Introduction
Rajin Port is one of the largest ventures in the Rason SEZ. It is a large year-round ice-free port that is used to ship goods in and out of the zone via sea trade routes.
The port consists of three main piers, one of which is currently leased by a Russian company that does business in the Rason SEZ. There is also some space in the zone leased to foreign ships that wish to dock in the port over the wintertime to avoid the ports along the Siberian coastline, which freeze over the long, harsh cold winter.
Location of Rajin Port
Rajin Port is located on the western part of Rajin Bay, which is the city was built around.
It is around a 20-minute drive from the center of the city, and the port consists of a facility that is over two kilometres long and consists of everything you would expect a port to have from customs offices, warehouses, loading facilities and space for ships of different sizes to dock.
Visiting Rajin Port
Visiting Rajin Port is included on our group and independent tours to the Rason SEZ.
A visit to the port provides a fascinating insight into how trade in the DPRK works and the foreign companies that do business there.
Cruising to Rajin Port?
Believe it or not, Rajin Port was the first area North Korea decided to experiment with the cruise ship industry back in 2011.
The country was looking for a use for the Mangybong 92 ship, which used to be a passenger ferry between Wonsan North Korea and Nigita Japan between the years of 1992 – 2006 before the ship was banned by Japan from entering its waters.
YPT arranged a research trip on the cruise ship in 2011 that took us down the coast from Rajin to the Mt. Kumgang tourist zone. Unfortunately, the initial cruise was not seen as a success by the North Korean side and was subsequently halted.