The North Korean authorities have been implementing a reforestation initiative by forcibly mobilizing residents to participate in tree-planting projects along highways and railway tracks. Counter-productively however, the authorities are also carrying out logging operations and shipping trees for sale to China.
During a telephone call with Daily NK on June 7, an inside source from Ryanggang Province said, “Extensive logging operations are being conducted in the deep mountainous regions of Paekam County, Unhung County, and Pochon County. The purpose is to sell the trees in China and use the profits to buy fertilizer.”
According to the source, after Kim Jong Un delivered his New Year’s Address, the country’s agricultural problems were discussed and efforts were focused on dealing with the nation’s chronic fertilizer shortages. Logging exports were identified as a means to generate the revenue needed to import fertilizer.
Loggers all over the country have been ordered to assist in the procurement of fertilizer and other materials needed for the agricultural sector.
“In the Paekam County region, the remaining bald cypress trees have been marked for logging. They are being converted to lumber and shipped out. It’s possible to generate 2,000 RMB (approx USD $310) per cubic meter of wood,” he said, adding that in some cases, vehicles are dispatched from China and filled up with lumber.
“The Chinese vehicles are bigger, so they can carry about 15 cubic meters of wood. There are some days when we will be loading up the trees into as many as 30 Chinese vehicles,” he explained.
“The residents involved in the operations sigh as they watch the trees being carried far away, leaving the mountainside bare. If there were a lot of trees, it wouldn’t be so bad, but it’s especially disappointing because the last remaining trees are getting chopped down.”
A separate source in Ryanggang Province reported that some residents are criticizing the authorities’ ‘reforestation initiatives.’
According to this source, one resident said, “The party stresses reforestation, and is planting trees with one hand, but is cutting them down with the other. How long will these kinds of counterproductive policies continue? It’s very unfortunate.”
“It’s possible for some to believe that it’s justifiable to exchange decades-old giant trees for fertilizer, but from the perspective of ordinary residents, it’s really frustrating. The people should be taken out of poverty, but realistically few expect any improvement,” the source said.
