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Updates: 

I added preliminary census data for 2008, found thanks to a tip from Samuel Villavicencio.

There are differing accounts of the Change history since 2000. Source [1] was my basic reference. Wikipedia  says that North Korea's provincial-level divisions are the nine provinces, two directly governed cities (chik'alshi), and three special administrative regions. The directly governed cities are P'yŏngyang chik'alshi (split in 1946 from P'yŏngan-namdo) and Najin-Sŏnbong chik'alshi (split in 1993 from Hamgyŏng-bukto). The special administrative regions are Shinŭiju T'eukpyŏl Haengjŏnggu (special administrative region, split in 2002 from P'yŏngan-bukto), Kaesŏng Kong-ŏp chigu (industrial region, split in 2002 from Kangwŏn-do - not the same as Kaesŏng chik'alshi), and Kŭmgang-san kwangwang chigu (tourist region, split in 2002 from Kangwŏn-do). The standards have not been listing special administrative regions at the province level, so I don't either.

Another Wikipedia  article gives this list of former directly governed cities. Ch'ŏngjin was a chik'alshi from 1960 to 1967 and from 1977 to 1985, but is now part of Hamgyŏng-bukto. Hamhŭng was a chik'alshi from 1960 to 1967, but is now part of Hamgyŏng-namdo. Kaesŏng was a designated region (chigu) from 1951 to 1955 and a chik'alshi from 1955 to 2003, but is now part of Hwanghae-bukto. Namp'o tŭkkŭpshi (special city) was a chik'alshi from 1980 to 2004, but is now part of P'yŏngan-namdo.

A 2003 map (source [2]) shows province-level borders around Ch'ongjin and Najin, formerly part of Hamgyong-bukto province. The area around Najin is labeled "Najin-Sŏnbong Free Trade Zone", and adjoins both the Chinese and Russian borders. The city of Najin itself is marked with the symbol for a "metropolitan, province capital". The 2002 CIA World Factbook lists "Najin Sŏnbong-si", but nothing like Ch'ongjin. The 2001 edition doesn't list either one.

Rajin is an alternate romanization of Najin. Unggi is a former name for Sŏnbong.

Source [3] says, "In 1991, the D.P.R.K. announced the creation of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the northeast regions of Najin, Chongjin, and Sonbong." Source [8] says, "In November 2002 the presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) passed laws formally establishing the Mt Geumgang tourist special economic zone (SEZ) and the Kaesong industrial SEZ. These SEZs add to the original Rajin-Sonbong region, established in 1992. ... Kaesong, also originally planned by the Hyundai group is located just north of the De-Militarised Zone (DMZ) which divides North and South Korea. ... A Special Administrative Region (SAR) was declared in September for the Chinese border region of Sinuiju." The phrase "add to the original Rajin-Sonbong region" probably doesn't mean that the new SEZs became part of the Rajin-Sŏnbong SEZ, because the three are not in geographical proximity.

ISO 3166-2 Newsletter number I-4, dated 2002-12-10, shows the creation of Najin Sŏnbong-si.

Change Notice 8 to FIPS PUB 10-4 is dated 2002-06-28. It lists new codes resulting from the splitting of Najin Sŏnbong-si special city from Hamgyong-bukto province.

Najin Sŏnbong-si has the ISO code KP-NAJ and the FIPS code KN18. The FIPS code for Hamgyong-bukto has changed from KN16 to KN17. Accordingly, I've changed the HASC code for Hamgyong-bukto from KP.HB to KP.HG, and assigned KP.NJ to Najin Sŏnbong-si. I have some doubts as to the correctness of the standards, but I follow them for now.

Country overview: 

Short name	NORTH KOREA
ISO code	KP
FIPS code	KN
Language	Korean (ko)
Time zone	+9
Capital	P'yongyang

 

In 1900, Korea had only recently come out from under Chinese hegemony, and was soon to submit to that of Japan. It became a Japanese protectorate in 1905-12, then a colony on 1910-08-22. At the end of World War II, the Soviet Union and the United States agreed to partition Korea at the 38th parallel, with the Soviet Army occupying the north and the U.S. the south. This arrangement was intended to last only until a democratic government could be set up for a united Korea. Instead, the communist north invaded the south in 1950, and the Korean War ensued. It was fought to a standoff. On 1953-07-27, an armistice was signed. North and South Korea were to be separated by a demilitarized zone about a kilometer wide, running near the 38th parallel across the peninsula.

Other names of country: 

1. Danish: Nordkorea, Den Demokratiske Folkerepublik Korea (formal)
2. Dutch: Noord-Korea, Democratische Volksrepubliek Korea (formal)
3. English: Democratic People's Republic of Korea (formal)
4. Finnish: Pohjois-Korea, Korean demokraattinen kansantasavalta (formal)
5. French: Corée du Nord, République f populaire démocratique de Corée f (formal)
6. German: Nordkorea n, Demokratische Volksrepublik f Korea n (formal)
7. Icelandic: Norður-Kórea
8. Italian: Corea f del Nord
9. Korean: Chosun Minchu-chui Inmin Konghwa-guk (formal)
10. Norwegian: Den demokratiske folkerepublikk Korea (formal) (Bokmål), Den demokratiske folkerepublikken Korea (formal) (Nynorsk), Nord-Korea
11. Portuguese: Coreia do Norte, Coréia do Norte (Brazil), República f Popular Democrática da Coreia f (formal)
12. Spanish: Corea del Norte, República f Popular Democrática de Corea f (formal), República Democrática Popular de Corea (formal)
13. Swedish: Nordkorea
14. Turkish: Kuzey Kore, Kore Demokratik Halk Cumhuriyeti (formal)

Origin of name: 

Korean koryo, dynastic name, meaning high serenity.

Primary subdivisions: 

North Korea is divided into nine do (provinces) and four si (special cities). The final syllable of the name tells which type each division is. After "buk" (north), the -do changes to -to by assimilation. (Nam = south.)

Province	HASC	ISO	FIPS	Pop-2008	Pop-1992	Area(km.²)	Area(mi.²)	Capital
Chagang-do	KP.CH	CHA	KN01	1,299,982	1,210,714	16,076	6,207	Kanggye
Hamgyŏng-bukto	KP.HG	HAB	KN17	2,327,386	2,118,750	12,189	4,706	Ch'ŏngjin
Hamgyŏng-namdo	KP.HN	HAN	KN03	3,066,141	2,585,631	18,558	7,165	Hamhŭng
Hwanghae-bukto	KP.WB	HWB	KN07	2,113,693	1,647,917	8,154	3,148	Sariwŏn
Hwanghae-namdo	KP.WN	HWN	KN06	2,310,462	2,085,119	8,294	3,202	Haeju
Kaesŏng-si	KP.KS	KAE	KN08		403,571	1,309	505	Kaesŏng
Kangwŏn-do	KP.KW	KAN	KN09	1,477,793	1,614,286	10,600	4,100	Wŏnsan
Najin Sŏnbong-si	KP.NJ	NAJ	KN18					Najin
Namp'o-si	KP.NP	NAM	KN14		807,143	753	291	Namp'o
P'yŏngan-bukto	KP.PB	PYB	KN11	2,728,617	2,522,321	12,575	4,855	Sinŭiju
P'yŏngan-namdo	KP.PN	PYN	KN15	4,051,706	2,825,000	11,577	4,470	P'yŏngsŏng
P'yŏngyang-si	KP.PY	PYO	KN12	3,255,388	3,228,571	2,113	816	P'yŏngyang
Yanggang-do	KP.YG	YAN	KN13	717,677	672,619	13,888	5,362	Hyesan
13 divisions				24,051,218	21,721,642	122,762	47,399
Province: except for names ending in -si, which are special cities. HASC: Hierarchical administrative subdivision codes. ISO: Codes from ISO 3166-2. FIPS: Codes from FIPS PUB 10-4. Pop-2008: 2008-10-01 census (preliminary results). Total includes population living in military camps. Source [5] Pop-1992: 1992 estimate (P'yŏngyang-si 1994). Source [6] Area: Sources [4], [6]

Further subdivisions:

The provinces are further subdivided into 152 gun (counties).

Territorial extent: 

(The included entities ending in -do or -to are all islands.)

1. Hamgyŏng-bukto included Najin Sŏnbong-si before it became a special city.
2. Hamgyŏng-namdo includes Mayang-do.
3. Hwanghae-bukto included Kaesŏng-si before it became a special city.
4. Hwanghae-namdo includes Ch'o-do, Sŏk-to, Sunwi-do, and some other small islands along the Kyonggi-man.
5. Kangwŏn-do includes Yŏ-do.
6. P'yŏngan-bukto includes Sinmi-do, Sin-do, and Ka-do.
7. P'yŏngan-namdo included Namp'o-si and P'yŏngyang-si before they became special cities.

Origins of names: 

Source [7]

1. Hamgyŏng: Korean for "perfect mirror" or "complete view"
2. Hwanghae: named for the Hwanghae (Yellow Sea)
3. P'yŏngan: Korean for "peaceful quiet"
4. Yanggang: Korean for "both rivers", referring to the Amrok (= Yalu) and Tumen, which between them form almost all of the northern border of Korea

Change history: 

See South Korea for provinces of the Japanese colonial period.

1. 1946: P'yŏngyang-si split from P'yŏngan-namdo.
2. 1949-12: Chagang-do split from P'yŏngan-bukto.
3. 1954-10: Yanggang-do formed from parts of Chagang-do and Hamgyŏng-namdo.
4. 1955: Kaesŏng-si split from Hwanghae-bukto.
5. 1960: Chongjin-si split from Hamgyŏng-bukto; Hamhŭng-si split from Hamgyŏng-namdo.
6. 1967: Chongjin-si merged with Hamgyŏng-bukto; Hamhŭng-si merged with Hamgyŏng-namdo.
7. 1977: Chongjin-si split from Hamgyŏng-bukto.
8. ~1981: Hamhŭng-si split from Hamgyŏng-namdo for a short time, then merged with it again.
9. 1980: Namp'o-si split from P'yŏngan-namdo (KN10 changed to KN15 to reflect the partition).
10. 1985: Chongjin-si (KN02) merged with Hamgyŏng-bukto (KN04 changed to KN18 to reflect the acquisition).
11. 1993: Najin Sŏnbong-si split from Hamgyong-bukto.
12. 2000-08: Nasŏn designated as informal name for Najin Sŏnbong-si.
13. 2002-09: Sinŭiju became a special administrative region (split from P'yŏngan-bukto?). The reason for the question mark is that it's not clear whether this status is coequal with provinces and special cities, or subordinate to a province.
14. 2002-10: Kaesŏng became a special industrial zone (split from Kaesŏng-si?); Kŭmgang-san (Diamond Mountains) became a special tourism zone (split from Kangwŏn-do?).
15. 2003: Kaesŏng-si merged with Hwanghae-bukto.
16. 2004: Namp'o-si merged with P'yŏngan-namdo.

Other names of subdivisions: 

During the period of Japanese rule, Japanese names for the cities and provinces were in use. Some Korean phonemes are variously transliterated; for example, the Roman letters b and p are particularly likely to be interchanged. Therefore, -bukto is often spelled -pukto.

1. Chagang-do: Jagang (variant)
2. Hamgyŏng-bukto: Kankyo Hoku-do (Japanese); North Hamgyong (variant)
3. Hamgyŏng-namdo: Kankyo Nan-do (Japanese); South Hamgyong (variant)
4. Hwanghae-bukto: North Hwanghae, North Hwanghai (variant)
5. Hwanghae-namdo: South Hwanghae, South Hwanghai (variant)
6. Kaesŏng-si: Kaesŏng-chigu (variant)
7. Kangwŏn-do: Kogen-do (Japanese); North Kangwon (variant)
8. Najin Sŏnbong-si: Nasŏn (informal); Rajin, Rasŏn (variant)
9. P'yŏngan-bukto: Heian Hoku-do (Japanese); North Pyongan (variant)
10. P'yŏngan-namdo: Heian Nan-do (Japanese); South Pyongan (variant)
11. P'yŏngyang-si: Pjöngjang (German); P'yŏngyang-tŭkpyŏlsi (variant)
12. Yanggang-do: Ryanggang-do (variant)

Sources:

1. [1] "North Korea: The Land of the Morning Calm ", a report on North Korea from the Permanent Committee on Geographical Names (U.K.), 2003. See Section F, paragraphs 28-29 for history of subdivisions, 1993-2002.
2. [2] National Geographic map of North and South Korea, 2003-07.
3. [3] Denise Youngblood Coleman, ed.: "North Korea Country Review 2005", CountryWatch, Houston, TX. Retrieved from http://www.countrywatch.com/pdfs/reviews/B3LTZM5Z.01b.pdf on 2003-07-01; this URL now has a more recent edition.
4. [4] People's Korea website (http://210.145.168.243/pk/main.htm, retrieved 2005-10-16, no longer active).
5. [5] "Preliminary results of the 2008 Census of Population of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea conducted on 1-15 October 2008 ", a report of the U.N. Statistics Division, retrieved 2009-03-29.
6. [6] "Ershiyi (21) Shiji Shijie Diming Lu", Beijing, 2001. Also used for areas of Namp'o-si and P'yŏngan-namdo.
7. [7] "Physical Basis for Korean Boundaries", by Shannon McCune, in Far Eastern Quarterly, Vol. V, No. 3, May, 1946 (reprinted in "Views of the Geography of Korea 1935-1960").
8. [8] "North Korea Nuclear Crisis—Issues and Implications ", Current Issues Brief No. 18 2002–03, Department of the Parliamentary Library, Australia, 2003.