Special cities of North Korea
Special cities are one of the first-level administrative divisions within North Korea. There are two top-level cities in North Korea: Pyongyang and Rason.Position in hierarchy and types
Special cities are the higher-ranked administrative divisions in North Korea. There are three kinds of special cities in North Korea.
| Type | Chosŏn'gŭl | Hancha | McCune–Reischauer | City names | No. of cities |
| Direct-administered city | 직할시 | | Chikhalsi | Pyongyang | 1 |
| Special city | 특별시 | | T'ŭkpyŏlsi | Rason, Nampo, Kaesong | 3 |
| Special-level city | 특급시 | | T'ŭkkŭpsi | | 0 |
The first level cities have equal status to the provinces.Note: Pyongyang is classified as a capital city, not a special city as Seoul in South Korea. In fact, the North Korean national newspaper and broadcasting say "Pyongyang Chikhalsi". Some sources, most of them coming from South Korea, refer the city as a special city; however, these are old sources. Moreover, South Korea has corrected the city as a directly governed city, according to a South Korean newspaper in 1994. The official name of Pyongyang would be "Pyongyang-si" in the Republic of Korea, which officially claims to represent the entire peninsula.List of defunct special cities
