In a show of good faith, the South Korean
government is planning to provide 3 billion KRW in funding for cooperative
exchange between the South and North following a bilateral agreement
reached on August 25th. This funding will be provided to the forestry coalition
as part of initial steps to foster greater civil exchanges between both sides.
According to a South Korean government
official on August 30th, the 3 billion in aid will be dispersed within a week
of confirmation and announcement of up to eight different private forestry
groups slated to carry out the project.
“This initiative was set to launch much
earlier but was delayed multiple times on account of escalated tensions between
the South and North along the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ),” the official stated.
Fortunately, both the South and North are reported to be making strides toward
further cooperation in order to develop more forestry specialists with
international organizations.
Additionally, Washington-based Voice of
America (VOA) recently reported that North Korean forestry specialists will
begin studying forest restoration at Eberswalde University (Germany) with the
aid from the South.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of
the United Nations (FAO), which is overseeing the training, divided the roughly
30 North Korean specialists into four different teams, the first of which is
set to arrive the end of September. The training budget provided by the South
totals 70,000 USD (around 82 million KRW).
Director of Forestry Jeon Bum Kwon, who is
currently working with the FAO, spoke with VOA, explaining, “The objective of
this training is for the FAO, in cooperation with the South Korean government,
to provide help for the reforestation of North Korea while also taking action
against climate change,” adding that the South’s experience with the
reforestation of the Baekdudaegan Mountain Range will be very beneficial to the
program as well.
Hopes are high for the success of the
initiative given that both Koreas seem to be focused on and committed to
realizing this forestation coalition.. In the celebratory address marking the
70th anniversary of Korea’s independence from Japan, President Park Geun Hye
cited the project as one of the top three inter-Korean environmental
coalitions. Similarly, Kim Jong Un emphasized the need for reforestation in his
New Year’s Address last year.
