Ryu Kwang-su, right, South Korea's vice minister of the Korea Forest Service, and his North Korean counterpart Kim Song-jun, a senior official at the ministry for environmental protection, walk into a meeting room at the southern side of Panmunjeom, Wednesday, to discuss forestry cooperation, mainly measures for reforestation of the North. / Courtesy of Ministry of Unification





By Park Ji-won







Seoul and Pyongyang agreed Wednesday to cooperate on reforestation and forest conservation in North Korea and near the inter-Korean border, they said in a joint statement.







The two Koreas will jointly conduct inspections of selected areas in mid-July to assess measures against harmful insects; and also discuss exchanging related technology.







They agreed to push for the modernization of seedling farms in the North and the prevention of forest fires.







The South's three-member working-level delegation led by Korea Forest Service Vice Minister Ryu Kwang-su held talks with the North's team led by Kim Song-jun, a senior official at the ministry for environmental protection, on the southern side of the truce village of Panmunjeom to discuss forestry cooperation.







The meeting was a follow-up to agreements in the Panmunjeom Declaration reached at the April 27 inter-Korean summit. This is the first time in a decade for the Koreas to meet to discuss cooperation in forestry.







No data is available on the exact condition of North Korea's forestry, but it is said the lack of trees is severe there due to excessive deforestation, increasing the risks of flooding, landslides and desertification.







North Korea already suffers from a host of environmental problems. Its weak environmental infrastructure makes it the world's seventh most vulnerable country to environmental disasters such as floods and landslides, according to reports by the South's Korea Environment Institute (KEI).







Pyongyang has been making efforts to restore its ecology. Since 2011 when Kim Jong-un took power, he has emphasized the importance of "forest restoration" saying it was part of a "war." In 2015, Kim also told his people to push for reforestation.







In that context, after the April agreement, the South Korean government pushed plans to give aid to the North in the forestry sector by forming a taskforce to conduct forestry cooperation as one of top the priorities among projects with North Korea.







The working-level talks over forestry are the latest in a series of inter-Korean talks on various issues. The two Koreas recently discussed cooperation in connecting cross-border railways and roads, and are preparing reunion events in August for families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War. A friendly inter-Korean basketball event, the first of its kind in 15 years, was also held in Pyongyang.

