Maps of North Korean Nuclear Capacity Available from Ball State University Libraries

Maps in the News: North Korea Nuclear Capacity

The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) includes hundreds of maps of North Korea, South Korea, and the Korean peninsula. The collection includes political and physical maps of the countries, street maps of cities, historic maps, and topographic maps of the entire peninsula. The Atlas Collection also includes resources on the Korean peninsula in English and Korean.

 The North Korean nuclear program is once again making news this week as the government in Pyongyang announced it would launch a rocket carrying a satellite to mark the 100th anniversary of its founder, Kim Il Sung. The North Korean government claims that the rocket will launch sometime between Thursday and April 16 and invited foreign journalists to view the secret launch site. The U.S., Japan and South Korea maintain that the launch violates United Nations Security Council resolutions and that the launch is actually a cover for a long-range ballistic missile test. In 2006 and 2009, this type of launch preceded a nuclear test.

The map shown above (click to enlarge) was published by National Geographic in 2007. The map is actually an inset map on the larger map called “Two Koreas.” The larger map includes a modern physical map of the Korean peninsula, maps showing population density, charts depicting economic growth of the two countries, and the entire verso features maps about the Korean War.

This map details the military and nuclear capacity of North and South Korea, showing headquarters, bases, and deployment locations of troops; chemical weapons facilities; and nuclear reactor sites. The map shows the site of the nuclear weapon test launch that took place in October of 2006, located in northeastern North Korea. Missile facilities in both North and South Korea are also shown.

The related chart depicts the number of troops for each country. The green dollar symbol shows the number in billions of U.S. dollars each country spends on its military defense. North Korea spends 31.3% of its gross domestic product on its military. South Korea spends 2.8% of its gross domestic product on defense spending. The dark blue part of the South Korea troop level shows the 37,000 U.S. forces located in the country.

Maps from the GRMC circulate for two weeks or longer. Atlases circulate for 28 days or longer.

For more information about these resources, please contact the GRMC Monday through Friday from 8:00 to 5:00 at 765-285-1097.

Cartographic Resources Depict Social Issues

Child Abuse Maps from Ball State University Libraries


April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, first recognized in 1983 as a time to acknowledge the importance of the prevention of child abuse. The map shown above (click to enlarge) is from the Allyn & Bacon Social Atlas of the United States by William H. Frey available from the Atlas Collection in Bracken Library.

According to the atlas, “in 2004, at least 1,806,070 cases of child maltreatment were reported and investigated. Of all cases, 62.4% involved neglect, 17.5% involved physical abuse, 9.7% involved sexual abuse, and 7% involved psychological abuse.”

The map depicts the states with the highest rates of child abuse and neglect—Florida, Georgia, Iowa, West Virginia, and Massachusetts. Child fatalities in each state are marked with a red cross. “More than 80% of abuse fatalities were young children. Forty-five percent were less than a year old.”

The GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) and the Atlas Collection on the second floor of Bracken Library provide cartographic resources that can be used for papers or as visual aids for presentations. For more information about using maps depicting numerous social issues, please contact the staff of the GRMC at 765-285-1097.