Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the context of "United States in the Korean War"

The Northern Limit Line or North Limit Line (NLL) – 북방한계선 (in ROK) – is a disputed maritime demarcation line in the Yellow (West) Sea between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the north, and the Republic of Korea (ROK) in the south. This line of military control acts as the de facto maritime boundary between North and South Korea.

The People's Republic of Korea (Korean: 조선인민공화국) was a short-lived provisional government that was organized at the time of the surrender of the Empire of Japan at the end of World War II. It was proclaimed on 6 September 1945, as Korea was being divided into two occupation zones, with the Soviet Union occupying the north and the United States occupying the south. Based on a network of people's committees, it presented a program of democratization of society and the economy.

In the south, the US military government declared the PRK to be illegitimate on 12 December 1945. In the north, under the auspice of the Soviet military government, the Korean Worker's Party led by Kim il-sung took over the People's Committee by incorporating them into the political structure of the emerging Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), and by exerting an ever-increasing direct influence on the agenda and structure of other smaller political parties (such as the KDP and the DIP).

The politics of North Korea (officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea or DPRK) takes place within the framework of the official state philosophy, Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism. Juche, which is a part of Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism, is the belief that only through self-reliance and a strong independent state, can true socialism be achieved.

North Korea's political system is built upon the principle of centralization. The constitution defines North Korea as "a dictatorship of people's democracy" under the leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), which is given legal supremacy over other political parties. WPK General Secretary is typically the supreme leader, who controls the WPK Presidium, the WPK Politburo, the WPK Secretariat and the WPK Central Military Commission, making the officeholder the most powerful person in North Korea.