North Korea is a country on the Korean Peninsula of East Asia that is run by an authoritarian government, meaning it has strong central power that limits political freedoms. Today’s North and South Korea were once treated as one political unit, annexed by the Empire of Japan from 1910 until the end of World War II. Following World War II, the USSR occupied North Korea and the United States occupied South Korea with the goal of reuniting them, a goal that failed in 1948 when the regions became two separate states. These two states went to war from 1950 to 1953 before reaching a ceasefire. The Kim dynasty has led North Korea from 1948 until today, with three successive supreme leaders: Kim Il-sung (1948-1994), Kim Jong-il (1994-2011), and Kim Jong-un (2011-present).
