In the economic forest district of the Central Botanical Garden at the foot of Mt Taesong in Pyongyang, there is a nearly 60-year old dawn redwood forest.

According to Jon Kwang Il, section head of the Garden, those trees were propagated from one dawn redwood cultivated by President Kim Il Sung.

During the Fatherland Liberation War (June 25, 1950 - July 27, 1953), the President came to personally cultivate in a pot the tree presented by the commander of the Chinese People's Volunteers as a gift. After the war he had continued to grow it in the garden of his residence, confirming the possibility of its propagation in the country. And then, he selected the area for planting the tree and made sure that it was spread massively.

In mid-February Juche 52 (1963), botanists began to conduct the test of planting branches that was cut off the tree cultivated by the President. Finally, they succeeded in propagating the tree by means of cuttage and supplied to different parts of the country its saplings they had produced every year.

Later, the Central Botanical Garden spread one hundred million dawn redwoods in all by introducing various methods.