Sonbong

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Sonbong
Chosŏn'gŭl 선봉군 Hancha 先鋒郡 McCune-Reischauer Sŏnbong-gun Revised Romanization Seonbong-gun
Statistics
Administrative divisions 1 ŭp, 2 workers' districts, 10 ri

Sonbong, formerly called Unggi, is a subdivision of the North Korean city of Rason. It is located at the northeastern extreme of North Korea, bordering Russia and China. It lies on Unggi Bay, an extension of the Sea of Japan (East Sea of Korea). A uranium mine is allegedly located there, as is a 200 megawatt oil-fired power plant.^[1] The word Sonbong means "Vanguard" in Korean.

Contents 1 Transportation 2 Notes 3 See also 4 External links

[edit] Transportation

Sonbong is North Korea's rail link to Russia. A rail bridge crosses the Tumen River between the border rail stations of Tumangang Workers' District, Sonbong, and Khasan, Russia. This connection lies on one of two proposed paths for linking South Korea by rail to the Trans-Siberian Railroad and the rest of Eurasia, the other being through Sinuiju. The rail link through Sonbong is lightly used, carrying only 10,000 passengers in 2005.^[2]

Sonbong is one terminus of the Hambuk Line railroad. It is also served by roads.

[edit] Notes

1. ^  Unggi/Sonbong-gun. GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved on 2006-01-24.
2. ^  Blagov, Sergei. Russia, China, Japan and South Korea to launch new sea route linking China and Japan. The Jamestown Foundation. Retrieved on 2006-11-15.

[edit] See also

• List of cities in North Korea
• Geography of North Korea

[edit] External links

• Tumen River Area Development Program profile of the area
• (Korean) In Korean language online encyclopedias:
  • Doosan Encyclopedia (Encyber)
  • Korean language Britannica (Empas)  (Map)
  • Pascal World Encyclopedia (Nate)

Coordinates: 42°21′N, 130°24′E