{"id":2422,"date":"2016-06-27T13:05:10","date_gmt":"2016-06-27T04:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.01.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang-2\/2016\/06\/report\/plant-tree-campaign\/"},"modified":"2021-06-24T14:35:01","modified_gmt":"2021-06-24T05:35:01","slug":"plant-tree-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/2016\/06\/news\/plant-tree-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"\uff1cInside N.Korea\uff1e Kim Jong-un Orders North Koreans Make Mountains Evergreen. -Declares 10-Year War Against Slash-and-Burn Farming"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Women<\/a>

Women from rural areas cart wood harvested in the mountains to cities. April 2005 (ASIA PRESS)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Following the completion of the Party Congress, an ASIA PRESS reporting partner living in a Northern province of North Korea called us. He sounded as though he were in distress. (ISHIMARU JIRO)<\/p>\n

\u201cKim Jong-un declared a 10-year war to revive the forests.\u00a0He\u2019s taking away the fields in the mountains and ordering that people plant trees,\u201d He said.<\/p>\n

People who have visited the Sino-Korean border and looked into North Korea will be aware that North Korean mountains lack trees. Even the steep sides of mountains are covered in a patchwork of fields. These can be observed even from the Chinese side of the border.
Related article: <\/strong><People Struggle To Collect Firewood for Winter><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

In the 1990s, the North Korean food distribution chain (the Public Distribution System) ceased functioning. To feed themselves, people cut down trees on nearby mountainous areas to clear land for planting crops. After access to coal was cut off for ordinary citizens, people were forced to cut down more trees as fuel for cooking and heating.<\/p>\n

Kim Jong-un\u2019s father, the late Kim Jong-il, ordered a ban on such slash-and-burn practices. However, his orders were largely ignored, as people were willing to do whatever they needed to in order to survive. Food was of utmost importance and illegal slash-and-burn farming practices were a means of securing a food source for farmers and poor people in the cities. As such, government officials overlooked the illegal cultivation in return for bribes.
Related article:<\/strong> <Compulsory Collection of Harvest for Military Supply \u2013 Farmers\u2019 Discontent Growing><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Every April, people burn off land throughout the North Korean mountains. They do this to kill weeds and fertilize the soil with ashes. As a result of the burns, at night the mountains are tinted red. It is a scary sight, but beautiful as observed from the Sino-Korean border.<\/p>\n

This man-made mountain fire can be seen in satellite photos. News of the mountain fires is broadcast in the North Korean state media every April.<\/p>\n

Next page: The North Korean people<\/span> oppose<\/span> Kim Jong-un<\/span>\u2019s 10-year...<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Mountains<\/a>

Mountains in Hoeryong City, North Hamkyung Province. Even trees at the peak of the mountain have been cut down. (Taken by ISHIMARU JIRO on June 2005).<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u25c6 The North Korean people oppose Kim Jong-un\u2019s 10-year war to regrow forests<\/h2>\n

On 2015 February 27th<\/sup>, Chosun Central News broadcast Kim Jong-un\u2019s announcement to the Party, the army, and economy officials.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, it is our irresistible resolve and will to transform empty mountains into evergreen mountains; into treasured, golden mountains within 10 years. \u2026\u2026. We have to choose: will our mountains be in ruins forever? Or will they stand green again.<\/p>\n

After Kim\u2019s declaration, the government started to enforce laws against slash-and-burn farming all over North Korea. However, this is a matter of life and death for ordinary people. Consequently, last year, as long as trees were not cut down, in return for bribe, agriculture officials looked away if a person was cultivating short crops.<\/p>\n

Since then, the writer of this article confirmed that many farmers have given up slash-and-cut agriculture, though tree replantation is yet to take hold.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The tree replantation campaign continued this year; the regulations on planting are strict. And as the directive came from Kim Jong-un, there is fear amongst high-ranking cadres that they may be prosecuted if results are not shown early on.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow people are forbidden to enter the mountains. Cadres have been ordered to confiscate all the mountain fields and crop planting has been banned. Work places and individuals are expected to fill a planting quota, but due to the shortage of tree seedlings, it seems unlikely that people will be able to do this,\u201d said \u2018A\u2019, a reporting partner for ASIA PRESS.<\/p>\n

Next page: Illegal sale of confiscated fields...<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"To<\/a>

To the left side of the Tumen River (above) is China. On the right side of the river is North Korea. The difference, in terms of tree coverage, can be clearly seen. (Taken by ISHIMARU JIRO in June 2006).<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u25c6 Illegal sale of confiscated fields<\/h2>\n

Another reporting partner, \u2018B\u2019, told us a similar story. He said that the orders are strict this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey wouldn\u2019t allow us to go near our fields in the mountains. If we planted something, they\u2019d pull it out of the ground. I recently planted potatoes, and they pulled them out. It was growing well\u2026\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201cForest Protection Agency\u201d enforces agricultural laws. The agency stated that the crackdown on illicit agricultural practices came on the orders of the Great Leader, Kim Jong-un. Yet, there seems to be corruption behind the scenes. \u2018A\u2019 continued:<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter they confiscated the fields, they didn\u2019t plant trees. Instead, they put them on the black market, and sold the fields to individuals, agencies, or businesses. For 9917.4m2<\/sup>, it\u2019s about 400,000 Won (about USD50). People who\u2019ve lost their fields curse them behind their backs.<\/p>\n

It is reasonable to replant trees on the bare mountains. Yet, the initial problem of over harvesting was due to starvation and indigence that came about as a result of the economic collapse. Without addressing the real problems people will continue to suffer.<\/p>\n

\"rimjingang_banner001\"<\/a>*\u00a0Editor\u2019s notes on North Korean reporters<\/a>
<\/a>ALL REPORTS >>><\/a> <\/strong><\/span>
ARCHIVE(pdf) >><\/a><\/span>
DPRK MAP >><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Following the completion of the Party Congress, an ASIA PRESS reporting partner living in a Northern province of \u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3595,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[7,12,13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2422"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2422"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2422\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}