By Yi Whan-woo
North Korea is increasingly building greenhouses in coal-mining areas as part of efforts to rebuild its economy hit by U.N. Security Council (UNSC) sanctions, according to sources familiar with Pyongyang.
The measure comes after the UNSC sanctions aimed at curbing exports of North Korean coal, one of the country's main income sources, were introduced because of the North's nuclear program.
"We can't export coal, so we've changed our lifestyle," a source in South Pyongan Province said on condition of anonymity.
The source claimed provincial residents were building greenhouses to "make a living," adding, "It will be hard to find a household that hasn't built a greenhouse in the coal mine regions."
Another source said more than 80 percent of residents in Tokchon, a provincial city, had greenhouses, which the authorities had encouraged.
The greenhouses are used to grow cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers. The vegetables are sold to Sinuiju and Pyongyang using taxis and privately operated trucks.
Many in the region previously worked in the coal industry, but have been trying to make money in other ways after the UNSC adopted Resolution 2321 in 2016.
The resolution is designed to restrict North Korea's annual exports of coal to $400 million or 7.5 million tons, whichever is lower in value, to punish Pyongyang for its nuclear program.
In August 2017, Caritas Internationalis, a group of more than 160 Catholic charities worldwide, said it built 10 greenhouses in North Korea between January and August of the same year to grow vegetables for tuberculosis and hepatitis patients.
It said the greenhouses were built in Gangwon and South Pyongan provinces with German support.
It added that it had built 11 other greenhouses and repaired eight in Gangwon, Jagang and South Hamgyong provinces in 2016.
