North Korea Neighbouring Countries and East Asian Map

Geographical Features

North Korea’s landscape plays a big role in how it deals with its neighbors and why it’s such a key player in East Asia.

Bordering China and Russia

Up north, North Korea rubs shoulders with both China and Russia. Those Yalu (Amnok) and Tumen rivers? They’re like nature’s way of drawing the line between these countries.

Country	Border Length (km)	Key Rivers
China	1,352	Yalu (Amnok), Tumen
Russia	17	Tumen

So, North Korea’s got this lengthy border with China, stretching over 1,352 kilometers, mainly following those meandering Yalu and Tumen rivers. Over time, these borders have seen trade, culture, and a fair share of drama. Though let’s not gloss over serious security steps like having guards ready to use force against those trying to cross uninvited.

That little slice of border with Russia is a mere 17 kilometers, hanging around the northeastern tip along the Tumen River. Still, this spot is pretty clutch for the ties that sprouted post-World War II with ol’ Mother Russia and China.

South Korea’s DMZ

Down south, North Korea’s locked in with South Korea by the imposing Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

Section	Length (km)	Features
DMZ	250	Barbed wire fences, guard posts

Imagine this: a beefy strip of land roughly 250 kilometers long and about 4 kilometers wide, set up way back in 1953 following the Korean War armistice. It’s like a big, barbed-wire hyphen on the map separating North from South Korea—both literally and metaphorically.

North and South Korea weren’t always on opposite sides. For more than a thousand years, they were one big happy family until post-World War II politics took them on different paths. Now, this DMZ is more than a no-go zone; it stands as a big, bold markup on a global scale of their uniquely divergent political and social journeys.

For those intrigued by parallel stories, check out how Lithuania or Malaysia manage their neighborly relations too.

Neighboring Countries

North Korea, tucked away in the lands of East Asia, rubs shoulders with three noteworthy neighbors: China, Russia, and South Korea. Understanding these neighboring countries sheds light on North Korea’s geographic nuances and political landscape.

China

China snuggles up to North Korea from the north. Defining their boundary, we have the Yalu River and the Tumen River as watery guardians. The Yalu meanders its way southwest for a decent 500 miles (800 km), ultimately mingling with the waters of Korea Bay. Meanwhile, the Tumen River heads northeast, clocking about 325 miles (520 km) before it finds its way to the East Sea.

China holds a VIP pass in North Korea’s corridors of economy and politics. Thanks to being just a stone’s throw away, China serves up hefty economic support and is a big-time trading buddy for North Korea. Curious about the economics between these two? Head over to our Economic Aid Relationships section.

Border Feature	Distance
Yalu River	500 miles (800 km)
Tumen River	325 miles (520 km)

Russia

Just north, there’s a tiny handshake of a border with Russia. It might not cover a whole lot of ground like the ones with China and South Korea, but it’s still a card in the deck. Russia’s share of the border gives North Korea a peek into the Russian Far East.

On the money front, Russia isn’t as deeply entrenched as China, but they’ve got their own tango going on. The two countries mainly trade glances in transportation and energy—keeping things strategic and diplomatic, you could say.

South Korea

Looking South, there’s a suspense-filled showdown with South Korea across a no-man’s-land called the demilitarized zone (DMZ). Stretched 2.5 miles (4 km) wide, this zone is a child of the 1953 armistice agreement and ranks among Earth’s most armed-up borders. Troop numbers? 630,000 South Korean boots and 1.2 million North Korean ones, ready and waiting.

The saga between North and South Korea is a nail-biter, marinated in layers of history. Toss in South Korea’s friendship with the United States, which levels up the drama—29,000 US troops parked in South Korea under a pact of mutual defense. If you’re curious about the military chess game and alliances, our sections on Missile Threats and US Troop Presence offer deeper insights.

Fancy knowing more about who neighbors who? Peek at our write-ups on Malaysia neighboring countries and Mongolia neighboring countries for a full scoop.

Economic Connections

Economic Aid Relationships

North Korea’s history with economic aid is a wild ride marked by a complex give-and-take relationship with some heavy hitters. Back in the day, the Soviet Union, a bunch of Eastern European comrades, and, of course, China, were all about sending help North Korea’s way. Even though they preach the Juche idea—doing it on their own—North Korea often found itself looking for a little financial love from the outside to keep things ticking over. When the Soviet Union chilled out for good and its pals followed suit in the early ’90s, North Korea hit some bumpy patches, food ran scarce, and folks were going hungry.

Nowadays, China’s the ride-or-die for North Korea, stepping up as their main business buddy. By 2023, China was holding down the fort with about 98% of what North Korea buys and sells beyond its borders. The two have rolled out some fun projects together, like a bigger shipping game in and outta North Korea, zippy trains connecting cities, and setting up shop across the border in Dandong for trade (Council on Foreign Relations).

Period	Aid Provider	Key Support
Pre-1990s	Soviet Union, Eastern Europe	Financial aid, tech know-how
Post-1990s	China	Financial help, food, and fuel

Limited Foreign Investment

Come the 1990s, North Korea was having a hard time keeping things afloat, so they cracked open the door just a smidge for foreign cash and trade. By the late part of the decade, they were on the lookout for investors from all over, including folks from Europe and South Korea. But, thanks to tight international rules and a political scene as steady as a teetering seesaw, not a whole lotta money has found its way in.

Still, China stuck around as the big dog of trade, pumping life into sectors like coal exports and fishing, which are big moneymakers for North Korea.

Want to see how this song plays in other parts of the world? Check out how places like Luxembourg or Madagascar handle neighboring ties and economic stuff.

Period	Investment Source	Key Sectors
Late 1990s to now	China, South Korea, EU	Coal biz, fishing, fish farms

The dance of diplomacy and money moves, like a soap opera, keeps spicing up how foreigners cough up cash in North Korea. And if you’re curious about how countries like Malaysia or Mali are doing the neighborly thing, pop over to those links.

Military Tensions

Let’s break down the ongoing military issues brewing in areas around North Korea, like when you mix vinegar and baking soda—action-packed. There’s an intricate dance that involves big players like China, Russia, and South Korea.

Missile Threats

When it comes to North Korea’s missiles, it’s like they threw a wrench into everyone’s chill Saturday afternoon. Nearby folks like Japan, South Korea, and even the US have their hackles up. North Korea has a knack for test-launching missiles and waving around the idea of striking out, which doesn’t exactly help cool things down (Council on Foreign Relations). To deal with this, Uncle Sam has parked the fancy THAAD missile defense in South Korea. It’s like having a really good umbrella for a storm that may or may not come. Besides that, there’s a slap on the wrist via sanctions from the U.N. Security Council, Japan, South Korea, and, of course, the States.

US Troop Presence

You can’t talk about the neighborhood kids without mentioning the huge presence of US troops in the area. North and South Korea are basically stuck to each other, separated by the DMZ—a place that’s got enough military hardware to impress even the most intense action movie buff. We’re talking about a lineup of 630,000 South Korean troops staring down 1.2 million North Korean troops.

Country	Troop Presence	Defensive Measures
South Korea	630,000 troops near DMZ	THAAD system
North Korea	1.2 million troops near DMZ	A lotta missile tests

North Korea’s army, the Korean People’s Army (KPA), doesn’t help anyone sleep easier at night. With around 1.28 million active personnel and another 6.3 million on tap between reserves and paramilitary, they’re like the heavyweight champs no one can ignore. They’ve got land, sea, air forces, and the world’s most oversized special ops squad.

If you’re curious for more context on how this impacts Russia or China, check out Russia neighboring countries and China neighboring countries. Or dive into more peaceful shores with Malaysia neighboring countries or Madagascar neighboring countries.

Diplomatic Relations

China and North Korea Relations

These two have buddy-ed up for a while now, can’t say it’s always been smooth sailing, but what relationship doesn’t get a little bumpy? They made it official back in 1949, tying the knot with a defense treaty in ’61, which, fun fact, is China’s one and only. This cozy agreement shows just how deep their ties run.

When it comes to trade, China’s got North Korea covered. In 2023, they were behind about 98% of what North Korea imported and exported (Council on Foreign Relations). Without China’s support, the North Korean economy would be up a creek without a paddle, especially when it comes to food and energy.

Aspect	Details
Formal Relations Began	1949
Defense Treaty Date	1961
China’s Slice of North Korea’s Trade in 2023	98%
Key Support Areas	Food and energy

When the pandemic hit, North Korea was all, “Thanks, but no thanks” to vaccines from the UN’s COVAX and China at first, although they caved in the end and most likely grabbed some of those jabs from China (Council on Foreign Relations). Shows you how North Korea tries to balance getting help and doing its own thing.

United States and North Korea Relations

Tension’s the name of the game between these two. North Korea’s fancy nuclear toys haven’t helped smooth things over. They launched the Hwasong-15 missile in 2017, stirring the pot quite a bit, as it can reach every nook and cranny of the US. Folks guess they had around 15 to 60 bombs in their stash back then, including some big bad hydrogen ones (Wikipedia).

Aspect	Details
Big Missile Strut	Hwasong-15 (2017)
Missile’s Dance Floor	Can twirl its way right across the US
Nuclear Arsenal Size in 2017	Between 15-60 bombs

Apart from nuclear stuff, the US has its eyes and guys on the ground in South Korea, which stirs the regional pot more. North Korea’s got ties with 164 independent states, including the EU and other global players (Wikipedia). For the scoop on military moves and grooves, check out our US Troop Presence section.

North Korea’s tango with both China and the US shows off its ability to juggle different diplomatic styles. If you’re nosy about how China generally gets along with its crew in the neighborhood, you might want to wander over to our China Neighbouring Countries spot.

For more juicy details on who’s buddying up with who, why not take a virtual trip to:

• madagascar neighbouring countries
• malaysia neighbouring countries
• mexico neighbouring countries

Ongoing Developments

Boy, oh boy, North Korea’s been shaking things up on the diplomatic front lately. You could say they’re throwing a few embassies out with the bathwater.

Recent Embassy Closures

When February 2024 rolled around, North Korea decided to tidy up its international ties a bit. They shut down almost a fifth of their embassies abroad. They went from having 53 diplomatic missions in various countries to whittling that number down to 44 (NCNK).

Year	Number of Diplomatic Missions
2023	53
2024	44

This cutback looks like North Korea’s attempt at rethinking their global presence and focusing more on stuff closer to home. Their take on life is all about “Juche,” which is a fancy way of saying, “Hey, we got this! We don’t need nobody else,” so they’re juggling their global schmoozing with some home-sweet-home love.

Diplomatic Relations Trends

When it comes to making friends (or not), North Korea’s putting a new spin on things. By the middle of 2024, they were still pals with around 160 countries. That’s a bit shy of the 166 they had on their buddy list back in 2014.

Year	Number of States with Formal Relations
2014	166
2024	160

There’s always some drama in international circles. Like back in July 2022, Ukraine threw their friendship with North Korea out the window when North Korea started chumming up with two regions in Ukraine that got cozy with Russia – Donetsk and Luhansk (NCNK).

Meanwhile, across the pond, the European Union hasn’t rocked the boat much with North Korea. They made things official back in 2001. European embassies in Pyongyang occasionally moonlight as the EU’s hangout spot.

These comings and goings in diplomatic circles are a pretty big deal, especially for countries keeping an eye on North Korea. It shakes the geopolitical ground for neighbors like Lithuania and Malaysia. Want the scoop on them? Check what’s happening over here for the nitty-gritty on Lithuania neighboring countries or Malaysia neighboring countries.