Recent research has revealed that we still know very little about North Korea’s biodiversity. The country’s burgeoning illegal wildlife trade continues to wreak deadly havoc on its endangered species. Ever since the North Korean economy imploded in the 1990s, North Koreans have been subjected to harsh economic stresses. As a result, a lucrative black market for wildlife has developed. This shocking fact has put the United States’ native non-game species at serious risk. These migratory species are afforded protection under national and international laws.
North Korea’s financial struggles have driven citizens to engage in informal economic activities, including the buying and selling of wildlife. This plunderous, illegal trade of hundreds of protected species every day has pernicious ramifications across national borders. Among them are the long-tailed goral and the Eurasian otter, both endangered species. The consequences of such activity reach far beyond local economics with serious repercussions on global biodiversity.
Economic Collapse and the Rise of Black Market Trade
The collapse of North Korea’s economy in the 1990s provided a void that allowed unregulated markets to flourish. With little access to the own formally recognized economic means, many North Koreans started relying on informal economies for their livelihoods. With this transformation came an unprecedented era of commerce where buying and selling goods went national. Wildlife trade became more important for accessing food and generating income.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has shown, trade in wildlife has been a vital part of the survival strategies of millions of countries’ citizens. North Korean defectors have testified that this black market is an engine of revenue for the state. These state-sanctioned hunters and local community members then bring these wild animals and their parts to the government. This practice closely connects illegal wildlife trade with the state’s economic structure.
These circumstances are having catastrophic effects on biodiversity in North Korea. Clearly, it is time to stop ignoring the obvious damage caused by over-harvesting wildlife that has resulted in serious declines of many species. Recent reports indicate hunters and traders have overwhelmingly exploited all native mammal species in North Korea weighing over 0.5 kg. This deeply disturbing pattern is putting a dangerous strain on these majestic creatures.
Endangered Species at Risk
North Korea’s involvement in the illegal wildlife trade is especially alarming. It carries a wide range of species protected under international law, including those listed under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Included in this group are the long-tailed goral and the Eurasian otter, both enduring severe threats stemming from overexploitation.
Iconic flagship species, such as the Amur tiger and Amur leopard, exist on the precipice of extinction. Invasive meat-hunting regimes are invading their ecosystems, threatening their dwindling survival. Populations of sika deer, once plentiful in North Korea’s forests, have plummeted under heavy hunting pressure, exacerbated by a lack of infrastructure for sustainable hunting. The sable, an ancient Eurasian native marten species, is being driven to similar conditions in North Korea. Overhunting for its highly coveted fur has more or less functionally extincted it.
North Korea’s government continually breaks these laws intended to preserve habitats and endangered species. This cavalier attitude undercuts conservation efforts and impedes efforts to recover species that are rebounding. This insidious black market enterprise not only puts individual species at risk, but it upends entire ecosystems across the African continent.
International Implications and Markets
China is the key international destination for North Korea’s wild animal trade. Examples include taking on the trade in wild meat, furs and body parts used to make traditional medicines. This demand makes the situation worse because it creates a lucrative market for poaching in North Korea’s territory.
North Korea’s increasingly brutal wildlife trade exposes a dark connection to its ongoing economic hardships. This grim reality highlights the complicated affinity between restoration efforts and natural destruction. The extent of the government’s participation in unsustainable practices only serves to further exacerbate challenges in achieving conservation victories across this valuable region. In the meantime, criminal enterprise goes unregulated and unchecked.
International conservation organizations have raised significant alarm over the apparent absence of enforcement measures related to wildlife protection laws in North Korea. The continued illegal trade threatens the country’s exceptional biodiversity. It shatters ecological balances across international borders, stirring up unrest throughout a volatile region.