Administrative divisions of North Korea

The three-level administrative system used in North Korea was first inaugurated by Kim Il Sung in 1952, as part of a massive restructuring of local government.

The three special administrative regions were all created in 2002 for the development of collaborative ventures with South Korea and other countries.

One of them, the Sinuiju Special Administrative Region, was intended to draw Chinese investment and enterprise, but as of 2006 appears never to have been implemented.

The most common second-level division is the county (kun; 군; 郡), a less urbanized area within a province or directly governed city.

The downtown areas within cities are divided into neighborhoods (dong, 동; 洞), and a populous part of a county forms a town (ŭp, 읍; 邑).