Sinuiju Special Administrative Region (Korean: 신의주특별행정구) was a planned special administrative region (SAR) of North Korea based in the city of Sinuiju. Proclaimed in 2002, the SAR was envisioned to be directly governed, having been split off from North Pyongan Province, as is the case for "Directly Governed Cities" but has yet to be put into de facto operation.
Proposals for a special economic zone in Sinuiju to introduce market economics were first proposed to Chinese-Dutch businessman Yang Bin in 2001, who was proposed to be the zone's director. Yang later accepted the proposal on several conditions; most importantly, rather than a SEZ, the proposed area would become a special administrative region, emulating China's special administrative regions (SARs) of Hong Kong and Macau. Under this proposal, the Sinuiju SAR would have its own "Basic Law" (기본법; Kibonpŏp), passport, flag and seal, and have large autonomy in all areas except foreign policy and defense. Though reluctant, North Korean officials eventually acceded to Yang's proposals.
