The state of air pollution in North Korea in comparison with South Korea

This study assessed the state of air pollution in North Korea mainly based on the measurement data for Pyongyang, the capital city, Geumho, a rural area in the East Coast, and Wonsan, an industrial city. The environmental data of North Korea have rarely been disclosed. Most of the reports on the North Korean environment have been based on wild assumptions and rumors, the reliability of them not confirmed: they usually describe it as very polluted. But, the measured data of SO₂, NO_x, TSP, CO and O3 showed that the air quality of the Geumho was very clean year round, even lower than those in rural areas in South Korea. It seemed that the air in this rural area was not much affected by air pollution from industries or urban cities near by. The level of SO₂ in Pyongyang turned out to be similar to that in Seoul, well below the national environmental standard. The level of NOx in Pyongyang, both ambient and personal exposure level, was much lower than that in Seoul. The total emission of three major air pollutants (SO₂, NO_x, and TSP) in North Korea was estimated at about 1/6 of that in South Korea, judging from the energy consumption in 2003. The major emission source of SO₂ and NO_x in North Korea was coal burning in industrial sector, compared to transportation in South Korea. The emission in Pyongyang accounts for 14% of that in North Korea, and the thermal power plants 45% of that in Pyongyang. The SO₂ emission estimated for Pyongyang was a little higher than that in most of the major cities in South Korea except Ulsan, a petrochemical industrial city, but the NOx emission was much lower than that in any major cities in South Korea. North Korea adopted strict air quality standards and emission regulations in accordance with Environmental Protection Law, but it could not be confirmed if the laws had been complied at all. There were some positive efforts observed to reduce the air pollution in North Korea. The major transportation means in Pyongyang were walking, subway, tram cars and trolley buses. Walking could be a major transportation means possibly due to the urban planning which minimized the transportation and the lack of energy. Automobiles were rare in Pyongyang. The high stacks of power plants also seemed helpful in reducing the ground-level air pollution.