Hwanggumpyong Island

Hwanggumpyong

Geography
Location	Yalu River
Coordinates	39°58′N 124°19′E / 39.96°N 124.31°E / 39.96; 124.31
Area	11.45 km2 (4.42 sq mi)
Administration
Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Province	North P'yŏngan
County	Sindo County
Republic of Korea (claimed)
Province	North Pyeongan
County-level division	Yongcheon
Myeon	Sindo
Demographics
Ethnic groups	Koreans

Hwanggumpyong (Korean: 황금평, simplified Chinese: 黄金坪; traditional Chinese: 黃金坪; pinyin: Huángjīnpíng), formerly called Hwanggumpyong Island (Korean: 황금평도, simplified Chinese: 黄金坪岛; traditional Chinese: 黃金坪島; pinyin: Huángjīnpíng Dǎo), is a North Korean free-trade zone bordering China. The area used to be a tidal island in the Yalu River. However, due to continuous deposition of river-borne sediments, the northern portion of the former island is now permanently connected with the Chinese city of Dandong. A steel mesh fence has been built to mark the land border between North Korea and China.^[1]

Due to ethnic Koreans living on the island at the time of a 1962 border treaty, both China and North Korea agreed that the sovereignty of the island belongs to North Korea. The former river island is now a North Korean exclave on the otherwise Chinese side of the river.^[2] The agreement is not recognized by South Korea, who continues to claim this island in accordance with its constitution.