In South Koreanpronunciation, the initial "R" of the name is pronounced as "N", (나선, Naseon) as per standard Korean phonology. In 2000, the name was shortened from "Rajin-Sŏnbong" to "Rason". During the 1930s, the Japanese called it Rashin; at that time, it was an important port at the end of a railroad line. It fell under the control of the Red Army on 14 August 1945.
Before 1991, Rason was used by the Soviet Union as an alternative warm-water port in case Vladivostok was unavailable.[4] The Soviet naval facilities were built starting in 1979.[5] From 1993 to 2004, it was administered separately from North Hamgyŏng as the directly governed city (chikhalsi) of Rason. Prior to 1993 and from 2004 to 2009, the city had been part of the North Hamgyŏng Province. Since 2010, the city is a "special city", again breaking from provincial control, but different from its older designation as a directly governed city.[6] What this means in practice is unclear.
Rason borders Hunchun county in Jilin province of China and Khasansky District in Primorsky Krai of Russia.[3] China is making investments in the port as it gives it access to the Sea of Japan.[3][7] In July 2011, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) gave a green light for China's domestic trade cargo to be shipped via its port of Rajin from northeast to east China.[8] Coal is shipped from nearby Chinese mines to Shanghai.[3] A casino by the sea caters to Chinese visitors.[9]
The Korean People's Navy maintains a naval training base at the Rajin Port in the city of Rason. In addition, a Chinese company in 2017 leased a dock for 10 years at the port.[12]
Rajin Oil Refinery is the largest oil refinery in North Korea. Although North Korea itself lacks oil wells, they can and do import oil from other countries to supply their refineries. Large oil tankers are spotted multiple times unloading at the Rajin port.[2]
^ ab"Organizational Chart of North Korean Leadership"(PDF). Seoul: Political and Military Analysis Division, Intelligence and Analysis Bureau; Ministry of Unification. January 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
^ abcd"朝鲜罗先市" (in Chinese). 18 October 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
^Robinson, Thomas W. (January 1982). "The Soviet Union and Asia in 1981". Asian Survey. A Survey of Asia in 1981: Part I. 22 (1): 20. doi:10.2307/2643707. JSTOR2643707.
North Korea UncoveredArchived 14 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine (North Korea Google Earth) Maps out Rason's economic infrastructure, including railways, hotels, tourist destinations, cultural facilities, ports, electricity grid, and electrified perimeter fence on Google Earth.
