North Korea Tension Score
building record · 49 days on fileLive 0–100 tension reading for North Korea, built by our own engine from 19,188 world headlines in the last 30 days. Refreshed every 10 minutes; a fresh headline count twice a day.
Where North Korea stands
#28 of 197 countries today, #2 of 44 in Asia-Pacific (region score 45). Tension is easing this week.
Same 0–100 scale and zones as the World Tension Index.
North Korea news pulse
60 headlines in 30 days · newest firstEvery story the engine read that names North Korea, its capital or its leaders. Links go to the original outlet; the badge is the engine’s own 0–100 tension weight. This list is what moves the number above.
What is driving North Korea’s tension score
last 30 days- 203 headlines in 30 days — 1.06% of everything the engine read, up sharply on the previous 30 days (131).
- 30% of those were violent (attacks, strikes, casualties) and 52% scored as high-tension stories.
- Conflicts on the roster: none. North Korea is not a party to any conflict our engine tracks right now.
- Region: Asia-Pacific reads 45 today; it carries 15% of this score.
Read it like this. Attention (how much the world is talking about North Korea) is the biggest input at 30%. Violence and high-tension share tell you what kind of talk it is. A country can be loud and calm — an election, a summit — or quiet and dangerous. The mix is the point.
North Korea tension month by month
average score, headline counts| Month | Avg score | Zone | Headlines | Violent | Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 2026 | 33.8 | Calm | 58 | 13 | 5 |
| October 2026 | 37.3 | Calm | 192 | 78 | 31 |
| September 2026 | 30.1 | Calm | 84 | 40 | 13 |
Record for North Korea began on 18 September 2026. Nothing is revised after the fact.
How the North Korea score is built
Five inputs, fixed weights. Attention 30% (share of world coverage), violence 25% and high-tension share 15% (what kind of coverage), roster conflicts 15%, and the Asia-Pacific region score 15%. A momentum nudge (+6 / −4) rewards a country whose coverage is accelerating or fading.
Same physics as the world score. The number rises 85% of the way to its new level at once and falls no faster than 3 points a day — fear arrives fast and leaves slowly.
No third-party index inside. Every count comes from the 41 public news feeds our engine reads itself; the full method is on the methodology page. Data is free under CC BY 4.0 via the API.
Questions people ask about North Korea
Is North Korea in a war right now?
Not on our roster. North Korea is not a party to any tracked conflict; the engine flags new candidates automatically when coverage repeats.
Is tension in North Korea rising or falling?
Easing: down 4 points in 7 days.
How does North Korea compare with the rest of Asia-Pacific?
Below its region: North Korea reads 33 against 45 for Asia-Pacific, ranking #2 of 44 there.
Keep exploring
Same region
Pakistan 36 · India 33 · Afghanistan 31 · China 29 · South Korea 26 · Australia 26
The bigger picture
All countries on the map · Asia-Pacific · World Tension Index · active conflicts · escalation watchlist
North Korea and world tension: the long view
evergreen · World Tension Meter teamThe nuclear hermit. North Korea tests missiles and nuclear devices, sends troops and shells to Russia, and threatens the South. It generates high-tension headlines with few visible casualties — the classic high-score, low-violence profile.
What our engine watches in North Korea
- Missile and nuclear tests
- Troops and arms for Russia
- Border incidents and balloons
Indexes to follow: Market Fear.