Hambakseom or Hambakdo is an island in

Yonan County Yŏnan County is a county in South Hwanghae Province, North Korea. Administrative divisions Yŏnan county is divided into 1 '' ŭp'' (town), 1 '' rodongjagu'' (workers' district) and 27 '' ri'' (villages): Transportation Yŏnan county is serve ...

South Hwanghae South Hwanghae Province (Hwanghaenamdo; , lit. "south Yellow Sea province") is a province in western North Korea. The province was formed in 1954 when the former Hwanghae Province was split into North and South Hwanghae. The provincial capital ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

Background

The 1953 Armistice Agreement, which was signed by both North Korea and the

United Nations Command United Nations Command (UNC or UN Command) is the multinational military force established to support the Republic of Korea (South Korea) during and after the Korean War. It was the first international unified command in history, and the first a ...

(UNC), ended the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

and specified that all islands in former

Hwanghae Province Hwanghae Province (''Hwanghae-do'' ) was one of the Eight Provinces of Korea during the Joseon era. Hwanghae was located in the northwest of Korea. The provincial capital was Haeju. The regional name for the province was Haeseo. History In 139 ...

except the five islands including Yeonpyeong Island and

Baengnyeong Island Baengnyeong Island (sometimes spelled Baekryeong; ) is a , long and wide island in Ongjin County, Incheon, South Korea, located near the Northern Limit Line. The 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement which ended the Korean War specified that the fi ...

would remain under the control of the UNC and South Korea. However, they did not agree on a maritime demarcation line, primarily because the UNC wanted to base it on of

territorial waters The term territorial waters is sometimes used informally to refer to any area of water over which a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potent ...

, while North Korea wanted to use . The five islands were Yeonpyeong Island,

Baengnyeongdo Baengnyeong Island (sometimes spelled Baekryeong; ) is a , long and wide island in Ongjin County, Incheon, South Korea, located near the Northern Limit Line. The 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement which ended the Korean War specified that the fiv ...

Daecheongdo Daecheong Island or Daecheongdo ( ko, 대청도 "big blue island" ) is a , long and wide island in Ongjin County, Incheon, South Korea, near the Northern Limit Line. The 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement which ended the Korean War specified th ...

, Socheongdo and U Island. However, U Island was actually part of

Ganghwa County Ganghwa County is a county in the city of Incheon, South Korea. The county is composed of Ganghwa Island, and the minor islands around it. History Ganghwa County contains some of the most important historical sites in Korea. These sites cover th ...

since 1918. Also,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

is not a signatory of the 1953 Armistice Agreement. In 1965, there was a clash in this island South Korean fishermen caught clams on the island. North Korea detained and eventually returned the fishermen. South Korea claimed that Hambakseom is a part of

. South Korea registered Hambakseom to

Tract index A tract index is a document which summarizes real property transactions in certain U.S. states and may be available in the offices of Recorder of deeds. Layout and content The information is organized by section, with a section relating to one ...

in 1978. Hambakseom was uninhabited until 2017. In 2019, South Korean newspaper noticed that there are North Korean military buildings in Hambakseom. It caused huge debates in South Korea. On September 5, 2019, Chosun Ilbo reported that the island has a radar with range of 30 to 60 kilometers. South Korean government on September 18, 2019, confirmed that no offensive weapons are on the island. Board of Audit and Inspection confirmed claims made by South Korean government that Hambakdo is north of northern limit line and is a North Korean island.

References

{{Territorial disputes in East and South Asia

Links

Video of Hambakdo Island
Disputed islands Territorial disputes of North Korea Territorial disputes of South Korea North Korea–South Korea border North Korea–South Korea relations Ganghwa County Islands of Incheon Islands of the Yellow Sea South Hwanghae