In between the rivers, and the source of both, is Paektu Mountain, revered by both the Koreans and Manchurians as the mythic origin of each people.

The North Korean government claims that Kim Jong-il was born there when his parents were at a Communist anti-Japanese resistance camp at the mountain.

The North Korean-Chinese border for 32 kilometres (20 mi) east of the mountain is "dry, remote and mountainous, barely patrolled," making it one of the crossing areas for refugees from North Korea into China, although most, including refugees from Ryanggang itself, prefer to cross over the Tumen River.

The worst hunger of the 1990s famine years occurred in these three provinces, and most refugees into China come from the Rust Belt region.

[3] An explosion and mushroom cloud was reportedly detected in Kimhyŏngjik-gun on 9 September 2004, the 56th anniversary of the creation of North Korea.