Pyŏktong County is a ''kun'', or county, in northern North P'yŏngan 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 borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

. It lies in the valley of 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 ...

, and borders China to the north. Within North Korea, it is bounded by Tongch'ang to the south, Ch'angsŏng to the west, and Usi county in

Chagang Chagang Province (; ) is a province of North Korea; it is bordered by China's Jilin and Liaoning provinces to the north, Ryanggang and South Hamgyong to the east, South Pyongan to the south, and North Pyongan to the west. Chagang was formed ...

province to the east. It was separated from Usi in 1952, as part of a nationwide reorganization of local government.

Geography

The terrain is steep and mountainous, with the Kangnam and Pinandŏk ranges both passing through the county. The highest point is Piraebong, at 1470 metres. There are various small streams, including the Tongch'ŏn (동천), Songgyech'ŏn (송계천), and Namch'ŏn (남천). These are used to transport cut lumber; and the Namch'ŏn is also used to generate hydroelectric power. Due to the rugged terrain, only seven percent of Pyoktong's area is cultivated, while 80% is

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

ed.

Administrative divisions

Pyŏktong 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", an "eup" is one of the divisions of a county ("gun"), and of some cities ("si") with a pop ...

'' (town) and 19 '' ri'' (villages):

Climate

The average year-round temperature is 7.1 °C, plunging to a mean of -12.5 °C in January and rising to 23 °C in August. The climate is relatively dry, with an average annual rainfall of 992 mm.

Economy

Forestry is the chief local industry. The farms produce

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed. Soy is a key source o ...

s, sweet potatoes, potatoes, gochu peppers, and

hops Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant ''Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to whic ...

. Livestock are also raised; Pyŏktong ranks second nationwide in sheep production.

References

External links