In 1945, after the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II, Korea was divided into two zones along the 38th parallel, with the north occupied by the Soviet Union and the south occupied by the United States.OverviewNorth Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in. It constitutes. The modern spelling of Korea first appeared in 1671 in the travel writings of, a sailor of the. After the division of the country into North and South. According to in 2333 BC, the Kingdom was established by the god-king. Following the end of the Three Kingdoms of Korea into Silla and Balhae in the late 7th century, Korea was subsequent. North Korea occupies the northern portion of the Korean Peninsula, lying between latitudes and, and longitudes and. It covers an area of 120,540 square kilometers (46,541 sq mi). To its west are the.