Korea is a civilization, a formerly unified nation, and a geographic area currently composed of two sovereign states located on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. It borders China to the northwest, and Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the east by the Korea Strait. Korea was divided in 1948, with the southern portion of the peninsula controlled by the capitalistic democracy South Korea, formally the Republic of Korea. South Korea is a developed country and It has an international outlook with memberships in the United Nations, WTO, OECD and G-20 major economies and home to such global brands as Samsung, LG Electronics, and Hyundai. The northern portion is controlled by the single-party communist North Korea, formally the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The north follows the unique ideology of Juche, a form of Communism based on self-reliance. Led by Kim-Jong-il, Chairman of the National Defense Commission of North Korea, North Korea has close relations with the People's Republic of China and Russia.