Through being ruled by multiple different countries, North Korea adopted different political ideas from South Korea. Since North Korea was ruled by China and the Soviet Union, two nations that were communist, the country adopted communism as their government. After imperialism, North Korea had religious freedom but the government disapproved of religion because it conflicted with the rules of communism. Many North Koreans practice confucianism, which was introduced to them by the Chinese. After Kim II Sung was elected president, North Korea became isolated and closed off. Although he supported reunification, he did very little to unify the two countries because both countries were distrustful of one another. Also, since the two countries had different cultures, and they are unable to accept the other's ideas and therefore they are unable to unite as one country. Currently, one of the major problems North Korea is facing is a food shortage. Since 1994, food has become scarce in North Korea due to floods, drought, outdated farming techniques and typhoons. Although North Korea does not trust foreign powers, they asked for aid when the food shortages became extreme. Eventually, South Korea gave them a vital supply of fertilizer in 1999. Even though South Korea aided North Korea during their food shortage, the two countries are still tense and distrustful of each other. Also in recent news, North Korea has been caught testing nuclear weapons on many occasions. In 2002, North Korea sent United Nations nuclear inspectors out of the country in an attempt to hide their nuclear projects. They were also caught trying to launch a satellite in 2009. In response to being caught, North Korea left a cease-fire treaty and cut off connections with South Korea. In 2013, South Korean intelligence confirmed that North Korea had restarted their nuclear reactor. Since North Korea cut off connection with South Korea, they are most likely hiding another nuclear project. Due to the multiple foreign countries that ruled over North Korea, the country has become isolated and distrustful of all foreign countries. Not only has North Korea become distrustful, but they are not very industrialized. Due to the country's isolation, the people of North Korea were forced to learn how to live off of their country's products. Although imperialism benefited North Korea in some ways, it has had an overall negative outcome.
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