Provinces (Korean: 도; Hanja: 道; RR: do; MR: to) are the first level of division within North Korea. There are nine provinces in North Korea: Chagang, North Hamgyong, South Hamgyong, North Hwanghae, South Hwanghae, Kangwon, North Pyongan, South Pyongan, and Ryanggang.[1]

Unlike in decentralized states, the provinces of North Korea are not autonomous local governments and merely act as administrative arms of the central government, responsible for implementing directives from the Supreme People's Assembly, the Cabinet and ultimately the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK).

History

Although the details of local administration have changed dramatically over time, the basic outline of the current three-tiered system was implemented under the reign of Gojong in 1895. A similar system also remains in use in South Korea.

Provinces (Korean: 도; Hancha: 道) are the highest-ranked administrative divisions in North Korea. Provinces have equal status to the special cities.

List of provinces

The populations listed for each province are from the 2008 North Korea Census. From this census, an additional 702,372 people are living in military camps.

NameChosŏn'gŭlHanchaISO PopulationArea
(km2)		Density
(/km2)		CapitalRegion
Chagang자강도慈江道KP-04 1,299,83016,76577.5 KanggyeKwanso
North Hamgyong함경북도咸鏡北道KP-09 2,327,36215,980145.6 ChongjinKwanbuk
South Hamgyong함경남도咸鏡南道KP-08 3,066,01318,534165.4 HamhungKwannam
North Hwanghae황해북도黃海北道KP-06 2,113,6728,153.7259.2 SariwonHaeso
South Hwanghae황해남도黃海南道KP-05 2,310,4858,450.3273.4 HaejuHaeso
Kangwon강원도江原道KP-07 1,477,58211,091133.2 WonsanKwandong
North Pyongan평안북도平安北道KP-03 2,728,66212,680.3215.2 SinuijuKwanso
South Pyongan평안남도平安南道KP-02 4,051,69611,890.6340.7 PyongsongKwanso
Ryanggang량강도兩江道KP-10 719,26913,88051.8 HyesanKwannam

Claimed provinces

North Korea historically claimed seven provinces on the territory controlled by South Korea. These provinces were based on the divisions of the Japanese era, but corresponded somewhat to the present South Korean provinces and the special cities partitioned out of them, owing to the alterations in the provincial division affected by South Korea being more conservative relatively to those affected by the north. People's committees for these claimed provinces were elected in 1950 during the Korean War, when much of South Korea was under the DPRK's control.

Since the late 1950s, North Korea had a government-in-exile for South Korean administrative divisions similar to its South Korean counterpart. These were initially composed of South Korean defectors to the North who survived the post-war purges of 1953-1960, but their descendants later took over gradually as the initial defectors died out; an analogous situation is the Taiwan delegation to the PRC National People's Congress, which was likewise initially composed of Taiwanese communists but later replaced with their descendants in Mainland China. These individuals, who were to assume office after South Korea's "liberation", also generally served in other offices within North Korea at various levels. Top offices, such as the WPK Secretary of Seoul (though not the chairman of the Seoul City People's Committee, which was reserved for a southerner or a descendant of southerners), were reserved for people born in North Korea. These titular officials have access to documents about the South Korean city, town or county they are supposedly responsible for, and are sent to training camps once a year where they are given lectures about the current situation in South Korea.[2][3] The status of this government-in-exile after North Korea's abandonment of peaceful reunification is unknown; however, since the new policy does not exclude the possibility of reunification by armed force, these officials could still be appointed as military governors were South Korea to be conquered by the North (as they were expected to assume office this way even before the abandonment of peaceful reunification[3]).

As part of leader Kim Jong Un's declaration that deemed peaceful unification unfeasible with South Korea, the North Korean constitution was amended in 2024 to redefine the Republic of Korea — now recognising its existence, but without establishing bilateral relations — as its 'primary enemy state' (적대국); relinquishing its claim to the said areas, but at the same time vowed to reclaim the South through "nuclear force". However, the full copy of its updated constitution, which may include exact articles or amendments related to territorial changes, has yet to be released for international audiences to further substantiate the North's recent actions.[4][5][6][7] On 23 March 2026, the Constitution was amended by the first session of the 15th Supreme People's Assembly, with the new amendments stating that North Korea's territory "includes the territory bordering the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation to the north, and the Republic of Korea to the south, as well as the territorial seas and airspace established thereon".[8]

Historical provinceNameChosŏn'gŭlHanchaCapitalEquivalent South Korean provinces
Ch'ungch'ŏng North Ch'ungch'ŏng 충청북도忠淸北道 Ch'ŏngju North Chungcheong Province
Sejong Special Self-Governing City (part)
Ch'ungch'ŏng South Ch'ungch'ŏng 충청남도忠淸南道 Taejŏn South Chungcheong Province
Daejeon Metropolitan City
Sejong Special Self-Governing City (part)
Kyŏnggi Kyŏnggi 경기도京畿道 Sŏul Gyeonggi Province (except parts of Pocheon and Yeoncheon County)
Seoul Special City
Incheon Metropolitan City
Kyŏngsang North Kyŏngsang 경상북도慶尙北道 Taegu North Gyeongsang (except Uljin County)
Daegu Metropolitan City
Kyŏngsang South Kyŏngsang 경상남도慶尙南道 Pusan South Gyeongsang Province
Busan Metropolitan City
Ulsan Metropolitan City
Chŏlla North Chŏlla 전라북도全羅北道 Chŏnju North Jeolla Province
Chŏlla South Chŏlla 전라남도全羅南道 Kwangju South Jeolla Province
Jeju Special Self-Governing Province
Gwangju Metropolitan City

See also

References

  1. ↑ "A Guide to the Provinces of North Korea". Young Pioneer Tours. April 25, 2019. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  2. ↑ Hotham, Oliver (December 22, 2017). "Dreams of unification: why Pyongyang can't conquer the peninsula | NK News". NK News - North Korea News. Retrieved March 11, 2026.
  3. 1 2 "синекура, товарищ секретарь!". tttkkk.livejournal.com (in Russian). Retrieved March 11, 2026.
  4. ↑ "North Korea's Kim Jong Un abandons unification goal with South". January 16, 2024. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
  5. ↑ "North Korea says its revised constitution defines South Korea as 'hostile state' for first time". AP News. October 16, 2024. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
  6. ↑ Kim, Yong-taek (January 25, 2024). "[김용택 칼럼] 북한이 한국을 '대한민국'으로 호칭한 이유". Retrieved August 10, 2025.
  7. ↑ "North Korea redefines South Korea as a 'hostile' state". France 24. October 17, 2024. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
  8. ↑ Kwon, Soo-hyun (May 6, 2026). "[표] 북한 헌법 개정 내용" [[Table] Contents of North Korean Constitution Amendments]. Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provinces_of_North_Korea