How North Korea’s new tree-planting campaign could put its forests at risk



Analysis How North Korea’s new tree-planting campaign could put its forests at risk The DPRK is pivoting toward treating forests as an economic resource, even as deforestation remains a serious concern Seung-Yeon Chung April 27, 2026 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON Forests in North Korea \| Image: KCTV (April 7, 2026) North Korea has launched a new reforestation campaign that promotes tree planting less as a strategy to restore the natural environment than as a key to economic development — putting at risk years of work to undo pervasive destruction of the country’s forests. The DPRK wrapped up a 10-year “war to ameliorate nature” in 2024, a campaign that saw workers plant millions of trees across the country and appeared to be a significant success. Now, after a one-year break to set new goals, state media has announced a second forest restoration campaign that looks to plant Read More © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. LATEST ANALYSIS 01How North Korea’s newest ‘hypersonic’ missile could foil adversary defenses 02Crossing the Yalu: Why China and North Korea want to open long-stalled bridge 03A decade apart, two DMZ mine blasts highlight a new inter-Korean reality 04Chinese authorities seize smuggled goods bound for North Korea: records 05Likely Russian ship docks in North Korea’s Rason port for first time since May 06Trump doesn’t need a grand deal with Kim, but rather small coordinated actions 07North Korean trade with China rises 3.7% in August thanks to wig exports: data 08North Korea tensions expose Seoul’s uneasy relationship with UN Command

Analysis

How North Korea’s new tree-planting campaign could put its forests at risk

The DPRK is pivoting toward treating forests as an economic resource, even as deforestation remains a serious concern

Seung-Yeon Chung April 27, 2026

How North Korea’s new tree-planting campaign could put its forests at risk

Forests in North Korea | Image: KCTV (April 7, 2026)

North Korea has launched a new reforestation campaign that promotes tree planting less as a strategy to restore the natural environment than as a key to economic development — putting at risk years of work to undo pervasive destruction of the country’s forests.

The DPRK wrapped up a 10-year “war to ameliorate nature” in 2024, a campaign that saw workers plant millions of trees across the country and appeared to be a significant success.

Now, after a one-year break to set new goals, state media has announced a second forest restoration campaign that looks to plant

01How North Korea’s newest ‘hypersonic’ missile could foil adversary defenses
02Crossing the Yalu: Why China and North Korea want to open long-stalled bridge
03A decade apart, two DMZ mine blasts highlight a new inter-Korean reality
04Chinese authorities seize smuggled goods bound for North Korea: records
05Likely Russian ship docks in North Korea’s Rason port for first time since May
06Trump doesn’t need a grand deal with Kim, but rather small coordinated actions
07North Korean trade with China rises 3.7% in August thanks to wig exports: data
08North Korea tensions expose Seoul’s uneasy relationship with UN Command

How North Korea’s new tree-planting campaign could put its forests at risk

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Seung-Yeon Chung