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is studdedwith bases,minefields, andmonitoring technology.While North Korea’s nuclear weapons are of great concern, their conven- tional military artillery placed behind the DMZ could easily attack a major city like Seoul. The two Koreas have skirted dangerously close to open conflict, such as in 2010 when South Korea accused North Korea of attacking a naval vessel and killing 46 sailors. The fear of aggression from North Korea has been a primary factor in Japan’s initiative to amend its constitution and rebuild its military, which officially had been disbanded since the conclusion ofWorld War II; it is not clear whether this would backfire and drive North Korea to further aggression. TheKoreas are fairly resourcepoor and totally lacking inoil.South Korea imports most of its energy, while North Korea relies on small coal deposits for its (meager) electrical output. The Koreas are not entirely resource poor, however, with coal, tungsten, and graphite found in large quantities. Limited energy and mineral wealth has not stopped SouthKorea frombecoming the fourth-largest exporter of steel in the world despite producing fewer than one million tons of iron per year (by contrast,Australia produces 800 million tons of iron per year).While North Korea is estimated to be sitting on about 10 trillion dollars in mineral wealth, from coal to gold to rare earth metals, a UN ban on mining limits its ability to dig up and sell these resources—although, like many other punishments laid onto North Korea, there is no way to know how effective this ban has been. EachKorea is a small nationwith a relatively high population and limited land usage, giving it few options for land management. Due to the mountains, some two-thirds of the Korean Peninsula is not occupied by cities or farmland and instead remains forested.Almost all arable land in both countries, however, has been developed to provide food for their populations. Even so, food self-sufficiency in both nations remains low.The combination of mountainous terrain and limited farmland means that the majority of South Korea’s population, about 80 percent, lives in cities. By contrast, North Korea’s rural population is higher, perhaps 40 percent, with much more land devoted to agriculture. While at least 10 South Korean cities have populations of over one million, only North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang, home to Kim Jong-unandhis supporters inNorthKorea’sCommunist government,

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