DPR Korea
Capital:
Pyongyang
Land Area:
120,408km²
Inland Water Area:
130km²
Length of Coastline:
2,495km
The history of ICM in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) can be traced back to 1993 when the country joined the first phase of PEMSEA’s GEF-funded project. When the second phase started in 1999, the DPR Korea designated Nampho as an ICM demonstration site along with 6 other sites in the region. The designation of Nampho as one of PEMSEA's national ICM demonstration sites was one of the driving forces for development of ICM policy in the country. The Nampho ICM demonstration project which includes activities such as: the development of the Nampho Coastal Strategy; establishment of the Integrated Information Management System (IIMS) and the Integrated Environmental Monitoring Program (IEMP); start up of the Coastal Management Division and ICM Training Center; improvement of the potable water supply system in Nampho; and decreasing pollution in Nampho's coastal area. The success of the Nampho ICM demonstration project proved that scaling up ICM across the entire country would be beneficial to the people’s welfare and livelihood, as well as the environment. It led DPRK to become a signatory to the Putrajaya declaration, which endorsed the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA), and the Haikou Partnership Agreement which established PEMSEA as a regional coordinating mechanism for SDS-SEA implementation.
Recently, efforts to scale up ICM nationally have been initiated by the government. Following the model case of Nampho and guided by the National ICM Programme, Wonsan—the largest city in the East Sea area of DPR Korea—was designated as an ICM site in 2015. Aside from the two ICM sites, plans to scale up ICM in DPR Korea will include establishing a National ICM Coordinating Committee at the central level to ensure the efficient and effective implementation of programs at the national and local levels. The Committee will approve all the ICM-related work in DPR Korea including work plans, budgets andproject outputs. The government is also developing a management program for the Taedong River Basin. The Taedong River is the fifth longest river in DPRK, approximately 450km, and its watershed area covers over 20,000km2, including Pyongyang, the capital. The government has already prepared a profile of the Taedong River and formulated the draft management framework plan.
Focal Points:
Mr. Kwang-Jin Jong (National Focal Point)
Deputy Director-General, General Bureau for Cooperation with International Organizations (GBCIO)
c/o Dr. Won-Tae Shin
Regional Project Manager ODA/MOF, PRF
General Bureau for Cooperation with International Organizations (GBCIO)
RELATED PUBLICATIONS
2025 MEP Program Planning Workshop
The planning workshop for the 2025 Marine Environment Protector (MEP) Program was conducted on 18-19 March 2025 at Parañaque, Philippines and brought together representatives from MEP partner organizations across six Philippine sites.
Representatives from the four existing MEP program sites presented their 2024 accomplishments and shared lessons learned from implementation. The workshop also served as an introduction for new MEP partners from Bulan and Calbayog who will begin implementation in 2025.
The participants discussed various campaigns and identified effective practices that could be applied across different sites. Together, they drafted comprehensive work plans and timelines aligned with the 2025 implementation guidelines established by the Regional Project Management Unit (RPMU).
The two-day workshop successfully established target outputs for 2025 implementation and developed strategies to effectively impact local communities in their respective sites. Participants focused on ensuring engagement and full support of their respective local government units for proposed marine plastic waste management initiatives.
Proceedings of the 1st Blue Carbon Technical Working Group Meeting
The First Blue Carbon Technical Working Group meeting was held on February 25, 2025, online via video conference (Zoom). The meeting was chaired by the Technical Session Chair and Co-Chair of the East Asian Seas (EAS) Partnership Council (PC) and participated by PEMSEA country partner designated representatives from China and the Philippines; non-country partner representatives from the National Marine Hazard Mitigation Service (NMHMS), Ocean Policy Research Institute of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (OPRI-SPF), Conservation International (CI), Korean Maritime Institute (KMI); PNLC members, Xiamen University, University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI); and other collaborators, such as the China Green Carbon Foundation and OceanPixel.
PEMSEA eBulletin - February 2025
Dear PEMSEA community,
As we step into a new month, we are thrilled to share some remarkable milestones and collaborative efforts that highlight PEMSEA’s ongoing commitment to environmental sustainability.
The month began with PEMSEA receiving recognition from the DENR-EMB for the strong collaboration particularly through the MOF/PEMSEA ODA Marine Plastics Project in the Philippines. In the Arafura and Timor Seas, representatives from Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Timor-Leste came together in Australia to tackle the ghost net crisis.
Discover how the IRBM Project is fostering transparency and accountability with its new Grievance Redress Mechanism, empowering voices to be heard. Learn more about the data-driven efforts in the Philippines and Timor-Leste, where beach monitoring is shaping policies to tackle marine plastics.
And don’t miss the update from PEMSEA’s inaugural Blue Carbon Technical Working Group meeting, where stakeholders across the region came together to advance the Blue Carbon Roadmap and set the direction of the program.