Nampo, also spelled Namp'o, is a city and seaport in South Pyongan Province, North Korea, which lies on the northern shore of the Taedong River, 15 km east of the river's mouth. Formerly known as Chinnamp'o, it was a provincial-level "Directly Governed City" from 1980 to 2004, and was designated a "Special City" in 2010, and made a part of South P'yŏngan. Namp'o is approximately 50 km southwest of P'yŏngyang, at the mouth of the Taedong River. Namp'o 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. Namp'o 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 district are a famous local product.
Administrative divisions
Namp'o is divided into 5 kuyŏk and 2 kun, which are in turn subdivided into tong and ri:
The greater Namp'o area is densely served by the Korean State Railway, with 18 stations on the P'yŏngnam Line, the entirety of the Ryonggang Sŏhaekammun and Taean lines, and one station on the Ŭllyul Line being located inside the boundaries of Namp'o-t'ŭkpyŏlsi.
Sea
The West Sea Barrage of the port of Namp'o, built by erecting an 8-km long sea wall, has three lock chambers which allow the passage of ships up to 50,000 tons, and 36 sluices. Namp'o Harbour is often used as the primary port of call for receiving foreign food aid assistance into North Korea. The port of Namp'o has modern harbour facilities that can accommodate ships of 20,000 tonnes but is frozen during the winter. Namp'o serves as Pyongyang's port on the Yellow Sea. In 2008, the harbour received several batches of grain delivery; the first batch delivered in June was sent by the United States and weighed 38,000 tons. A South Korean-based relief organisation, Join Together Society, donated one batch of flour in October of the same year weighing approximately 500 tons.
