Name | 람홍색공화국기(발) Hanja: 藍紅色共和國旗(발) |
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Use | National flag and ensign |
Proportion | 1:2 |
Adopted | 8 September 1948 |
The flag of North Korea was adopted on September 8, 1948,[1] as the national flag and ensign. The red star of Communism can be seen on this flag on a white disc. The flag was adopted in 1948, when the northern portion of Korea became a Communist state. The traditional Korean flag was red, white, and blue. The country retained these colors (with more prominence given to the red) and added a red star on a white disk. The disk recalls the taegeuk found on the flag of South Korea, and represents the opposing principles of nature. The red stripe expresses revolutionary traditions; the red star is for Communism. The two blue stripes stand for sovereignty, peace and friendship. The white stripes symbolize purity.
A 600-lb (270 kg) North Korean national flag flies from the world's third tallest flagpole, which is located at Kijŏng-dong, on the North Korean side of the Military Demarcation Line within the Korean Demilitarized Zone. The flag-pole is 160m tall.
There are several other known flags in use. There is a flag for the Korean People's Army, as well as its two subdivisions the Korean People’s Air Force and Korean People's Navy, which follow a common design but with different colors (blue and white for the Navy and dark blue and light blue for the Air Force). There is also a flag of the ruling Worker's Party of Korea, modeled after similar communist party flags, and a flag for the Supreme Commander of the KPA used by Kim Jong-il, which has the Supreme Commander's Arms on a red field.
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