evidence: To develop the natural resources of its coastal strip, and to protect its borders against a potential Japanese invasion, in 1938 the USSR began the construction of a railway line from BaranovskyJunction on the Trans-Siberian Railway to Kraskino. The 190-km long railway was completed in 1941. After the end of World War II this railway was extended from Kraskino to Khasan, on the Korean border, its total length reaching was 238 km. The Khasan station was opened on September 28, 1951. [...] In 1990, the Soviet Union and North Korea signed an agreement on the establishment of the state border along the fairway (thalweg) of the Tumen. The former Noktundo Island, 32 square km in size, was recognized by North Korea as part of Russa. This agreement was not recognized by South Korea, which continues to consider Noktundo as Korean territory.