North Korea Flag: Meaning, Colors, History & 2026 Design Update
North Korea’s national flag has a broad red centre band, narrow white separators, blue outer bands and a red star inside a white circle near the hoist. A 2026 constitutional revision changed its official proportions.
What does the North Korean flag look like?
The flag has a wide red central band bordered above and below by narrow white stripes and broad blue stripes. Near the hoist is a white circle containing a red five-pointed star.
What do the colors mean?
DPRK-aligned sources connect red with revolutionary struggle and sacrifice, white with Korean national identity and purity, and blue with sovereignty, peace and friendship.
What does the red star mean?
The five-pointed red star is the flag’s main socialist and revolutionary symbol.
Explore the symbols and 2026 ratio change →
What changed in 2026?
Article 166 of the 2026 Constitution specifies a length-to-width proportion of 1:1.65. Older constitutional and flag-law references commonly give 1:2.
Did the star or stripe colors change?
The constitutional text keeps the same core design: blue outer bands, white separators, a broad red band and a red star inside a white circle.
When was the flag first adopted?
The DPRK adopted the design during the creation of the state in 1948, replacing the Taegeukgi that had continued to appear after liberation from Japanese rule.
Why are most older images longer?
For decades the official proportion was 1:2, so historical flags and most archived graphics are noticeably more elongated than the 2026 constitutional specification.
Read the North Korea flag history →
North Korea flag facts
| Main colors | Red, white, blue |
|---|---|
| Symbol | Red five-pointed star |
| Adopted | 1948 |
| Former proportion | 1:2 |
| 2026 constitutional proportion | 1:1.65 |
