An overview of North Korea’s military capabilities

40 maps that explain North Korea

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is one of the most misunderstood countries in the world. Use these maps and charts, compiled by Vox, for context and clarity on North Korea. North Korea has a large military and an advanced nuclear...

North Korea, in nine infographics

In recent decades, North Korea has spent nearly a third of its annual Gross Domestic Product on military spending, although data is not always forthcoming. This spending has funded major nuclear and missile projects as a means to deter attacks from...

A backgrounder on North Korea’s power structure

North Korea has been ruled by three generations of the Kim family since 1948, one of the world’s longest-running dynastic dictatorships, where absolute authority flows from the Supreme Leader. Read the Council on Foreign Relations' backgrounder to understand the country’s structure of power.

North Korea country profile

North Korea has often been described as one of the world’s most secretive societies. Learn the basics about the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea with this breakdown from the BBC. North Korea emerged in 1948, following the end of the Second World War. Today, it remains one of the few countries still (nominally) under communist rule. Key facts unpack the realities of everyday life inside North Korea.

The North Korean nuclear threat, explained

What would happen if North Korea gets a working ICBM Watch this six-minute video by Vox for an explanation of the North Korean nuclear threat. The Soviet Union first gave nuclear technology to North Korea in the 1950s, when they helped their ally...

What missiles does North Korea have?

In recent years, North Korea has tested a variety of ballistic and cruise missiles as well as both submarine-launched missiles and hypersonic missiles, which can fly at low altitude (to escape radar detection) and at several times the speed of sound. Dive into this visualization by the BBC to break down what missiles North Korea currently has.

Is North Korea fighting a food crisis?

North Korea is facing a food crisis placing it on the brink of famine. Read (or watch) Al Jazeera’s detailed take on the food crisis unfolding in North Korea. Since the 1950s, the country has relied on a collective agriculture system. But...

A look inside North Korea through photographs

What does life look like inside North Korea? Get a behind-the-scenes peek through 38 photos in the Atlantic.

A summary of human rights violations in North Korea

North Korea severely restricts the rights of its citizens. Read Amnesty International’s summary of the current state of human rights in North Korea. Malnutrition was widespread in North Korea in 2022—more than 40% of the population required...

North Korea's Kim Jong Un travels in a train with a helicopter and antiaircraft guns

The train, known as the Taeyangho (or "sun"), is a moving fortress, the country's equivalent of Air Force One. Its windows are bulletproof, exteriors built to withstand explosions, and heavy with armaments. Kim claims the train helps signal closeness to the people.

South Korea is separated from North Korea by a demilitarized zone

There’s a lot of symbolism going on in the South Korean flag: a red-and-blue yin-yang represents the harmony created by opposing forces, and the white background represents peace and purity. The four black trigrams symbolize the four elements. The CIA World Factbook has more info on this country of 52 million, including where it ranks globally on obesity rates, energy consumption, and more.

A timeline of Russia-North Korea relations

North Korea and Russia have often had aligned interests, yet their relationship has experienced many highs and lows. Al Jazeera’s explainer outlines the key events defining Russia-North Korea relations. Russia and North Korea were allies during...

A digital archive of the Korean War

The Korean War largely shaped the evolution of the Cold War in Asia. Explore the Wilson Center’s digital collection of primary sources—including essays, profiles, popular documents, and a timeline—to learn about the Korean War. In 1945, the...

86% of the world's 12,321 nuclear warheads are held by just two countries

As of early 2026, the US and Russia together control about 86% of the world's more than 12,000 nuclear warheads—over 9,600 in military stockpiles. None of the seven other nuclear nations holds more than 600.

Comparing military power: China and Taiwan

When it comes to power, China and Taiwan are predictably lopsided, though in some regards Taiwan may be able to hold its own. This site crunches the numbers for each country and compares them side by side. See what the totals are and what either side's military seems to be focused on.

Breaking down Western military weapons in Ukraine

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Western military aid has helped dictate Ukraine's capability and strategy on the battlefield. From advanced ground-launched missiles to millions of rounds of ammunition, the supplies have been critical for Ukraine but force Western countries to tip-toe around the appearance of direct conflict with Russia. This visual deep-dive breaks down some of the most important military aid to date.

Norway operates the largest SWF in the world—managing more than $2T in assets

The fund is considered the gold standard SWF because of its transparency around investments, politically independent governance, and strong ethical boundaries that serve as the backbone of the investment philosophy. For example, fund managers will not invest in coal, tobacco, or nuclear weapons, because these investments are considered harmful to humanity.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps became one of the most powerful forces in the Middle East

Created after the 1979 revolution to protect the new Islamic Republic, the IRGC grew into a force that controls Iran's ballistic missile arsenal, funds, and arms regional proxy groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas, and answers directly to the supreme leader.

The treaty's Article 5 requires mutual defense, but not necessarily military action

Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty established NATO’s principle of collective defense. This resource examines the historical context, legal interpretations, and practical applications of this commitment, including its sole invocation after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is independent of Iran's regular army and is one of the most powerful and influential military-political organizations in the Middle East.

A critic on what BTS' return from military service means

Sarah A. Son, a lecturer in Korean Studies at the University of Sheffield, argues that K-pop icons now recognize how intertwined their band's identity is with that of their country. In her review of Netflix's documentary "BTS: The Return," Son suggests the group, after serving in the military, is more attuned to the pressures of such a specific kind of stardom.

Roughly 60,000 people serve 11 UN peacekeeping missions

One of the UN’s primary roles is peacekeeping—deploying personnel to conflict zones to maintain stability and protect civilians. The Better World Campaign’s page on UN peacekeeping offers a comprehensive overview of these missions, highlighting their global reach and the involvement of over 2 million personnel from 125 countries across 71 operations.

Who are the FARC?

The FARC (or the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) are Colombia’s largest rebel group. They have been fighting the longest-running armed insurgency in the Western Hemisphere against security forces in Colombia – one of the world’s main...

China is the world’s largest importer of crude oil

China is pushing to reduce its reliance on US oil to limit geopolitical vulnerabilities. It’s rapidly becoming the world’s renewable energy superpower.

A ‘supernote,’ or nearly-perfect counterfeit $100 bill, was recently found in South Korea

These “supernotes” have even fooled US government officials. North Korea is widely believed to be behind the creation of these counterfeit banknotes.

Explore the extensive security in and around the White House

The White House is one of the most secure buildings in the world. Protected by the Secret Service, it features armed patrols, rooftop snipers, barriers, and sensors—layered defenses designed to deter intrusion.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

Discover the catastrophic consequences of a failure of the US electrical grid—something that is more likely than many Americans think.

Neutron stars, the remains of some massive stars after they explode in a supernova, are the densest directly observable objects in the universe.

In 2019, a laptop loaded with six of the worst malware in history and described as 'an exhibit of historical weaponry' sold for $1.3M.

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

Learn how your body is, scientifically, like a firework with its own slow, controlled burn.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

See these 16 pieces of art evoking phobias of snakes, flying, spiders, and more. 

See the 25 of the best photos of auroras from around the world.

Larger animals like giraffes, elephants, and blue whales have developed a unique defense against cancer, a phenomenon known as Peto's Paradox

Some researchers have labeled nomophobia, the fear of being without your phone, as 'the phobia of the 21st century.'

Explore an interactive map of battles from the American Revolution, along with detailed summaries of each engagement

Learn how to read a prospectus, the juicy document that any company must file with the SEC before going public.

US intelligence allegedly pursued more than 600 schemes to assassinate Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro.

The syncytiotrophoblast is the outer layer of the placenta and the largest human cell, spanning an area about twice that of a king-sized bedsheet.

Experimental hantavirus vaccines and therapies, still under development, have long been funded by the US military.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

Calculate how much of your tax dollars go to each federal program based on your income, filing status, and number of children

The identity of the Tank Man in the iconic photo from the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests remains unknown and was possibly killed.

A pickleball's loud 'pop' sound can reach 120 decibels, which is equivalent to a hammer hitting a nail

Prince's sexually explicit 1984 track 'Darling Nikki' attracted the ire of the Parents Music Resource Center, an advocacy group that inspired the Parental Advisory sticker, even though the song ends with a Christian message.