Locals subtly oppose Kim’s reforestation program… ‘Trees Are Planted, But They Don’t Grow’
North Korea’s ambitious reforestation program faces resistance from food-strapped locals. (Image: Korean Central News Agency)
Authorities in North Hamgyong Province are struggling to deal with the destruction of recently planted trees by local residents.
Forestry officials in Hoeryong and other areas have been on high alert since mid-March, according to a source in the province cited by NK Times.
Trees are routinely destroyed, but incidents surged in the wake of National Tree Planting Day on March 14, the source claimed.
Inspectors from the Hoeryong City Forest Supervision Office are now patrolling the mountains from early morning until late at night, checking the condition of newly planted trees.
Authorities are warning residents that destruction of a tree carries a 50,000 won fine per tree and serious offenders could even face a labor camp sentence.
North Korea has long struggled with deforestation. With extensive wood harvesting and stripping of hillsides for crops led to the loss of 2.2 million hectares of forest between 1990 and 2010.
Since he came to power, Kim Jong-un has tried to turn this around. In a speech, he said the country should “make green forests thick on the mountains.”
According to a study by the South’s Korea Development Institute, some 1.33 million hectares of trees have been planted since 2014.
However, the reduction of arable land has led to local resistance.
In the past, the source said, people would pull newly planted trees out by the roots or snap their trunks.
This year, however, they have taken to more discreet methods to avoid detection by forest authorities. These include cutting off branches or spraying herbicides, which effectively stunts tree growth while allowing them to escape punishment. This strategy has reportedly become widespread.
“Now, even the ways of killing trees have diversified,” the source said. “By cutting branches or spraying herbicide, people can eliminate obstacles to crop growth without outright killing the trees—thus avoiding crackdowns and penalties.”
Kang is a reporter at NK Times, a Seoul-based media outlet focused on North Korean issues. He was born in 1978 in Chongjin and graduated from Chongjin 1st High School in North Korea. After 10 years of military service in the 4th Army Corps, he attended Chongjin Agricultural University before defecting.
Latest posts by Kang Jae-jun (see all)