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Key Information

Noktundo
North Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl록둔도 / 녹둔도
Hancha鹿屯島
Transcriptions
Revised RomanizationNokdundo
McCune–ReischauerNoktundo / Roktundo
Russian name
RussianНоктундо

Noktundo (Korean: 록둔도/녹둔도; Russian: Ноктундо, romanized: Noktundo) was an island in the delta of the Tumen River on the border between Primorsky Krai, Russia and North Korea.[1] The area of the island was 32 square kilometres (12 sq mi).[2][3]

Noktundo had been a Korean territory since the 15th century.[3] The Jurchens took notice of this. In 1587 there was a battle fought on this island between the local Koreans and the invading Jurchens. At first, the Jurchens successfully sacked the island and captured 160 Koreans as prisoners. As they crossed the river back to their camp with the prisoners, the famed Korean general Yi Sun-Shin chased after the invaders, rescued 50 Koreans, and defended the island. With his army, he later infiltrated the nearby Jurchen army camp, and captured their leader alive.[4]

Due to changes in the canal and sand sediment, the island was eventually adjoined to the north shore, which was part of the Qing dynasty.[3]

The island was under Korean control until 1860 when Russia forced the Qing dynasty to cede Outer Manchuria along with Noktundo in the Convention of Peking without any Korean participation.[3][5][6] When the Joseon government found this out in the 1880s, this became to the Koreans a matter of protest, as they claimed that the Russians had no authority to do so, and protested against it to the Qing dynasty.[7] In 1990, Soviet Union and North Korea signed a border treaty which made the border run through the center of the river leaving the territory of the former island on the Russian side. South Korea refused to acknowledge the treaty and demanded that Russia return the territory to Korea.[8][9][10]

Koreans continued to live on Noktundo until the 1930s.[3]

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References

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Noktundo

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from Grokipedia
Noktundo is a former island in the delta of the , now integrated into the mainland of Russia's along the border with . The territory, historically part of Korea's Hamgyeong Province, spans approximately 32 square kilometers and features terrain altered by shifts in the river's course over time. In 1860, the , exercising over Korea, ceded Noktundo to the under pressure via the , marking the onset of Russian control despite prior Korean administration. Korean inhabitants resided there until the 1930s, when Soviet authorities deported them to as part of broader ethnic policies. A 1990 border treaty between the and delineated the boundary along the river's midline, explicitly affirming Russian sovereignty over Noktundo, which North Korea accepted. South Korea, however, rejects this arrangement, asserting historical rights based on Joseon-era maps and narratives rather than subsequent legal treaties, framing the area as ancestral Korean territory and fueling public and media campaigns for its reclamation. These claims persist amid Russia's firm control and lack of formal diplomatic challenge from , highlighting tensions rooted more in nationalist sentiment than enforceable .

Geography

Location and Physical Features

Noktundo is a landmass spanning 32 square kilometers in the delta of the , situated along the border between Russia's and . The , approximately 521 kilometers long, delineates this boundary, originating from Mount Paektu and flowing into the . Originally an isolated by branching river channels, Noktundo became connected to the adjacent mainland through gradual siltation and shifts in the river's course, transforming it from an insular feature to a peninsular extension. The terrain consists of low-lying deltaic land with alluvial soils deposited by the river, characteristic of and environments in the Tumen that support regional hydrological and ecological functions, including trapping and flood mitigation. These soils, enriched by fluvial deposits, facilitate agricultural potential in the broader delta area through conversion of natural wetlands.

History

Pre-Modern Period

In the 15th century, following military expeditions under King Sejong (r. 1418–1450), extended its northern frontier to the , incorporating the estuary region—including areas like Noktundo—into the defensive perimeter of Hamgyong Province to counter Jurchen tribal movements. This alignment reflected empirical efforts to secure natural river boundaries against nomadic incursions, with administrative oversight through units such as Gyeongheungbu for frontier management. A documented clash occurred in 1587, when Jurchen raiders attacked Korean outposts on Noktundo, sacking initial settlements amid harvest activities before forces, led by commanders including , repelled them, killing approximately 160 invaders. Such events underscored the island's role as a sparse buffer rather than a settled domain, with records indicating intermittent garrisons rather than permanent civilian populations. Following the Qing Dynasty's establishment after 1644, border protocols with tributary reaffirmed the as the demarcation line, nominally affirming Joseon authority over estuary islets like Noktundo under tributary oversight, though practical control remained limited by geography and seasonal Jurchen/Manchu pressures. Archaeological findings in the region reveal minimal pre-19th-century artifacts, consistent with its function as an unpopulated or lightly used zone rather than integrated .

Russian Imperial Acquisition

The , signed on November 14, 1860, between the of China and the , compelled the Qing to cede approximately 1 million square kilometers of territory in to Russia, including the coastal Primorye region and the island of Noktundo at the delta. This acquisition stemmed from Russia's strategic exploitation of Qing vulnerabilities exposed during the Second Opium War (1856–1860), where Anglo-French forces occupied , prompting Alexander II's envoy Ignatyev to negotiate favorable border adjustments amid the Qing's capitulation. The treaty delimited the Sino-Russian border along the and rivers, assigning all lands north and east—including Noktundo, previously under loose Qing —to Russian sovereignty, reflecting 19th-century imperial dynamics where military pressure and diplomatic opportunism secured territorial gains without direct Russo-Qing conflict. Joseon Korea, a Qing with historical claims to the Tumen based on earlier Ming-Qing understandings, lodged formal diplomatic protests against the , viewing Noktundo as integral to its northern frontier administration. However, Joseon's protests, directed primarily through Qing intermediaries, yielded no enforcement due to the dynasty's internal instability—including factional strife and fiscal exhaustion following peasant rebellions—and its subordinate position, which precluded independent military assertion against . Qing efforts at faltered, as the dynasty prioritized stabilizing its own losses over Korean territorial advocacy, underscoring the causal primacy of great-power imbalances in 19th-century East Asian formations. In the immediate aftermath, Russian authorities promoted settlement of the newly acquired Primorye territories to consolidate control, inviting ethnic Koreans from to farm under favorable land grants and tax exemptions starting in the 1860s. This facilitated the establishment of Korean villages on Noktundo, notably Krasnoye Selo (also known as Noktundo or Lutundao), which emerged as a mixed Korean-Russian outpost by the late 1870s amid broader Korean migration waves totaling thousands into the basin. Such settlements exemplified Russia's pragmatic approach to populating sparsely held borderlands, leveraging cross-border ethnic ties to enhance economic viability without immediate assimilation pressures.

Soviet and Post-Soviet Era

Following the , Noktundo remained under Soviet administration as part of , with administrative continuity from the preceding Russian imperial structure. Korean residents in the border regions, including areas near the , faced Stalinist purges amid suspicions of disloyalty due to proximity to Japanese-occupied Korea and . In September-October 1937, Soviet authorities deported approximately 171,000 to 175,000 ethnic Koreans from the , including , to , primarily and , as part of broader operations targeting perceived security risks along frontiers. This policy effectively cleared Korean populations from Noktundo and adjacent territories by the late , with survivors either assimilated into Soviet or relocated, leaving the island under exclusive Russian administrative control. Post-World War II border frictions along the , exacerbated by shifting channels and unresolved imperial-era ambiguities, prompted bilateral Soviet-North Korean negotiations. In 1985, the two states signed an agreement delineating the land boundary through the , establishing the midline as the to stabilize control over riverine features like Noktundo. This pragmatic resolution prioritized state security and resource access over historical claims, reflecting mutual interests in preventing incursions amid tensions. The 1990 Soviet-North Korean Border Treaty formalized these arrangements, explicitly routing the border along the Tumen River's (deepest channel), which positioned the entirety of Noktundo—altered by erosion and sedimentation—within Soviet territory. Ratified bilaterally without third-party involvement, the treaty underscored North Korea's acceptance of Soviet over the island, driven by geopolitical necessities rather than irredentist assertions. Following the Soviet Union's dissolution in 1991, the Russian Federation inherited these obligations, maintaining Noktundo's integration into without alteration.

Key Treaties Involving Noktundo

The , signed on November 14, 1860, between the and the , established the foundational border in the region by ceding , including the delta area encompassing Noktundo, to ; the treaty's protocols and accompanying maps delineated the boundary along the Tumen's left bank from the sea to the 42nd parallel, placing the island unequivocally on Russian territory following empirical surveys and ratification by both parties. The 1985 Agreement on the State Border between the USSR and the , concluded on April 16, 1985, defined the riverine boundary along the (deepest navigable channel) of the , implicitly assigning Noktundo to the Soviet side as the island lies north of this median line; this demarcation was ratified by the and the North Korean Standing Committee of the Assembly, binding under for shared watercourses and supported by joint demarcation commissions that verified the line's application to the delta without alteration. The 1990 Soviet-North Korean Treaty on the Regime of the State Border, signed on , 1990, explicitly confirmed the 1985 demarcation and recognized Noktundo as Soviet territory by stipulating the border's course through the Tumen's main channel, excluding the island from North Korean ; ratified amid North Korea's reliance on Soviet but grounded in mutual verification of prior surveys, the treaty's protocols included detailed maps and was upheld as legally binding post-ratification, with no subsequent abrogation despite the USSR's dissolution, as succeeded to its territorial obligations under the 1991 .

International Recognition of Borders

The borders encompassing Noktundo, as delineated in the 1990 Soviet-North Korean border treaty, have received formal recognition from North Korea, which ratified the agreement establishing the boundary along the thalweg of the Tumen River and thereby ceded the island's territory to Soviet sovereignty. This treaty, signed amid late Soviet diplomatic shifts, positioned the river's centerline as the divide, leaving the approximately 32 square kilometers of Noktundo under Soviet control without North Korean revocation or contestation in subsequent decades. Following the Soviet Union's dissolution on December 26, 1991, succeeded to the treaty obligations as the continuing state, preserving the border configuration in bilateral relations with , including through renewed diplomatic protocols in the and the 2024 comprehensive treaty, which reaffirmed territorial demarcations without alterations. 's consistent adherence underscores effective bilateral consent, contrasting with South Korea's unilateral non-recognition, which carries no binding force absent participation in the original agreement or mutual . The has deferred to this state practice, with no referrals to bodies such as the or mechanisms for adjudication, reflecting a realist emphasis on stabilized frontiers via pacta sunt servanda and the absence of sustained third-party challenges. Major powers, including those maintaining diplomatic ties with and the Koreas, incorporate the Russia-North Korea —including Noktundo—in official mappings and recognitions of post-Cold War territorial realities, prioritizing control and continuity over revisionist assertions.

Territorial Dispute

South Korean Claims and Nationalist Narratives

South Korean assertions regarding Noktundo emphasize its inclusion in Dynasty administrative records as part of Hamgyeong Province, near the estuary, framing it as historically Korean territory detached through unequal 19th-century treaties. These narratives often invoke ethnic continuity, portraying the area as "lost ancestral land" tied to Korean heritage, including anecdotal links to Admiral ’s campaigns against Japanese forces in the late , where his forces pursued invaders across nearby rivers. However, such claims prioritize cultural and sentimental ties over verifiable continuous control, as oversight waned amid Qing influence and Russian expansion, with limited empirical evidence of effective governance post-1860s riverine shifts. Since the early 2000s, nationalist discourse in has amplified through online media and public campaigns, depicting Noktundo as a symbol of and critiquing North Korea's 1990 border treaty with the as a unilateral "betrayal" that ceded Korean patrimony without pan-Korean consultation. Outlets and activists have leveraged platforms like to highlight maps and historical texts, fostering domestic sentiment that contrasts with official reticence, often attributing the territory's loss to imperial coercion rather than legal finality. This rhetoric draws on broader Korean nationalist historiography, which emphasizes minjok (ethnic nation) continuity, yet overlooks how such ethnic-centric arguments sidestep international law's precedence for ratified boundaries. Despite rhetorical protests, has eschewed formal diplomatic reclamation, confining assertions to symbolic gestures and parliamentary resolutions amid pragmatic foreign constraints, including economic dependencies on that temper irredentist pursuits. Government statements since the have rejected the Soviet-North Korean agreement but avoided escalation, reflecting a prioritization of alliances and over revanchist litigation, with narratives serving more as vehicles for internal identity reinforcement than actionable . This disconnect underscores a reliance on historical sentiment—prone to selective evidentiary emphasis—over of sovereignty transfers, where legal precedents from 1860 onward have held without Korean challenge until modern media revival.

North Korean Acceptance and Russian Sovereignty

In 1990, the and signed a demarcation agreement that established the international boundary along the of the , explicitly placing the entirety of Noktundo island under Soviet jurisdiction. This , ratified by both parties, represented North Korea's formal acceptance of Russian (then Soviet) over the 32-square-kilometer territory, diverging from earlier ambiguities in riverine definitions. Unlike South Korean objections, North Korean authorities have adhered to this delineation without formal protests or territorial assertions since , reflecting a pragmatic prioritization of bilateral stability amid the 's impending dissolution. Russia has exercised uninterrupted administrative sovereignty over Noktundo since its acquisition in 1860 through the , under which the ceded —including the island—to the . This control has manifested in consistent territorial mapping, resource management, and integration into Primorsky Krai's administrative framework, with no effective North Korean challenges disrupting governance or patrols. Russian authorities maintain the area as part of , supporting limited and operations without interference from . The Russia-North Korea border segment adjoining Noktundo, spanning approximately 17 kilometers of land and riverine demarcation, has exhibited empirical stability since the 1990 agreement, with no recorded incursions, militarized disputes, or proposals for joint development initiatives. North Korea's restraint contrasts with its irredentist rhetoric toward other neighbors, underscoring a strategic to that aligns with mutual interests in secure frontiers and economic exchanges over revanchist pursuits. This acceptance reinforces Russia's effective control, as evidenced by the absence of diplomatic escalations or boundary violations in official records through 2025.

Critiques of Revanchist Arguments

Revanchist arguments advocating the return of Noktundo to Korean based on pre-1860 administrative ties are critiqued for subordinating binding treaties to selective historical narratives, thereby threatening the foundational international legal norm of . The Soviet-North Korean border treaty delineated the boundary along the Tumen River's main navigable channel (), explicitly assigning the former Noktundo island—approximately 32 square kilometers—to Soviet control, a settlement North Korea accepted as resolving prior ambiguities from the river's shifting course. South Korean rejections of this agreement, often framed in media as North Korean capitulation, disregard that —as the state bordering the area and successor to regional authority—validates Russian possession, underscoring how ethnic-historical claims falter against sovereign consent and legal finality. Reopening settled borders via such revisionism invites cascading instability across Asia, where ethnic distributions rarely align with frontiers; analogous revanchist pressures, as in Southeast Asian disputes, have heightened geopolitical risks without yielding territorial gains, contrasting with the 1990 treaty's role in averting friction between Russia and North Korea since ratification. International practice favors stability through mechanisms like uti possidetis juris, preserving de facto boundaries post-independence or treaty to curb conflict, as evidenced by the rarity of successful historical reclamations amid dense territorial overlaps from imperial legacies. Countering narratives of unremitting coercion, Korean habitation on Noktundo and proximate territories expanded through voluntary migration post-1860, spurred by famines and land scarcity in Korea; Russian officials facilitated this by allocating plots from the 1860s, enabling initial population surges—e.g., from dozens of families in 1863 to over 3,000 Koreans in by 1910—fostering agricultural development absent in origin areas. This empirical pattern of invited settlement and economic adaptation challenges depictions of inevitable subjugation, highlighting adaptive responses to prevailing power realities until mid-20th-century policy reversals.

Current Status

Administrative Integration in Russia

Noktundo is administered as territory within Khasansky District of , subject to Russian federal and regional governance structures without any autonomous or special status. The district encompasses the southwestern area of the krai, integrating the former island—now a due to —into routine local administration for taxation, , and . Access to the area is facilitated by unpaved roads linking it to Posyet, the nearby coastal settlement serving as a logistical base for operations approximately 15-20 kilometers away. This connectivity supports periodic patrols and maintenance but remains basic owing to the terrain and security protocols. The resident is negligible, consisting primarily of Russian guards and occasional seasonal workers, a demographic shift solidified after the Soviet-era of ethnic from regions in , which displaced over 170,000 individuals from the . No permanent civilian settlements exist today, underscoring the site's role as a strategic outpost rather than a populated locale. Economically, Noktundo contributes minimally through on its alluvial soils and auxiliary -related functions, such as monitoring and small-scale fishing in the Tumen delta, with development curtailed by its isolation, environmental sensitivity, and designation as a restricted zone under Russian Federal Border Service oversight. Larger investments are absent, prioritizing security over commercialization.

Demographic and Environmental Shifts

The of Noktundo underwent a transition from an isolated to a through natural delta accretion in the , driven by deposition from river flows rather than anthropogenic factors. This change, observable via historical cartographic records and modern geospatial analysis of the Tumen delta, reflects broader hydrological dynamics in the region, including variable influenced by seasonal flooding and upstream . Demographically, Noktundo featured a Korean-majority in the early , with the village of Krasnoe Selo recording 1,883 residents across 322 households by , sustained by and in the fertile delta. The 1937 Soviet deportation of ethnic Koreans from drastically altered this composition, forcibly relocating approximately 171,781 individuals to amid fears of espionage near borders. Post-deportation, resettlement remained limited due to the area's remoteness and restricted access, resulting in a shift to sparse Russian habitation focused on border outposts, with no significant civilian recorded in recent decades. Environmental factors, including fluctuations from precipitation variability and minimal human modifications, have perpetuated low habitability, exacerbating demographic sparsity through flood risks and soil salinization in the delta. Satellite-based assessments of the Tumen Basin confirm negligible intensification around Noktundo, underscoring natural over human-driven shifts.

Cultural and Symbolic Role

Historical Ties to Korean Figures

During the dynasty, Noktundo functioned as a remote frontier outpost under nominal administrative oversight from Hamgyong Province, focused on border surveillance along the against nomadic threats like the Jurchens. Records in the Seonjo sillok ( of Seonjo's ) first reference the island as Sachhamado, noting requests for posts amid intermittent raids, but provide no details of substantial infrastructure or population centers. The most direct historical connection to a notable Korean figure is Admiral , who in August 1587 assumed command of the Noktundo to inspect defensive farms and fortifications. Under his oversight, Jurchen invaders raided the island, sacking settlements and abducting 160 Koreans, though Korean forces mounted a defense that limited further losses. This episode highlights Noktundo's role in routine duties rather than strategic centrality, as Yi's assignment was temporary amid broader northern border tensions. Joseon annals and contemporary accounts yield few other verifiable links to specific figures or events, with mentions confined to and sporadic incursions rather than enduring settlements or pivotal engagements. The island's isolation in the Tumen delta rendered it marginal to core governance, prioritizing containment of peripheral threats over development.

Representation in Media and Public Discourse

In South Korean media, Noktundo has emerged as a potent symbol of historical territorial loss, particularly in online content such as videos produced between 2022 and 2024. These portrayals often frame the island as unjustly annexed by during periods of Korean vulnerability, amplifying nationalist sentiments amid 's 2022 invasion of , which prompted comparisons to violations of . Public discourse in these formats emphasizes calls for reclamation, reflecting a desire for historical rectification rather than active geopolitical maneuvering. South Korean outlets have recurrently lambasted North Korea's diplomatic agreements recognizing Russian control over Noktundo as a capitulation of legitimate claims, portraying Pyongyang's stance as passively enabling foreign dominance. This criticism frequently aligns with domestic narratives critiquing communist governance, positioning the island dispute as evidence of North Korean weakness and occasionally invoking it to underscore the stakes of Korean unification under non-communist auspices. Globally, Noktundo garners scant attention outside niche border studies or Korean-focused analyses, evincing its peripheral status in international debates with no corresponding diplomatic initiatives or shifts in foreign recognitions. The discourse thus functions more as a for intra-Korean ideological contestation than a driver of substantive territorial .

References

  1. https://apircenter.org/publications/the-problem-of-the-noktundo-island-in-the-media-in-south-korea
  2. https://repo.kinu.or.kr/bitstream/2015.oak/2114/1/0001453611.pdf
  3. https://www.britannica.com/place/Tumen-River
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  5. https://www.neaspec.org/sites/default/files//Tumen%2520report_consolidated%2520draft.pdf
  6. https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/17/3498
  7. https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstreams/5b2340e7-0134-470f-a798-39aed99b47cc/download
  8. https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=52979
  9. https://www.donga.com/en/article/all/20200414/2037459/1
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  13. https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/bitstreams/af06b63b-ae79-4150-a33a-ed7b8a7f67e7/download
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  22. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0t3ZugfBtg
  23. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/gYyxElat9Ho
  24. https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/bsimmons/files/simmons_borderrules_isr_2019.pdf
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  26. https://www.gisreportsonline.com/r/chinese-encroachment-asean-neighbors/
  27. https://www.diplomacyandlaw.com/post/territorial-disputes-and-international-law-principles-cases-and-resolutions
  28. https://ejil.org/pdfs/8/3/1457.pdf
  29. https://www.iias.asia/the-newsletter/article/vladivostok-migration-korean-people-russian-empire
  30. https://russiaspivottoasia.com/russia-to-build-road-bridge-into-north-korea/
  31. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292916829_The_Tumen_River_Delta_Development_and_the_Environment
  32. https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/16/15/2185
  33. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/9/5687
  34. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360458556_Inferring_Land_Conditions_in_the_Tumen_River_Basin_by_Trend_Analysis_Based_on_Satellite_Imagery_and_Geoinformation
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