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Is North Korea a country? The short answer would be yes, but it is also, like many things, a little bit complicated!

Technically there is no country on earth that is called North Korea; there are two countries on the Korean peninsula, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea (ROK). These are thus colloquially known as North Korea, and South Korea. Technically at least one could say that North Korea is not a country. In fact, when you visit “North Korea” they prefer to be called the DPRK and do not like being called North Korea. In the south, they are a bit more easy-going about things!

To complicate matters still further, the DPRK government claims to be the legitimate government of the whole Korean peninsula, as do the government of the Republic (South) Korea.

Do North and South Korea recognize each other?

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The short answer to that is no they do not, as again both claim to the legitimate government of the whole of Korea, with this being a big reason for the Korean War!

Are there countries that recognize North and South Korea?

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Back in the heyday of the cold war, there was a similar situation to China, and Taiwan, or rather the Peoples Republic of China, and the Republic of China, with you, either recognizing one or the other, but pragmatism has changed this. China, for example, recognizes and has diplomatic relations with both the governments of the north and the south.

Were they ever to reunify, it is hard to say what they would be called, although the interpretation from Pyongyang would be to form the Confederal Republic of Koryo Koryo being the original name of the country that we in the west transliterated as Korea!

And that is the answer to the question of if North Korea is a country! Country, or not we certainly have some tours there!