North Korea is located in eastern Asia, northern half of Korea, bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan. The total area is 120,540 sq km, the land is 120,410sq km and the water is 130 sq km. The lowest point is the Sea of Japan at 0m and the highest point is Paektu-san at 2,744km. Natural resources include coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, iron, ore, copper, gold and salt.
Nearly 70% of North Korea is covered in mountains and hills. In the southern and western regions these hills give way for the higher mountains at the eastern and northern end. The western and southern slopes are wide with plains and baisins along rivers, while the eastern slope is very narrow because of the high mountains the hug the east sea coastline.
Around two-thirds of North Korea is composed of pre-Cambrian metamorphic and granitic rocks. Even though the distribution of sedimentary rocks are limited, limestone is very abundment in a few regions and a number of limestone caves have been developed, some attracting tourism.
North Korea has a continental climate with warm, humid summers and severely cold winters due to the cold winds from Siberia and Manchuria. The severe winters cause the rivers to freeze over for three to four months and snowfall to stay for long periods of time. July to September is the wettest months when up to 85% of rainfall occur. The average annual precipitation varies from 560 mm (22 inches) to 1,520 mm (60 inches) depending on the region. The average temperature in Pyongyang is from -8 degrees Celsius (18 degrees Fahrenheit) in January to 24 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Fahrenheit) in August. Some natural hazards include late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding and occasional typhoons during the early fall.
