{"id":323309,"date":"2026-03-17T07:31:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T22:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/?p=323309"},"modified":"2026-04-07T13:37:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T04:37:07","slug":"border-soldiers-forced-to-replant-trees-doomed-to-die","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/border-soldiers-forced-to-replant-trees-doomed-to-die\/","title":{"rendered":"Border soldiers forced to replant trees doomed to die"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div>\n<div class=\"standard-markdown grid-cols-1 grid [&amp;_&gt;_*]:min-w-0 gap-3 !gap-3.5\">\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">North Korean soldiers guarding the border with China have been mobilized to plant trees ahead of Arbor Day on March 14, but many are voicing frustration over what they see as a politically driven campaign that sends trees to their deaths.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">A source in North Pyongan province told Daily NK on Monday that since March 9, soldiers with the 31st Border Guard Brigade have been digging holes for trees at three-meter (about 10-foot) intervals in sections assigned to each company, platoon, and squad near Sinuiju and Uiju.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">North Korea organizes tree-planting campaigns every spring and fall, mobilizing both civilians and soldiers for reforestation and environmental improvement. But despite the annual effort, newly planted trees often fail to take root.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">A large number of trees planted around Sinuiju and Uiju following the severe floods of summer 2024 did not survive and had to be dug up to make room for new plantings last year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">&#8220;Most of the dead trees are those that were hurriedly transplanted for political events,&#8221; the source said. &#8220;Those trees were doomed because the organizers were more interested in the visual impact than in the trees&#8217; long-term viability.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Officials prioritizing ornamental effect have repeatedly chosen to transplant mature trees rather than seedlings \u2014 a practice the source says is directly responsible for the high mortality rate.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"text-text-100 mt-2 -mb-1 text-base font-bold\"><strong>Border troops pulled into a losing cycle<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Soldiers currently assigned to the Sinuiju and Uiju areas are again transplanting mature trees pulled from surrounding forests rather than planting seedlings grown for the purpose.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">&#8220;Trees that would grow fine if left alone are being ripped from the ground and replanted as part of the reforestation initiative,&#8221; the source said. &#8220;Their roots are damaged in the process, and they aren&#8217;t tended to afterward, which means they have no chance of surviving.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">In some cases, soldiers are digging up the same ground for the third time. &#8220;The trees planted last spring died, and more trees were planted in the fall. Those died too, so the soldiers are digging the spots up once again,&#8221; the source said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">The repetitive and seemingly futile work is breeding discontent in the ranks. Some soldiers are frustrated at being made to transplant trees almost certain to die; others say the authorities are fixated on raw planting numbers rather than on creating conditions that would allow trees to survive.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Beyond environmental aims, the source said, the tree-planting campaign along the border serves political and military purposes \u2014 obstructing access to the border area and limiting outside surveillance. That dual purpose is expected to extend the timeline of this year&#8217;s campaign significantly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">&#8220;While tree-planting projects around Arbor Day typically take two or three days, soldiers will spend over a week planting trees this time,&#8221; the source said. &#8220;And it may take even longer for units with a heavy workload like the 31st Brigade.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/20260312-4\/\">Read in Korean<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<!-- Daily NK \u2014 A Note to Readers \u2014 End of Article Pattern -->\n<div style=\"background:#1a1a1a;border-top:3px solid #cc0000;padding:0;margin-top:32px;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;\">\n  <div style=\"padding:20px 24px 24px;\">\n\n    <!-- Header row -->\n    <div style=\"display:flex;align-items:center;gap:12px;margin-bottom:14px;\">\n      <span style=\"background:#cc0000;color:#fff;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:9px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.15em;text-transform:uppercase;padding:3px 8px;flex-shrink:0;\">A Note to Readers<\/span>\n      <div style=\"flex:1;height:1px;background:#333;\"><\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n    <!-- Intro line -->\n    <p style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif;font-size:15px;color:#fff;font-weight:normal;line-height:1.4;margin:0 0 12px;\">Reporting from inside North Korea<\/p>\n\n    <!-- Body -->\n    <p style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif;font-size:13px;color:#bbb;line-height:1.75;margin:0 0 16px;\">\n      Daily NK operates networks of sources inside North Korea who document events in real-time and transmit information through secure channels. 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A source in North Pyongan province told Daily NK on Monday that since March [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":256,"featured_media":41434,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,646,649,1360],"tags":[695,696,959,1409],"class_list":["post-323309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-military","category-china-north-korea-border","category-society","tag-sinuiju","tag-north-pyongan-province","tag-forced-labor","tag-reforestation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v28.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Border soldiers forced to replant trees doomed to die - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/border-soldiers-forced-to-replant-trees-doomed-to-die\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Border soldiers forced to replant trees doomed to die\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"North Korean soldiers guarding the border with China have been mobilized to plant trees ahead of Arbor Day on March 14, but many are voicing frustration over what they see as a politically driven campaign that sends trees to their deaths. 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