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37-569: The river flows in northeast Asia, on the border between China and North Korea in its upper reaches, and between North Korea and Russia in its last 17 kilometers (11 mi) before entering the Sea of Japan. The river forms much of the southern border of Jilin Province in Northeast China and the northern borders of North Korea's North Hamgyong and Ryanggang provinces. Paektu Mountain on

74-478: A boundary contention between Russia and North Korea. The Qing Dynasty ceded the island to Russia as part of the Primorsky Maritimes ( East Tartary ) in the 1860 Treaty of Peking . In 1990, the former Soviet Union and North Korea signed a border treaty which made the border run through the center of the river, leaving territory of the former island on Russian side. South Korea refuses to acknowledge

111-414: A consul of arts and culture, though it was later reported he was investigating counterfeiting and drug trafficking by North Koreans. Choe's body was discovered in the stairwell of an apartment complex housing other Korean nationals and diplomats. A few residents reported hearing a physical struggle, groans, and someone running away from the area. Blood was discovered from the 6th floor all the way down to

148-656: A major tourist attraction in the area. In Tumen, Jilin , a riverfront promenade has restaurants where patrons can gaze across the river into North Korea. The Russian name of the river is Tumannaya , literally meaning foggy . In 1938 the Japanese built the Tumen River Bridge , where the Quan River meets the Tumen River, between the villages of Wonjong (Hunchun) and Quanhe. Important cities and towns on

185-495: A resident of the area: "It's the first time such strong border fences are being erected here. Looks like it is related to the unstable situation in North Korea." The resident also added that previously "anybody could cross if they really wanted" as the fence had only been 10 feet (3.0 m) with no barbed wire. In 2014, an Australian journalist who visited Dandong reported a low level of border security. In 2015, fencing

222-540: A result of his death, South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade allegedly instructed their personnel to refrain from contacting with or providing assistance to North Koreans in Russia , even refugees , for fear that they too could be murdered. Some analysts believe that the North Korean government chose to delay announcing their 24 August arrest and detention of American citizen Evan Hunziker until around

259-610: A single rogue North Korean soldier killed four ethnic Korean citizens of China who lived along the border of China with North Korea. Rumours of Chinese troop mobilizations on the border frequently circulate in times of heightened tension on the Korean peninsula. According to scholar Adam Cathcart, these rumours are hard to substantiate and hard to interpret. A leaked China Mobile document that went viral on Chinese social media on 7 December 2017 allegedly revealed Chinese government plans to construct five "refugee settlement points" along

296-464: Is also crossed illegally by soldiers and others seeking food and money. Some Chinese villagers have left the border area because of the attacks. The history of conflict in the area (examples include incidents during the Battle of Lake Khasan ) was alluded to in singer Kim Jeong-gu's song 'Tearful Tumen River (눈물 젖은 두만강)', which became an ode to families separated by such tragedies and by defections during

333-447: Is believed to have contained neostigmine bromide. When his corpse was discovered, he still had $ 1,200 cash in his pocket. It emerged soon after that he had poison in his bloodstream of the same type as that carried by a North Korean submarine which had infiltrated South Korean waters and landed near Gangneung , Gangwon the previous month; North Korea had threatened to retaliate for the killings of their special forces agents by

370-738: The South Korean Army . North Korea denied all involvement and accused the South of fabricating evidence in order to frame the North. Some news reports at the time suggested that the North Koreans had hired a Russian Mafia hitman to actually carry out the murder. Two or three assailants participated in the murder. Russia's two year long investigation concluded Choe was killed in an act of random violence. The South Korean government maintains its disagreement with this conclusion. As

407-476: The Yalu River delta with lower banks and narrower width. The concrete and barbed wire fence ranged in height from 8 feet (2.4 m) to 15 feet (4.6 m). In 2007 a U.S. official stated that China was building more "fences and installations at key border outposts". In the same year, it was reported that North Korea had started building a fence along a 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) stretch of its side of

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444-406: The Yalu River , and had also built a road to guard the area. In 2011 it was reported that China was building fences 4 metres (13 ft) high near Dandong, and that 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) of this new fencing had been built. It was also reported that China was reinforcing patrols, and that new patrol posts were being built on higher ground to give wider visibility over the area. According to

481-437: The 3rd. He had moved into this complex about 2 months prior. The complex was known to have lax security and issues with power outages. It is believed Choe was in the stairwell because the elevator power was out on that day. The official cause of Choe's death was listed as bludgeoning, and he had damage to his skull; two pencil-sized holes on his torso suggested injection of a foreign substance into his body. The injection

518-669: The Chinese border. Most refugees from North Korea during the 1990s famine crossed it, and most recent refugees have also used it, as it is far easier than crossing the Amnok River . The Tumen is the preferred crossing because, unlike the swift, deep and broad Amnok River that runs along most of the border between the two countries, the Tumen is shallow and narrow. In some areas it can be crossed on foot, or by short swims. It freezes in winter, allowing dry crossings. Defectors wishing to cross

555-564: The Chinese side of the river. Both countries have navigation rights on the river, including in the delta. The source of the Yalu River is Heaven Lake on Paektu Mountain , which is considered the birthplace of the Korean and Manchu peoples . This lake is also the source of the Tumen River which forms the eastern portion of the border. Historically the border areas have been contested by successive Chinese and Korean polities, though

592-552: The Chinese-North Korean border is the source of the river, as well as of the Yalu River . The two rivers and the region of Paektu Mountain between their headwaters form the border between North Korea and China. The name of the river comes from the Mongolian word tümen , meaning "ten thousand" or a myriad . This river is badly polluted by the nearby factories of North Korea and China; however, it still remains

629-504: The Korean War. The humanitarian crisis along the Tumen River was dramatized in the 2010 feature-length film Dooman River . China%E2%80%93North Korea border The China–North Korea border is an international border separating China and North Korea , extending from Korea Bay in the west to a tripoint with Russia in the east. The total length of the border is 1,352 kilometers (840 mi). The current border

666-460: The North Korean side of the Amnok River and up its tributaries. A common wedding day event for some Chinese couples involve renting boats, putting life preservers on over their wedding clothes, and going to the North Korean border to have wedding photos taken. Memory cards and teddy bears are reportedly among the most popular items for North Koreans shopping in Dandong. Opened In 2005,

703-763: The Russian language at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. In 1985, he passed the Korean civil service exam . In February of 1993, Choe was appointed to the Ukrainian embassy in Korea. By December 1995, he was dispatched to Vladivostok to be the Consulate General. Vladivostok was a popular destination for North Koreans working for or fleeing their government. The DPRK held a consulate in nearby Nakhodka . Choe's diplomatic work officially involved him acting as

740-607: The Tumen border. The following year Japan formally annexed Korea . Korea achieved its independence after the 1945 surrender of Japan and subsequently divided into two, and the Chinese Communist Party assumed rule over China after it won the Chinese Civil War in 1949. In 1962, North Korea and China signed a border treaty in secret which fixed the boundary line along the Yalu and Tumen rivers, with

777-440: The Tumen often ignore its pollutants and dangerous border patrol, and spend weeks if not months or years waiting for the perfect opportunity to cross. "Long, desolate stretches of the Chinese-North Korean border are not patrolled at all", according to a New York Times article. Refugees rarely cross the Tumen into Russia. This is because Russia's short stretch of the river is far better patrolled than China's stretch. In addition,

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814-644: The Yalu river delta at the western end of the border, near the Yellow Sea . Their waterfronts face each other and are connected by the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge . There are 205 islands on the Yalu River. A 1962 border treaty between North Korea and China split the islands according to which ethnic group were living on each island. North Korea possesses 127 and China 78. Due to the division criteria, some islands such as Hwanggumpyong Island belong to North Korea even though they are on

851-534: The Yalu-Tumen headwaters on Mount Paektu. A pillar was erected indicating the border alignment in this section, and a demilitarised neutral zone set along the frontier. In 1875 China, fearful of the Russia presence to the east, occupied its section of the neutral zone. A Chinese-Korean boundary team surveyed the Mt Paektu area in 1885–87, however there were disputes over whether the pillar had been moved, and

888-473: The border between North Korea and China was described as "porous". The Chinese government transferred responsibility for managing the border to the army from the police in 2003. Chinese authorities began building wire fences "on major defection routes along the Tumen River" in 2003. Beginning in September 2006, China erected a 20-kilometre (12 mi) fence on the border near Dandong , along stretches of

925-578: The border to North Korea in Changbai county and Jilin province. This was apparently in preparation for a large influx of North Korean refugees if the Kim regime collapsed in a potential conflict with the United States . The Guardian quoted the document: "Due to cross-border tensions … the [Communist] party committee and government of Changbai county has proposed setting up five refugee camps in

962-621: The border, according to satellite photos published by Reuters . Choe Deok-geun Choe Deok-geun ( Korean :  최덕근 ; 2 November 1942 – 1 October 1996), also spelled Choi Duck-keun or Choi Duk-gun , was a South Korean consular official for the Russian Far East who was believed to have been assassinated by poison in October 1996. Choe was born in Songtan , Pyeongtaek , Gyeonggido , South Korea . He studied

999-567: The county." Border control was significantly strengthened in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic . North Korea closed its border with China in January 2020. By August 2020, the regime had established a 1–2 kilometer buffer zone in front of the border where official permits were required to enter; trespassers would be "fired at without warning". In May 2023, newly constructed double walls and guard posts were observed along hundreds of kilometers of

1036-486: The current border utilising the Yalu-Tumen rivers appears to have been in place by the mid 15th century. The Manchu (Qing) dynasty of China managed to consolidate control of north-east China (Manchuria) and establish a nebulous 'tributary' rule over Joseon Korea . In 1712 the Chinese Kangxi Emperor and Joseon King Sukjong authorised a border mission to analyse the border alignment in the vicinity of

1073-588: The increasing influence of Japan, and by 1905 it was deemed a Japanese protectorate. In 1909, China and Japan signed the Gando Convention , whereby Korea was made to renounce any claims north of the Yalu-Tumen line in return for extensive Chinese concessions to Japan. In the Mount Paektu area the 1712 pillar was confirmed as the border marker, and the Shiyi/Sogul headwater stream utilised up to

1110-483: The middle overland section running across Mount Paektu and through Heaven Lake . A subsequent protocol in 1964 allocated the numerous riverine islets, granting 264 to North Korea and 187 to China. These two treaties define the modern border between the two countries. North Korea's border with China has been described as its "lifeline to the outside world." Much of the China-North Korea trade goes through

1147-417: The port of Dandong. Chinese cell phone service has been known to extend as far as 10 km (6 mi) into Korean territory, which has led to the development of a black market for Chinese cell phones in the border regions. International calls are strictly forbidden in North Korea, and violators put themselves at considerable peril to acquire such phones. Tourists in Dandong can take speedboat rides along

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1184-511: The rewards for doing so are not as high since the ethnic Korean community in Russia is far smaller to receive sufficient support from, as opposed to China, which has a larger Korean population. Lastly, North Korean authorities have been known to infiltrate Russia looking for defectors and those who collaborate to assist them; the 1996 murder of Choe Deok-geun in the border city of Vladivostok prompted South Korean authorities to be very reluctant to provide defectors with any assistance. The Tumen

1221-614: The river are Hoeryong and Onsong in North Korea, Tumen and Nanping ( 南坪镇 , in the county-level city of Helong ) in China's Jilin province. In 1995, the People's Republic of China , Mongolia , Russia, North Korea and South Korea signed three agreements to create the Tumen River Economic Development Area. Noktundo , a former island (now effectively a peninsula) at the mouth of the Tumen, has been

1258-431: The treaty and demanded that Russia return the territory to Korea. There are several popular species of fish endemic to Tumen river, such as Tumen lenok and bighead gudgeon . In 2016, China released 800,000 salmon seedlings into Tumen river in order to expand the regional fishing industry and meet the increasing demand for sea products. The Tumen has been crossed for years by North Korean refugees defecting across

1295-457: The two sides were unable to agree precisely which of the several headwater streams should form the frontier. In 1889 the Chinese unilaterally demarcated a frontier in the area, marking it with a series of posts, however these were later destroyed by the Koreans. Korea also made periodic claims to Korean-inhabited lands ( Jiandao ) north of the Tumen. In the early 20th century Korea came under

1332-630: Was created by two secret treaties signed between China and North Korea in 1962 and 1964. From west to east, the two countries are divided by three significant geographical features: the Yalu River , Paektu Mountain , and the Tumen River . Dandong , in the Liaoning Province of China, on the Yalu River delta, is the largest city on the border. On the other side of the river is the city of Sinuiju in North Pyongan Province , North Korea. The two cities are situated on

1369-503: Was reported as the exception rather than the rule. In 2015, a photojournalist who traveled along the Chinese side of the border commented that fencing was rare and that it would be easy to cross the Amnok river when it was frozen. The same report noted friendly contact between people on opposite sides of the border. In 2018, a photojournalist drove along the border and described it as "mile after mile of nothing, guarded by no-one". In 2015,

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