The border between China and North Korea has recently been discussed by some people.
On the edge of the Yalu River, as soon as sediment piles up, the islands gradually grow bigger, the coastline on China's side seems to be shrinking, and North Korea seems to be "growing flesh". Some people said that they had suffered a loss and had to renegotiate the border treaty.
What happened to this change of territory? is it real or there is another explanation?
Since the Xuande period of the Ming Dynasty, the border between China and North Korea has been basically bounded by the Yalu River and the Tumen River. The Yalu River is 795 kilometers long, all of which are the dividing line between China and North Korea, accounting for 56% of the total border length.
At that time, the island of Jiangsu has a lot of shashan, the boundaries depend on habit, who lives there who grows who controls. When the Qing dynasty, Japan began to intervene in the northeast, the problem of the dick green river mud sand sinking began.
On the map of 1885 there is still no image of Salzburg and Silk Island.
By 1933, the map of the People's Republic only marked the island, on the south side of the main navigation route, close to the Korean coast; Silk Island was born after the 1940s, Japan's water-rich power plant, changed the waterway, mud and sand flowed down, so it was formed.
After World War II, New China was founded, North Korea was also founded, and the border had to be formally drawn.At the beginning, North Korea did not recognize the old treaty and wanted to have a land of white mountains and heavens. Long White Mountain is a holy place in the eyes of the Koreans, and they feel they should all belong to themselves.
In the late 1950s, the Soviet-Chinese relationship stalled, the Soviet Union withdrew experts, border negotiations became yellow.China needed to stabilize North Korea, the Korean War China helped a lot, and the two countries had to tighten.
On October 12, 1962, Zhou Enlai went to Pyongyang and signed the Treaty on the border with Kim Jong-un. Article 2 of the Treaty clearly states that the islands in which the residents of the previous Contracting Party settle or cultivate shall belong to that Contracting Party and shall not change.
The 205 islands on the Duck Green River, all according to this section.Mayo Island and Silk Island, because the Koreans were already in the area, were assigned to North Korea. China gave up 54% of the area of Tianchi Lake in Changbai Mountain in exchange for border stability.
On March 20, 1964, Mr. Chen and Mr. Park signed a protocol in Beijing to determine the boundaries of the trees.
The total length of the border is 1420 kilometers, the land boundary is 45 kilometers, the water boundary is 1289 kilometers. The island of the Duck Green River is divided according to the width of the water, the river water is governed by the two countries, the boats can be opened, and fishing can be used for water.
The border from the southwestern corner of the hillside into the hillside, after coming out, is divided into 54.5% China, 45.5% North Korea. Thus, the surface of China has made more concessions, but actually stabilized the northeast border, avoiding new trouble.
Sign the treaty, and the border is stable? It's not that simple.
After the signing of the treaty, the shrinkage of the river accelerated. From 1972 to 1975, the first joint inspection by the DPRK, the original 162 islands above the river, with 61 remaining.
On the Chinese side, it was reduced from 57 to 13, losing 1.71 million square meters. There are few islands because the sediment is filled and the river channel is narrowed. In the second joint inspection in 1990, 10 islands in Liaoning section had not yet been decided, and the changes in the lower reaches of Yalu River were more obvious.
Silk Island has grown from more than 50 square kilometers to more than 70 square kilometers, and is also expanded, the two islands are connected into one, North Korea calls it "salon island county".
The western shore of the Duck Green River is China, the east shore is North Korea. The river washes the western shore, accumulates the east shore. When the tide rises, the two islands are only a hundred miles from the east port, and the river bed is revealed when the tide drops, and it looks like it is connected to Liaoning, far from the native country of North Korea.
China's shoreline collapsed, and the territory actually decreased.In 1995, a major flood in the Jilin section, the dam broke more than a thousand places, five riverways changed, and lost 13 million square meters of land.
Some have calculated that the Chinese territory has shrunk thousands of acres, and North Korea has several hundred acres.The western fork is muddy, 98% of the water flow goes east fork, China's outlet is narrowed, and Dandong port shipping is affected.
This change is naturally formed, not man-made. Chinese geological experts say that the Duck Green River has a transit of hundreds of millions of tons of sand per year, the upstream is sandy, the downstream is wide, the sediment is normal.
North Korea has built a pay-island county, developing an economic zone. China's eastern port filled with sea landing, planned in 2005, started in 2015, expanded to 550,000 square meters, built a deep-water port, blocked mud sand, stable out of the sea.
In 2014, the new Duck Green River Bridge passed, and in 2018 the shipping route was shattered, and Dandong Port passed more than 10,000 tons. The two countries agreed to manage the riverway, and the Chinese shipowners could also walk without hitting their necks.
Now the question arises, this territory is less, is it worth revisiting?
Someone cried out that in 1962, China "send" the island, eat a huge loss, have to come back. Listen to the discharge, but what is the reality? treaty is international law, signed the bonds, unless the two countries agree to change.
In history, Japan invaded China when the islands were torn, the North Koreans on the islands, the treaty was determined by the cultivation, not white delivery. China's concessions were for the big deal, the Soviet Union broke up, the Soviet border million soldiers, northeast China empty, North Korea stands for China, the Soviet Union disintegrated North Korea neutrality, which is worth thousands of dollars.
Let's talk about economy, Dandong is China's largest border city, with tens of billions of trade with North Korea in 2022.The border is stable, the border trade is active, and the Yalu River Bridge is busy with traffic. Re-talking about risks is great, destroying relations, and the northeast economy is just gasping. Such a noise is tantamount to adding chaos.
The ocean was filled two by two, the port was deep, and the land was stable. The duck green river shipping agreement was, the ship was easy, and the sea was not troubled. Territorial change was the pot of the river, not the pot of the treaty. Internationally, border negotiations were mostly for war or colonial legacy, and the DPRK was peacefully divided and re-started without any basis.
Of course, some people worry that if the seaport is gone, the northeast will decline and Dandong Port will exist in name only. This is pure nonsense,The northeastern revitalization depends on policy and cooperation, not on the division of borders.
In 2024, the new district began to work, policy slope, more cooperation projects. China-Korea friendship bridge expansion, freight resumption, and rapid recovery after the epidemic.
In history, Dong Huang Zhen, Jiangnan gave Xin Lo, in exchange for the peace of the north, the China-Russian border treaty is also a reason, strategic concessions in exchange for long-term stability.
References:
1. A record of the border investigation between China and North Korea: How many secrets are hidden in the border demarcation 300 years ago Li Huazi (Institute of History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences) 2016-05-07
The Treaty on the Border of the DPRK