Namp'o
(2001 est. pop. 645,000). Namp'o (Chinnampo) is a major port and industrial city on the west coast of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). The city is 55 kilometers southwest of Pyongyang and 8 kilometers inland from the sea.
The major industries of Namp'o are steel production, shipbuilding, and farm vehicle production. In 1995, Namp'o became the site of some of the first joint economic ventures between North and South Korea. These ventures were the production of clothing for export.
Namp'o has extensive port facilities, which were augmented in the 1980s by construction of the West Sea Barrage, an 8-kilometer dam that stretches across the Taedong River. This dam, built between 1981 and 1986, includes three locks capable of lifting ships of up to 50,000 tons. It has created a freshwater lake that reaches Namp'o, ending the tidal surge that once disrupted river activities. However, the damming of the river has also led to higher levels of pollution in the river because industrial pollutants are no longer carried out to sea. In 2000, a ten-lane highway between Namp'o and Pyongyang was completed.
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