North Korean Women

Even at the beginning of the North Korean regime in the mid-1940s, Kim Il Sung made it a priority to "liberate" women by getting them out of the home and into the socialist work force.

That is according to Wilson Center Public Policy scholar Miryang Youn.

North Korea apparently passed a sex equality law in 1946 which gave women full equality, including equal pay. During the Korean War from 1950-53, women worked to keep farms and factories running, while men served on the battlefield.

But after the war, women's rights declined as Kim consolidated his power. The subsequent model for Korean women - to be loyal, obedient and compliant - continued for several decades. However, with the economic breakdown and widespread famine of the 1990s, the role of women changed. During that decade, women - and not men - foraged for food, peddled goods, and provided for the family.

Today, women comprise 70 per cent of the country's workforce, said Youn, who described North Korean women as resilient and integral to society.