The area was settled at least since the Bronze Age, revealed by excavations of relics in the county.

There are no ports, although some fishing is done along the coast with the main fishery bases at Kwangmyongsong-rodongjagu, Andong-ri, Hodo-ri and Chongbaeng-ri.

The lignite produced at this mine is supplied to South Hamgyong and Kangwon Province.

[3] Other products manufactured in the county include bricks, textiles, cloth and roofing.

It was ceremoniously opened on 30 October 2020, built in a series of many small scale hydropower plants in North Korea,[4] although it was built on the initiative of the county, which Kim Jong-un praised, and in return, decided to send generators and transformers, which had not yet been installed.

[7] The Kumyagang Army-People Power Station was inaugurated in August 3, 2016 after a 14 year build time.

[10] The county has extensive underground resources, such as copper, gold, zinc, iron, graphite and asbestos.