By Lee Min-hyung
A U.S.-based non-profit organization says it plans to hold a forum in North Korea to discuss ways to restore the country's devastated forests, Voice of America (VOA) reported Thursday.
The announcement came after recent media reports concerning the communist nation's serious deforestation, fueling worries that it might harm the environment of other Northeast Asian countries.
Experts say more than 32 percent of the North's forest had been destroyed as of 2013, threatening to break down the ecosystems of the surrounding areas.
"The forum aims to lead a forestation movement. Countries where desertification is going on, such as China or Mongolia, also need to pay close attention to the forum," said an official from the organization - One Green Korea Movement (OGKM). The event will be held in Pyongyang on Nov. 19.
The North's rapid deforestation has come as a huge threat to neighboring countries, as deforestation can cause serious problems within the forest ecosystem, not just on the Korean Peninsula, but other surrounding countries.
The five-day forum comes against this backdrop, with scholars from China, Mongolia and Indonesia participating. Korea's Green Asia Organization is also scheduled to attend.
OGKM seeks to build an agricultural complex near the Demilitarized Zone to provide a shelter for families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.
"The complex will be called Green Village. It's not a place for a one-day family reunion, but rather a comfortable shelter where separated families can live with one another long-term," the official said.
The organization has planted about five million trees in the North over the past 10 years; it has mapped out a long-term plan to plant more than 6.5 million trees in the future.
A U.S.-based non-profit organization says it plans to hold a forum in North Korea to discuss ways to restore the country's devastated forests, Voice of America (VOA) reported Thursday.
The announcement came after recent media reports concerning the communist nation's serious deforestation, fueling worries that it might harm the environment of other Northeast Asian countries.
Experts say more than 32 percent of the North's forest had been destroyed as of 2013, threatening to break down the ecosystems of the surrounding areas.
"The forum aims to lead a forestation movement. Countries where desertification is going on, such as China or Mongolia, also need to pay close attention to the forum," said an official from the organization - One Green Korea Movement (OGKM). The event will be held in Pyongyang on Nov. 19.
The North's rapid deforestation has come as a huge threat to neighboring countries, as deforestation can cause serious problems within the forest ecosystem, not just on the Korean Peninsula, but other surrounding countries.
The five-day forum comes against this backdrop, with scholars from China, Mongolia and Indonesia participating. Korea's Green Asia Organization is also scheduled to attend.
OGKM seeks to build an agricultural complex near the Demilitarized Zone to provide a shelter for families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.
"The complex will be called Green Village. It's not a place for a one-day family reunion, but rather a comfortable shelter where separated families can live with one another long-term," the official said.
The organization has planted about five million trees in the North over the past 10 years; it has mapped out a long-term plan to plant more than 6.5 million trees in the future.
