North Korea, officially Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, country in northeastern Asia that occupies the northern portion of the Korean Peninsula. North Korea is bounded on the north by China, on the northeast by Russia, on the east by the East Sea (Sea of Japan), on the south by South Korea, and on the west by the Yellow Sea. It has an area of 120,538 sq km (46,540 sq mi). The state of North Korea was established in 1948 as a result of the Soviet military occupation of the northern portion of the peninsula after World War II. The capital and largest city of North Korea is P’yŏngyang.