction and assembly amount of the Ryomyong Street project. 160 to 1 was calculated as the ratio of the building construction cost per m² between South and North Korea based on the Ryomyong Street project in Pyongyang and Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation. This ratio can be used to assume the construction size presented in North Korean won as there is no official exchange rate between the two Koreas.