Sinuiju Airfield is an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

near

Sinuiju Sinŭiju (''Sinŭiju-si'', ; known before 1925 in English as Yeng Byen City) is a city in North Korea which faces Dandong, Liaoning, China across the international border of the Yalu River. It is the capital of North P'yŏngan province. Part of ...

, Pyongan-bukto,

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 ...

Facilities

The airfield has a single turf runway 03/21 measuring 3250 x 213 feet (991 x 65 m). Landings database page
"Landings.Com", accessed 06 Aug 2010, It is just south of the city, which itself is across the

Yalu River The Yalu River, known by Koreans as the Amrok River or Amnok River, is a river on the border between North Korea and China. Together with the Tumen River to its east, and a small portion of Paektu Mountain, the Yalu forms the border between ...

from the Chinese city of

Dandong Dandong (), formerly known as Andong, is a coastal prefecture-level city in southeastern Liaoning province, in the northeastern region of People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese border city, facing Sinuiju, North Korea across the ...

. It is also a few miles southwest of

Uiju Airfield Uiju Airfield is an airport in Uiju County, Pyongan-bukto, North Korea. Facilities The airfield has a single concrete runway 05/23 measuring 8180 x 174 feet (2493 x 53 m).

, a

military airbase An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...

History

Korean War

The airfield was designated as K-30 by the

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

and was a frequent target during 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 ...

because of its strategic importance, including not only based

MiG Russian Aircraft Corporation "MiG" (russian: Российская самолётостроительная корпорация „МиГ“, Rossiyskaya samolyotostroitel'naya korporatsiya "MiG"), commonly known as Mikoyan and MiG, was a Russi ...

and

Yak The domestic yak (''Bos grunniens''), also known as the Tartary ox, grunting ox or hairy cattle, is a species of long-haired domesticated cattle found throughout the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, the Tibetan Plateau, Kachin Sta ...

aircraft, but also its proximity to major railroad lines. GlobalSecurity.org
"Air Bases - Sinuiju", accessed 06 Aug 2010, On 1 November 1950 an RF-80 observed 15 Yaks parked in revetments near the airfield, three flights of F-80s proceeded to strafe the airfield destroying one Yak and damaging 6 others. On 23 January 1951, 33 F-84s of the 27th Fighter-Escort Wing attacked Sinuiju airfield, provoking a response from the MiG-15s based across the Chinese border at Antung airfield, with 4 MiG-15s shot down in the ensuing dogfights. In late April 1951 reconnaissance showed that the KPAF had based 38 Yak-9s, Il-10s and La-5s in revetments at Sinuiju. On 9 May 312

Fifth Air Force The Fifth Air Force (5 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan. It is the U.S. Air Force's oldest continuously serving Numbered Air Force. The organiza ...

and

1st Marine Aircraft Wing The 1st Marine Aircraft Wing is an aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps that serves as the Aviation Combat Element of the III Marine Expeditionary Force. The wing is headquartered at Camp Foster on the island of Okinawa, Japan. Activ ...

planes attacked the base destroying all of the aircraft, numerous buildings, fuel and supply dumps. On 9 July MiG-15s intercepted 6 B-29s that were attacking the airfield, 1 MiG was shot down by escorting F-86s while another was shot down by B-29 gunners.

Airlines and destinations

Only the national carrier serves this airport with domestic flights to Pyongyang only.

Passenger

Cargo

References

{{authority control Airports in North Korea North Pyongan Korean War air bases