Country Guide

The Democratic People's Republic of North Korea occupies the northern half of the Korean peninsula. It has a relatively long land border, along the Yalu river, with the Chinese province of Manchuria. The north is a mountainous region with many areas rising to 1,800-2,450 m/6,000-8,000 ft.

The general features of the weather and climate of North Korea are described in more detail for South Korea. This account indicates in what ways the condition in North Korea differ from those in the south.

The climate of North Korea is rather more continental and extreme than that of the south. This is because it has a long land border and is more open to cold winds that blow from Manchuria and Siberia in winter.

Conditions in winter can be very cold; rivers freeze up for between three and four months and ice forms along the coast, blocking harbours and impeding navigation. Snow falls on as many as thirty-seven days at Pyongyang, and on many more days in the far north.

In the north there may be as many as 200 days with frost a year. The summer months are generally warm but, in the far north, summers are not warm enough for rice to be grown.

The tables for Wonsan on the east coast, and Pyongyang in a lowland area near the west coast, show that there is no very great difference between temperatures and rainfall throughout the year from one side of the country to the other.

The most unpleasant feature of the weather and climate of North Korea is undoubtedly the extreme cold and frequent wind chill in winter. Warm clothing is necessary at this time.