North Korea's illegal wildlife trade thrives amid economic hardship, military expansion

By Tony Wesolowsky | 2025-05-30

North Korea is quietly rolling back decades of environmental safeguards even as it parades new military assets, highlighting a stark divide between the regime's priorities and the mounting humanitarian crisis within its borders.

A study published May 8 in Biological Conservation reveals that the world's most isolated state is engaging in "unsustainable and illegal wildlife trade," including the exploitation of species protected by its own laws.

"The widespread harvesting of North Korea's wildlife, driven by the economic limitations of the North Korean state and the shortages of food, medicine and basic goods experienced by many of its citizens, is an important threat to the biodiversity of North Korea and the wider region," said conservation biologist and lead author of the study Joshua Elves-Powell of the University College London (UCL) geography department.

Despite having a regulatory system for protected areas and species, enforcement is lax and breaches are common, the study found.

Endangered species such as Asiatic black bears, long-tailed gorals and Eurasian otters are being hunted for personal consumption and black market trade, often destined for buyers in China, it said.

"China is the primary international market for the North Korean wildlife trade, with notable products including wild meat, furs and body parts for use in traditional medicine," UCL wrote in a news release May 9.

The assessment -- based on interviews with North Korean defectors including former hunters and wildlife trade middlemen -- reveals that the state itself is implicated in, and actively profiting from, the harvesting and trade of these endangered species.

The study details how North Korea itself operates wildlife farms, including animals such as otters, pheasants, deer and the protected Asiatic black bears.

North Korea is believed to have first developed bear bile farming practices in the late 1970s, a practice later adopted by other regional states, including China. Used in traditional Asian medicine, bear bile farming has been widely condemned by conservationists and animal welfare advocates.

Military spending over people

Even as it dismantles biodiversity protection, North Korea continues to build up its military.

Pyongyang unveiled in late April its largest and perhaps its most technologically advanced warship to date: the 5,000-ton Choe Hyon-class destroyer. According to state media, the vessel is equipped with "the most powerful weapons" in the North Korean navy, including advanced missile systems.

The unveiling of the Choe Hyon-class destroyer is part of a broader campaign of military grandstanding that includes ballistic missile launches, claims of new satellite technologies and expanding submarine capabilities.

On October 31, 2024, Pyongyang announced the test-launch of its new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Hwasong-19. State media declared it the "world's strongest," claiming it flew farther and higher than any previous missile tested by the regime.

However, international experts concluded the test failed to demonstrate key technological milestones needed for a fully operational ICBM capable of reaching the US mainland. Its guidance system, reentry technology and payload capacity remain unverified.

Likewise, the launch of the regime's most advanced warship suffered an embarrassing setback.

The second Choe Hyon-class destroyer was reportedly damaged during its launch earlier this month, with satellite imagery and intelligence reports suggesting it was left listing and disabled -- undermining the state's narrative of unstoppable military modernization.

These incidents underscore a broader pattern: while North Korea projects an image of military might, the reality often reveals technical flaws and overstatement.

The spectacle is calculated -- meant to boost domestic morale and send a defiant message abroad -- even when the underlying capabilities fall short.

Grim outlook

Experts argue that even a fraction of the resources devoted to these programs could alleviate dire needs across the country.

Hospitals report shortages of essential drugs, infant malnutrition is on the rise, and rural clinics are left without electricity or clean water.

The United Nations (UN) recently said that nearly 46% of the country -- or 11.8 million North Koreans -- are undernourished.

"The country faces chronic food insecurity due to old infrastructure, capacity gaps in technology and skills, natural disasters and a lack of investment in addressing those issues," Elizabeth Salmon, the UN special rapporteur for North Korean human rights, said in a report to the UN Human Rights Council.

This persistent neglect of urgent humanitarian and environmental needs leaves North Korea facing an increasingly bleak future, with little relief in sight as it remains isolated from the international community.

The authors of the Biological Conservation study emphasized that economic hardship has been a key driver of the black market wildlife trade.

Following the collapse of North Korea's economy in the 1990s -- which led to a devastating famine estimated to have killed between 600,000 and 1 million people -- the informal economy expanded rapidly.

In response to widespread hardship, many citizens turned to trading goods, including wildlife, as a means of survival.

Although conditions have moderately improved in some sectors, researchers found no evidence that the illegal wildlife trade has slowed.