Hwanggumpyong (, zh, s=黄金坪, t=黃金坪, p=Huángjīnpíng), formerly called Hwanggumpyong Island (, zh, s=黄金坪岛, t=黃金坪島, p=Huángjīnpíng Dǎo), is a

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 borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

free-trade zone A free-trade zone (FTZ) is a class of special economic zone. It is a geographic area where goods may be imported, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured and re-exported under specific customs regulation and generally not subject to ...

bordering

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. The area used to be a

tidal island A tidal island is a raised area of land within a waterbody, which is connected to the larger mainland by a natural isthmus or man-made causeway that is exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide, causing the land to switch between being ...

in the

Yalu River The Yalu River () or Amnok River () is a river on the border between China and North Korea. Together with the Tumen River to its east, and a small portion of Paektu Mountain, the Yalu forms the border between China and North Korea. Its valle ...

. 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 Dandong ( zh, s=丹东 , t=丹東 , p=Dāndōng; lit. "Red East"), formerly known as Andong, is a coastal prefecture-level city in southeastern Liaoning province, in the northeastern region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest ...

. A steel mesh fence has been built to mark the land border between

and

. Due to ethnic Koreans living on the island at the time of a 1962 border treaty, both

and

agreed that the sovereignty of the island belongs to North Korea. The former

river island River Island (stylised as RiverIsland and abbreviated as RI) is a London-based, multi-channel fashion brand, founded in 1948 by Bernard Lewis (entrepreneur), Bernard Lewis. The retailer has a presence in over 125 of worldwide markets, in stores ...

is now a North Korean

exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

on the otherwise Chinese side of the river. The agreement is not recognized by

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, who continues to claim this island in accordance with its

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

History

In June 2011, an agreement, negotiated by Gao Jingde, of Sunbase International Holdings Ltd, with China was made to establish a joint

free-trade area A free trade area is the region encompassing a trade bloc whose member countries have signed a free trade agreement (FTA). Such agreements involve cooperation between at least two countries to reduce trade barriers, import quotas and tariffs, and ...

on Hwanggumpyong and Wihwa Islands, as well as the Chinese border area near

. By 2013, the site had been prepared, and a free-trade area of over may be ready for operation in about two years.

References

{{China–North Korea border crossings River islands of North Korea