Hŏch'ŏn County is a county in

South Hamgyŏng South Hamgyong Province (, ''Hamgyŏngnamdo''; ) is a province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the southern half of the former Hamgyong Province, remained a province of Korea until 1945, then became a province of North Kor ...

province,

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 Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

. It was created after the

division of Korea The division of Korea began with the defeat of Empire of Japan, Japan in World War II. During the war, the Allies of World War II, Allied leaders considered the question of Korea's future after Japan's surrender in the war. The leaders reached ...

, from portions of

Tanch'ŏn Tanch'ŏn () is a port city in northeastern South Hamgyŏng province, North Korea. It has a population of approximately 360,000. Tanch'ŏn borders the Sea of Japan (East Sea of Korea), into which the Namdae River flows. Administrative divisio ...

and P'ungsan.

Geography

Most of the county is steep and mountainous, particularly in the southeast. There are numerous high peaks. The Pujŏllyŏng and Kŏmdŏk Mountains (검덕산맥) pass through the county, with the highest peak at Kŏmdŏksan. The chief stream is the Namdaech'ŏn. Approximately 90% of the county is

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

land.

Administrative divisions

Hŏch'ŏn county is divided into 1 ''

ŭp An ''eup'' or ''ŭp'' () is an administrative unit in both North Korea and South Korea similar to the unit of town. In South Korea Along with "Myeon (administrative division), myeon", an "eup" is one of the divisions of a county ("County#Kore ...

'' (town), 5 '' rodongjagu'' (workers' districts) and 17 '' ri'' (villages):

Economy

Mining and electrical power are the chief local industries. There are deposits of copper, iron ore, lead, and

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

. Local crops include maize, soybeans, and potatoes, but cultivation is difficult due to the mountainous terrain.

Sangnong mine The Sangnong mine(상농광산) is one of the largest gold mines in North Korea and in the world. The mine is located in the center of the country in South Hamgyong Province. The mine has estimated reserves of 6.4 million oz of gold Gold is ...

is located in this county, to the west of Sangnong-rodongjagu.

Transportation

Hŏch'ŏn county is served by the Hŏch'ŏn and Mandŏk lines of the

Korean State Railway The Korean State Railway (), commonly called the State Rail () is the operating arm of the Ministry of Railways of North Korea and has its headquarters at P'yŏngyang. The current Minister of Railways is Chang Jun Song. History 1945–195 ...

, and by various roads. Near Sangnong-rodongjagu, there is a trolleybus line to

served by one vehicle, though there were two vehicles in 2002. However, in more recent satellite imagery from 2020, the only trolleybus visible has disappeared.

Military

The Sangnam-ri Ballistic Missile Base is located in the county. According to the

Center for Strategic and International Studies The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. CSIS was founded as the Center for Strategic and International Studies of Georgetown University in 1962. The center conducts polic ...

, the existence of the base first came to public light in 1999, although construction began ca. 1994. Primary construction of barracks, underground facilities, bunkers, and other support structures was completed by the mid-2000s. Sangnam-ri is a battalion- or regiment-sized unit that encompasses approximately 3.85 sq. km of mountainous territory. It is operated by the Korean People's Army Strategic Force and is equipped with

Hwasong-10 The Hwasong-10 (), also known by the names BM-25 and Musudan (), is a mobile intermediate-range ballistic missile developed by North Korea. Hwasong-10 was first revealed to the international community in a military parade on 10 October 2010 cel ...

(Musudan)

intermediate-range ballistic missile An intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) is a ballistic missile with a range of 3,000–5,500 km (1,864–3,418 miles), between a medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) and an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Classifying ba ...

References

External links

* {{South Hamgyong Counties of South Hamgyong