Nampo
Nampo (North Korean official spelling: Nampho; ), also spelled Nampo, is the second largest city by population and an important seaport in North Korea, which lies on the northern shore of the Taedong River, 15 km east of the river's mouth. Formerly known as Chinnampo, it was a provincial-level "Directly Governed City" ("Chikhalsi") from 1980 to 2004, and was designated a "Special City" ("T'ŭkpyŏlsi", 특별시; 特別市) in 2010. Nampo is approximately 50 km southwest of Pyongyang, at the mouth of the Taedong River. Since North Korean independence, the city has developed a wide range of industry and has  seen significant recent redevelopment. History. Before formation of North Korea. The city belonged to Gojoseon until the Three Kingdoms era, when it was taken by Goguryeo. During this time, the city was part of Sogyong (now Pyongyang) until the Goryeo dynasty, when in the aftermath of the Myocheong rebellion, Sogyong was split into six counties, of which currently constitute Nampo are Kangso-hyon, Ryonggang-hyon and Samhwa-hyon. In the late Goryeo period, the area was named Chungnampo for the village of Pogu, located to the south of Chungsan County. After the establishment of Joseon dynsasty, the area belonged to  Pyongan Province. In 1871, the General Sherman incident occurred when an American ship attempted to sail on the Taedong to Pyongyang to engage the Joseon dynasty with trade, but was declined. According to North Korean history, Kim Il-sung's grandfather raised the alarm on the foreign ship and led the attack on it. The name of the city comes from the fishing village that was originally located in the Samhwa-hyon area of South Pyongan Province. The city was renamed to Chinnampo during the Japanese occupation of Korea, by adding the character '鎭' as during the First Sino-Japanese  War, the Japanese landed in Nampo and defeated the Qing dynasty forces. The name was immediately reverted to Nampo after liberation to be rid of colonial legacies. After formation of North Korea. The city was founded in 1950 and contained 27 "ri". Various rearrangements occurred in 1952 and by 1960, there were 15 "dong" and 8 "ri". In December 1979, Nampo became a directly-governed city. Taean-si, Ryonggang-gun were absorbed into Nampo and the former Nampo-si was reorganised into Nampo-guyok with jurisdiction over 26 "dong"s. In 1983, a major reorganisation occurred and Nampo-guyok was split  up into Waudo-guyok and Hanggu-guyok while Taean-si was split into Chollima-guyok, Taean-guyok and Kangso-guyok. On 9 January 2004, the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly downgraded Nampo from a directly governed city ("chikhalsi") to a normal city belonging to South Pyongan Province. For some time after this, Chollima-guyok, Kangso-guyok and Taean-guyok districts became counties ("gun)" of South Pyongan Province. By 2012, these counties were re-promoted to districts. In 2010, the city was detached from South Pyongan Province, and the counties which were originally part of the city reassigned to  it along with transferring administration of Onchon-gun to Nampo. Due to these changes, Nampo became the second largest city in North Korea. In September 2020, a major uplifting of the city was completed, in accordance to the state policy of 'building local cities into distinctive towns'. This resulted in a seaside theme, with buildings mainly remodelled in blue, but also orange and browns. The strong local glass industry produced windows to glaze the apartment buildings. The supply of electricity, water and public transport was improved, as previously, water supply was quoted to be 'insufficient' due to 'topographical conditions'. Economy . Nampo was originally a small fishing village that became a port for foreign trade in 1897, developing into a modern port in 1945 after World War II. With the rapid increase in state investment, the city's industrial capacity grew. Some of the city's industrial facilities include the city's Smelter Complex, Glass Corporation, Shipbuilding complex, Fishery Complex, and other central and local factories. Nampo is a center for the DPRK shipbuilding industry. North of the city are facilities for freight transportation, aquatic products, and fishery, and a sea salt factory. Apples grown in the city's Ryonggang county  (룡강군) are a famous local product. In a May 1981, Kim Il-sung drew up a plan for the city which included three goals: Farming. As the city is located on the Taedong River, the surrounding area is well suited to agriculture. Land reclamation occurs along the river and is used for rice growing. Before liberation, the economy was mainly agricultural at 97%, but was in a very backwards condition. This was made worse by the Japanese plundering the rice grown locally. After the foundation of North Korea, the conditions rapidly improved and it was transformed into a modern rural  economy and fishery industry. 47.8% of the agricultural land are paddy fields, 40% are fields, 8.7% are orchards and 2.7% are Mulberry fields. The majority of fields sown are for grains, while around 20% is for vegetables. Various livestock are grown on cooperative farms, but also in private farms. The fishery industry in Nampo is one of the most important on the west coast. Health. The main hospital in Nampo is the Nampho City People's Hospital, which underwent major reconstruction in 2020. The new hospital is reported to greatly enhance the quality of medical services provided by the hospital . It has a telemedicine link to hospitals in Pyongyang to further improve the medical care provided. Other treatment facilities in the city include the Nampho City Koryo Medicine Hospital, Nampho City Maternity Hospital and the Waudo District People’s Hospital. Industry. Prior to liberation, the industry was fully committed to military needs to supply the Japanese imperialist ambition and was an important port for munitions transport. For convenience, the Japanese built industries were clustered around what is now the districts of Waudo-guyok and Hunggu-guyok. Since then, Nampo has developed a strong economy with some industries in these areas  being demolished and rebuilt in the corridor from Nampo to Pyongyang, such as in Chollima-guyok, Kangso-guyok or Taean-guyok. The Nampo Smelting Complex is a key production complex and produces various copper products. It also smelts zinc and lead, although the zinc smelter was allegedly dismantled in 2001 due to pollution concerns. Four other important industries of the city are the Chollima Steel Complex, Taean Friendship Glass Factory, Kumsong Tractor Factory and Taean Heavy Machine Complex. Although the city also has a range of light industry, the major companies are all invested in various forms of heavy industry . The position of the city has attracted foreign investment, an example being Pyeonghwa Motors, which was a joint venture between the Unification Church and the North Korean government, where about 340 workers built cars from knock-down kits, mainly various Chinese cars and Fiats. Defence. Nampo has an extensive shipbuilding capability, which along with cargo ships, also builds various warships. A submersible submarine-launched ballistic missile launch platform is based out of Nampo. The platform was first observed in 2017 and likely operational in 2019, although in 2020 the platform was captured out of the water, possibly for repairs, as  at the same time, the first platform in the Sinpho South Shipyard also underwent repairs. A number of Hainan (Taechong) class class patrol vessels, Osa (Soju)-class missile boats, Nongo class fast attack crafts, Komar-class missile boats, Nampo-class corvettes and a Najin-class frigate are based in Nampo. Alleged uranium enrichment facility. In 2018, a report in "The Diplomat" claimed to have uncovered a Uranium enrichment facility in Chollima-guyok. A large building is said to contain the centrifuges for isotope separation and is surrounded by a wall, which according to the report, is a sign of a high  security facility. The lack of snow on the roof of the building suggest that heat is being produced the entire year, and thus suggested that it is likely to be a uranium enrichment site. However, these features are common in North Korea, and buildings with security fencing, on-site housing and monuments to the Kim family and are not proof of a uranium enrichment facility. The Korean People's Army brigades that were assigned to the nuclear program are fixed, unlike the shock troops deployed for hydroeletric power station or apartment construction and if they were moved to Nampo, there  should be evident signs in satellite imagery, of which there were none. Similarly, the security at the facility is comparably low, being accessed on an open road off the Youth Hero Motorway and with few facilities for security personal onsite. In comparison, the nearby Chamjin Missile Factory (Tae-sung Machine Plant) has noticeably higher security; an actual enrichment facility at the Nyongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center has multiple gates and inspection posts and is in a significantly less exposed position. Administrative divisions. Nampo is divided into 5 g"uyŏk" and 2 g"un", which are in turn subdivided into "dong" and "ri