concessions of the American and British Mining Companies at Un-san and Eun-san were granted, Chin-am-po became the port of shipment for much of their traffic.
The commercial possibilities of the region, which lies between the Ta-dong River and the water-shed of the Yalu, are in the earliest stages of development. Much might be predicted of the returns which these new fields would yield to intelligent exploitation. Cut off from the eastern division of the kingdom by ranges of mountains, and extending from Po-reup-san, near Chin-am-po, in the south, to the mountain fastnesses of the northern frontiers of the Empire, is a stretch of country in part uninhabited. It is frequented by bands of Korean robbers and Chinese bandits; the centre of much native mining and the scene of perpetual border warfare. The haunt of the wild beast, barren and almost impenetrable, it is practically untouched by Western civilisation. Its groves of pines and firs, and acres of woods, recall the time when Northern Korea was one vast forest. Until quite lately there were but two open ports for the service of this region, Chin-am-po and Pyöng-yang. The third, Syön-chyön-po, in its northern extremity, is still closed to Europeans. Gold and coal, iron and copper, are among its natural resources. The soil is productive; and the moment is ripe for the initiation of industrial enterprises. Moreover, commercial prosperity would introduce a more pacific note into the condition of these lone lands.
Pyöng-yang lies upon the borders of an extensive anthracite and bituminous coal district. The outcroppings are plainly traceable, although at present not indicative of any very serviceable quality of fuel. Coal, however, is not the least of the minerals, nor are the resources of the soil confined to the production of beans. Stone quarrying and the
