Kilchu

Infobox Korean name|context=north
hangul=길주군
hanja=吉州郡
rr=Gilju-gun
mr=Kilchu-kun

Kilchu, also variously romanized as Gilju or Kilju, is a county in North Hamgyong province, North Korea. It is composed of 1 "ŭp" and 26 villages. The county seat is Kilchu-ŭp.

Geography

Kilchu is located in the southern part of North Hamgyong. It borders Myŏngch'ŏn on the east, Kimch'aek and Hwadae to the south, Hwasŏng and Ŏrang to the north. To the west it borders Tanch'ŏn in South Hamgyŏng and Paegam in Ryanggang.

Kilchu stands at the junction of the Hamgyŏng Mountains and the Maryŏng Mountains, and its northwestern region is mountainous.

The average annual temperature is 7.5 °C (-7.6 °C in January and 22.2 °C in August).

Military

A number of military facilities are known or believed to be located in Kilchu. These include the Hwadae-ri atomic weapons training facility. This was first built with Soviet assistance in 1958, and rose to international prominence when the 2006 North Korean nuclear test was reported to have been held there. The Musudan-ri missile facility is located in nearby Hwadae county, and a separate Scud facility has been reported in the area.

External links

* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/dprk/kilju.htm Global Security profile, with extensive background information]