Ryongch'ŏn County is a ''kun'' (county) in North P'yǒngan province, North Korea, at the mouth of the Yalu River. The county seat is Ryongch'ŏn-ŭp, about from the border with

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. The area has a reported population of 27,000 and is a centre of chemical and metalworking production.

Administrative divisions

Ryongch'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), 3 '' rodongjagu'' (workers' districts) and 19 '' ri'' (villages):

Transport

The

P'yŏngŭi line The P'yŏngŭi Line is an electrified main trunk line of the Korean State Railway of North Korea, running from P'yŏngyang to Sinŭiju on the border with China.Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō), It is the main co ...

of the Korean State Railway, running between China and

P'yŏngyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 population ...

runs through Ryongchŏn and is served by several stations, including in Ryongch'ŏn-ŭp. It is the busiest line in the country, crossing the border in nearby

Sinŭiju 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 ...

, North Korea to

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 ...

, China.

Ryongch'ŏn disaster

On 22 April 2004, the town suffered a major disaster when a flammable cargo exploded at the town's railway station, causing many deaths and much destruction, known as the Ryongch'ŏn disaster.

Protests

In February 2011, the area and others in North P'yŏngan had rare protests, of a few score of people, calling for adequate provision of rice and power. At the time, news of the Arab Spring was spreading via Chinese TV channels and phone calls with defectors.Can the 'Jasmine Revolution' Spread to N.Korea?
, Chosun Ilbo, 23 February 2011

References

External links