In this regard, KCNA met Kim Song Gun, a department director of the Ministry of Land and Environmental Conservation, who said:

Pyongyang City is channeling big efforts into hitting the tree-planting goal set higher than last year.

All its citizens turned out in planting good species of trees in conformity with features of each street, while precedence was given to securing suitable species of saplings in districts and counties.

In Hamhung City, South Hamgyong Province, more than 50 000 trees were planted around the Hamhung Grand Theater and in Hamhung Youth Park and other places in a day.

The province conducted various activities to arouse its inhabitants' patriotic zeal, urging them to strictly observe technical requirements in planting trees.

South Hwanghae Province is also pushing ahead with the campaign, with stress put on planting good species of trees, including Larix leptolepis and Pyongyang maple trees.

On the basis of a detailed survey of distribution of forests, the province has set it as a goal to afforest areas of tens of hectares more than scheduled. Hundreds of thousands of trees were planted throughout the province in a few days.

The same is true of other provinces, including Kangwon Province whose Anbyon County has already turned out millions of saplings.