Suggested citations
AGLC4 | 환경보호법 2014 [Environmental Protection Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (2014)] [tr Daye Gang].
Bluebook | Hwangyeongbohobeob 2014 [Environmental Protection Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (2014)] translated in Law and North Korea by Daye Gang, https://www.lawandnorthkorea.com/.
Adopted on April 9, Juche 75 (1986), as Law No. 5 of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on March 4, Juche 88 (1999), as Directive No. 488 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended on July 24, Juche 89 (2000), as Directive No. 1676 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on April 19, Juche 94 (2005), as Directive No. 1083 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on March 22, Juche 100 (2011), as Directive No. 1482 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on August 23, Juche 100 (2011), as Directive No. 1825 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on July 24, Juche 102 (2013), as Directive No. 3292 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Amended and supplemented on October 22, Juche 103 (2014), as Directive No. 192 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly
Article 1 (Objective of Environmental Protection Law)
The Environmental Protection Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea shall strictly adopt a system and order in the preservation and afforestation of the natural environment and prevention of environmental pollution to make the mountains and streams of the homeland more beautiful, shall protect and promote people’s health, and shall serve to make a hygienic living environment and working conditions for them.
Article 2 (Basic principles of environmental protection work)
Environmental protection is work of the whole State and all the people that must be permanently and absolutely controlled. The State shall further strengthen environmental protection work in conformity with the requirements of actual development, and must systematically increase investment in the environmental protection sector.
Article 3 (Principle of planning environmental protection work)
Conducting environmental protection work in a planned way is a fundamental guarantee for realizing environmental protection policy. The State shall correctly adopt and execute a national environmental protection plan and environmental protection plans by area and by sector, prevent pollution, and form cities and villages and place industrial facilities in a planned way to be able to protect the environment.
Article 4 (Principle of prioritising pollution control measures)
Thoroughly adopting pollution control measures before production and construction is an important requirement for environmental protection work. The State must first adopt pollution control measures with institutions, enterprises and organizations and then conduct production and construction and must ceaselessly modernize the material and technical means for environmental protection.
Article 5 (Principle of environmental protection management principle by all people)
Environmental protection is noble patriotic work for the country, the people and for future generations and is work for the people, the public, and the self. The State shall cause all people to love the rivers and mountains of the nation and the rural areas, and self-consciously and actively participate in the work of protecting and managing well the environment of the country.
Article 6 (Execution of management allocation system)
The State shall execute a management allocation system in institutions, enterprises and organizations to better protect nature and the environment. Included in the subjects of the management allocation system are forests, beaches, roads, railways, banks, and green areas in the areas concerned.
Article 7 (Principle of scientific research and work in the environmental protection field)
The State shall strongly manage scientific research institutions in the environmental protection field and develop scientific research, and shall actively introduce valuable scientific research results into environmental protection work.
Article 8 (Exchange and cooperation in the environmental protection field)
The State shall develop exchange and cooperation in the environmental protection field with other countries and international organizations.
Article 9 (Subjects of regulation of the law)
This law shall prevent environmental destruction phenomena such as the pollution of air, water, soil, and sea, noise pollution, vibrations, land subsidence, foul smells, destruction of the ozone layer, and global warming, and shall regulate the principles and order of environmental protection to arrange a better environment. Particulars not regulated in this law related to environmental protection shall follow the relevant regulations.
CHAPTER II. PRESERVATION AND CREATION OF NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
Article 10 (Basic requirements of preserving and creating natural environment)
Preserving and creating the natural environment is a basic requirement of environmental protection work. Institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens shall preserve the natural environment and shall manage it favourably to health promotion and cultural and aesthetic standards and must protect and manage it well.
Article 11 (Selection of nature reserves and special protection zones)
Nature reserves and special protection zones such as biosphere reserves, primeval forest reserves, animal shelter reserves, plant reserves, scenic protection areas, and fisheries reserves shall be determined for the protection of the natural environment. The work of determining nature reserves and special protection zones shall be done by the Cabinet.
Article 12 (Establishment of environmental protection measures)
The land environmental protection institution and relevant authorities shall normally investigate and register changes in the natural environment such as changes in animals and plants, changes in geographical features and water purity, and changes in climate in nature reserves and special protection zones, and must adopt the required measures. In the nature reserves and special protection zones, the natural environment shall be preserved in its original state, and acts may not be done to cause inconvenience to protection and management.
Article 13 (Protection of natural and scenic beauty)
Institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens must not cut down ornamental plantations around cities and villages, roads and railway surroundings, and the surrounds of lakes and streams, and must not damage or destroy natural scenic beauty including pine groves of scenic places and coastlines, bathing resources, rugged precipices with rocks of fantastic geographical features of a mountain that are elegant and peculiar, and islands with scenic beauty. Land environmental protection institutions, regional People’s Committees and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations shall plant and cultivate many trees of good species and ground cover plants in the mountains that adjoin foundational railways and roads, shall make them into a forest, garden, or orchard, and must eliminate unplanted land.
Article 14 (Protection of scenic places and natural monuments)
Institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens must not do acts such as developing coal mines or mines in scenic places, tourist sites, or vacation spots, or constructing buildings or facilities that cause interference with environmental protection, and must preserve in their original form natural monuments such as caves, waterfalls, ruins of ancient castles, and scenic spots and places of historical interest.
Article 15 (Prevention of ground subsidence)
In cases where institutions, enterprises and organizations develop underground resources or do underground construction, they must adopt relevant measures in advance so that the ground does not subside and the environment is not destroyed. Underground water may not be pumped for use in places where the ground may subside and it may cause damage.
Article 16 (Prohibition on acts that destroy the balance of the natural ecosystem)
Institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens must not destroy the habitat of wild animals and aquatic life, and must not catch or gather animals and plants that have been registered as rare or endangered species to do acts that cause interference with the protection of the ecosystem and the preservation and enduring use of biodiversity. Animals and plants determined by the State as subjects of protection and increase may not be caught or gathered without the authorization of the land environmental protection institution.
Article 17 (Construction of cultural and resting areas and creation of gardens and green areas)
Land environmental protection institution, municipal administration institutions, and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations shall manage cultural and resting areas such as parks and amusement parks in different places in modern ways and shall normally administer and operate them, and must plant things such as trees of good species, flowering plants, and grasses that can perform the ability of many kinds of environmental protection in the surroundings of roads, railways, streams, and buildings and empty ground or public areas in plans. Land within 20 meters of each side of the foundational railway protected areas shall have trees planted by the land environmental protection institution and municipal administration institutions and shall be used as tree nurseries, and other institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens may not use them.
Article 18 (Monthly periods for land environmental protection management)
The State shall determine a total mobilization period for land management, and monthly periods for land environmental protection management to conduct the work of beautifully managing land and protecting the environment using the whole masses, such as monthly periods for coastal and territorial water management, monthly periods for drinking water, and monthly periods for beautifying the city. The work of determining monthly periods for land environmental protection management shall be done by Cabinet.
Article 19 (Adherence to environmental protection standards)
Preventing environmental pollution in advance is a foundational condition to eliminate the phenomenon of pollution. Institutions, enterprises and organizations must abide strictly by environmental protection limits and standards and environmental protection standards such as pollutant emission standards, and noise pollution and vibration standards. The work of determining environmental protection standards shall be done by Cabinet.
Article 20 (Installation of gas, dust, and air filtration units)
Relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations must have gas and dust filtration units and air filtration units in their building and facilities and ensure that things such as gas, dust, or foul smells are not discharged, and must maintain and service facilities such as routes, tanks, and plumbing in a planned way. A boiler that has not received a technical inspection may not be operated.
Article 21 (Prohibition on operation of facilities that exceed environmental protection standards)
Wheeled vehicles that exceed standards and expel harmful gas or black smoke and wheeled vehicles that have loaded unpackaged supplies that can cause dust or have made a mess may not be operated, and facilities that exceed regulated standards and cause noise pollution and vibration may not be operated. People’s safety institutions must strictly do crackdowns on operations with technical inspections for wheeled vehicles, and must ensure that wheeled vehicles that exceed standards and release harmful gases or black smoke or cause noise pollution or vibrations, or wheeled vehicles that raise dust or have made a mess are not operated.
Article 22 (Prevention of air pollution from special weather conditions)
In cases where things such as emitted gas or dust can gravely pollute the air because of the influence of a special weather condition, the land environmental protection institutions and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations must adjust or suspend the operation of relevant facilities and wheeled vehicles. In cases where a special weather phenomenon happens, the weather and floodgate institution shall notify the land environmental protection institution and the relevant authorities of it.
Article 23 (Treatment of garbage)
Municipal administration institutions regional People’s Committees, and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations shall effectively install things such as garbage bins, slop buckets, and rubbish tips in streets, villages, parks, amusement parks, seasides, and bathing resorts to classify and throw away each kind of garbage, and must treat or collect garbage thrown away in time. Garbage shall not be burned in the city residential district or surroundings of key roads, and garbage collected in garbage treatment facilities must be shipped out in time.
Article 24 (Recycling city garbage)
Regional People’s Committee and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations shall classify city garbage into things such as coal ash, scrap paper, scrap plastic, rags, broken glass, scrap iron, and garbage from producing organic fertiliser and shall cause it to be recycled to the maximum.
Article 25 (Purification of wastewater)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations that construct buildings and facilities shall construct sewer facilities and purification facilities that can treat sewage and industrial wastewater, then must construct the superstructure. The next stage of construction may not be done without constructing sewer facilities and purification facilities. Sewage and industrial wastewater shall be clearly purified and sent out in conformity with pollutant emission standards, and must ensure that wastewater that has not been purified does not flow into places such as seas, streams, lakes, or reservoirs.
Article 26 (Maintenance service of water supply facilities, filtration and sterilisation of drinking water)
Municipal administration institutions and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations shall normally maintain and service water supply facilities and shall strictly do fertilisation and sterilisation of drinking water and supply drinking water to residents that have water purity standards correctly guaranteed. Factories, enterprises, buildings and facilities may not be constructed in the surroundings of intakes, reservoirs, and drains, and harmful chemicals such as herbicides and pesticides may not be applied.
Article 27 (Environmental protection of seas, streams, lakes, and reservoirs)
Ships sailing or anchored in the territorial waters and economic zones of our country shall keep the order related to pollution prevention, and ships sailing or anchored in ports, docks, floodgates, streams, lakes, or reservoirs must not throw away or drop things such as oil, wastewater, or garbage. In cases where resource development institutions and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations develop or use sea resources or do things such as seaside construction, they shall receive an evaluation of the influence it will give the sea environment and must adopt sea pollution prevention measures in advance.
Article 28 (Pollution prevention facilities of ships)
Ship operating institutions, enterprises and organizations must have documents, facilities, and means related to pollution prevention on ships as designated. The maritime affairs supervision institution must normally supervise and control the pollution prevention work of ships.
Article 29 (Prevention of pollution due to ships)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations that administer and operate ports, docks, floodgates and wharfs must have wastewater and garbage treatment facilities, shall treat wastewater and garbage coming out of ships according to the regulations, and must purify or clean up oil and garbage that has been dropped into the seas or streams in time. When the harbour affairs supervision institution receives a port entry application of a trade ship, it must confirm whether it has an insurance guarantee for oil pollution and shipwreck removal and approve the entry at port.
Article 30 (Construction of purification facilities, garbage and industrial waste treatment facilities)
Relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations must set up purification facilities for wastewater or treatment facilities for garbage and industrial waste in places that will not pollute the sea, streams, lakes, reservoirs or sources of drinking water. Institutions, enterprises and organizations that develop underground resources shall set up mining spoils pits, coal waste pits, coal yards, and ash and slag treatment pits, must not pollute or render unusable forests, streams and farmlands, and must clean up areas into their original state after the underground resources development has finished. In cases where the destroyed environment has not been arranged into its original state, the next subject of underground resources may not be developed.
Article 31 (Production and import of chemicals, inspection of toxicity)
In cases where institutions, enterprises and organizations seek to produce or import chemicals including agricultural pesticides, they must receive a toxicity inspection and an environmental impact evaluation from the relevant quality control institution and certification institution and register it. Chemicals including agricultural pesticides where the state has prohibited use according to the toxicity inspection and environmental impact evaluation may not be produced or imported.
Article 32 (Storage and use of agricultural pesticides, prohibition on sale and supply of polluted agricultural products)
Agricultural guidance institutions and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations shall store and use agricultural pesticides as designated so that toxic substances such as organic pollutants or heavy metals do not float in the air, flow into seas, streams, lakes, and reservoirs, or accumulate in the soil. In cases where agricultural pesticides are sought to be scattered using airplanes, the approval of the central land environmental protection guidance institution must be received. In cases where the pollution levels of the soil exceed permissible levels, it shall be dissolved before crops are planted, and agricultural products that have been produced in polluted soil may not be sold or supplied.
Article 33 (Pollution prevention for radioactive materials)
Institutions and enterprises that produce or treat radioactive materials must have filtration and purification facilities for radioactive gases, dust, wastewater and waste and must lower radioactivity concentrations to below emission standards. Institutions and enterprises that treat radioactive materials in an open state shall properly investigate and measure the radioactive pollution levels in the surrounding environment and must adopt relevant measures.
Article 34 (Treatment of radioactive materials)
In cases where relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations seek to produce, supply, transport, store, use, or discard radioactive materials, the approval of the nuclear safety supervision institution or the people’s safety institution must be received according to what has been decided. The nuclear safety supervision institution shall normally investigate factors that can pollute the environment and must adopt relevant measures.
Article 35 (Prohibition on importing polluted products)
Things that can destroy environmental protection and the health of the people, such as polluted food, medicine and medical supplies, daily necessities, and animal feed, may not be brought into our country. In cases where institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens bring in things such as food, medicine and medical supplies, daily necessities, or animal feed, the inspection and quarantine of the authorities concerned must be received.
Article 36 (Prohibition on importing and introducing production of waste, facilities and techniques that can destroy the environment)
Waste or materials that destroy the ozone layer that send out harmful materials or can gravely destroy the environment by creating noise pollution and vibration, and facilities and techniques that use them, may not be brought into our country or introduced into production without the agreement of the central land environmental protection guidance institution.
Article 37 (Measurement of output and concentration of harmful materials, strength of noise pollution and vibration)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations must normally analyse, measure and record the output and concentration of harmful materials during the production process, and strength of noise pollution and vibrations, and systematically lower them. Harmful materials that do not have the approval of the land environmental protection institution or exceed permissible levels may not be let out.
Article 38 (Relocation of building and facilities that cause pollution)
Land environmental protection institutions, regional People’s Committees and relevant authorities shall take out factories and enterprises that cause pollution, redirect or place underground cargo transportation roads and railways outside of residential districts, and must move homes that are receiving pollution damage to a place where the living environment is good. Pollution may be created in the centre of the city but factories and enterprises where the volume of goods transported is large may not be constructed, and buildings and facilities that do not have pollution prevention facilities may not be used.
Article 39 (Development and use of renewable energy resources)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations shall reduce the consumption of fossil fuels such as coal and crude oil in conformity with the requirements of environmental protection and the enduring development of the economy, and must actively develop and use renewable resources such as solar heat, geothermal heat, wind power and tidal energy.
Article 40 (Execution of environment certification system)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations shall adopt an environment management system and standardize environmental management, and must encourage work to receive environment certification for the environment management system and products. Environment certification work for environment management systems and products shall be done by the relevant environment certification institution.
Article 41 (Introduction of recycling techniques)
Relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations must actively accept techniques to recycle by-products and discarded waste that are created in the production process to prevent environmental pollution, and must decrease the consumption of raw materials and resources to the utmost.
Article 42 (Basic requirements of guidance and control for environmental protection work)
Strengthening guidance and control over environmental protection work is an important requirement to correctly implement the environmental protection policy of the State. The State shall strengthen guidance and control for environmental protection work in conformity with the requirements of actual development.
Article 43 (Guidance for environmental protection work)
Guidance for environmental protection work shall be done by the central land environmental protection guidance institution under the standardized guidance of the Cabinet. The central land environmental protection guidance institution shall correctly adopt a guidance system for environmental protection work and must ceaselessly improve the guidance method.
Article 44 (Organisation and operation of non-standing environmental protection committees)
Non-standing environmental protection committees shall be organized and operated in the Cabinet and the province People’s Committees for nature protection and environmental protection.
Article 45 (Establishment of environment surveillance system, commanding environmental state)
The central land environmental protection guidance institution shall closely adopt a national environment surveillance system to normally and correctly investigate and command the pollution state of seas, streams, lakes, reservoirs, and the air, shall adopt yearly plans for environmental protection, and must correctly guide its execution.
Article 46 (Planning environmental economic indicators)
State planning institutions and relevant authorities must correctly determine economic indicators for the environmental sector and must correctly implement it in interconnection with the national economic plan.
Article 47 (Guarantee of conditions for environmental protection work)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations must assure the required work conditions and materials required by the land environmental protection institution and relevant institutions related to the supervision and measurement work for environmental protection. State planning institutions, labour administration institutions, resources supply institutions, and financial banking institutions must assure the labour, facilities, resources, and funds required for environmental protection in time.
Article 48 (Environmental impact evaluation of construction subjects)
Construction subjects determined by the land environmental protection institution must compulsorily receive an environmental impact evaluation. Institutions, enterprises and organizations must do technical assignment and drafting of construction design in conformity with the requirements of environmental protection. Technical assignments and construction designs that have not received an environmental impact evaluation from the land environmental protection institution may not be deliberated on or ratified.
Article 49 (Pollution control facilities and pre-delivery inspection)
Pre-delivery inspection institutions must not approve pre-delivery inspections for construction subjects that do not have pollution control facilities
Article 50 (Environmental protection funds and pollutant emissions compensation funds)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations must plan a part of its income to an environmental protection fund according to what has been decided and must use it for the environmental protection work of its unit. Institutions, enterprises and organizations that expel environmental pollutant materials such as industrial wastewater, waste, waste gas, or dust must pay a pollutant emissions compensation fund according to the output.
Article 51 (Drafting and submitting environmental state statistics materials)
Institutions, enterprises and organizations must draft in detail statistics materials of the environmental state of their units every year and must submit them to the relevant land environmental protection institution and statistics institution. The central land environmental protection guidance institution and the central control institution must draft national environmental state statistics materials every year and submit them to Cabinet.
Article 52 (Dissemination of scientific knowledge about environmental protection)
Education institutions and publishing and reporting institutions shall actively disseminate scientific knowledge and commonsense knowledge in different forms and methods to preserve and protect nature and the environment and must extensively present and advertise results accomplished in the environmental protection field.
Article 53 (Supervision and control for environmental protection work)
Supervision and control for environmental protection work shall be done by the land environmental protection institution and the relevant supervision and control institution. The land environmental protection institution and the relevant supervision and control institution shall strictly supervise and control institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens so that they actively preserve and protect the natural environment and do environmental pollution prevention work well. Relevant supervisory institutions in each sector shall eliminate the phenomenon of causing inconvenience to the work of the land environmental protection institution by being self-serving, and must submit to the standardized command and control of the land environmental protection institution.
Article 54 (Responsibility for management and supervision work)
In cases where environmental pollution has occurred, responsibility for it shall be borne by the institution, enterprise, organization or the given supervision and control institution that caused the pollution or was responsible for its management, according to the investigation and measurement results.
Article 55 (Detainment, damage compensation, penalty for corporations, ships, or citizens of other countries)
In cases where a corporation, ship, or citizen of another country in the territory of our country has violated this law, sanctions shall be imposed such as detainment, damage compensation, or a penalty.
Article 56 (Civil responsibility)
In cases where damage has been done to people’s health and the property of the State, of social, cooperative organizations, or of citizens by destroying the environment, it shall be restored or the relevant damage shall be compensated.
Article 57 (Administrative responsibility)
In the following cases, administrative responsibility will be imposed on the responsible worker of the relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations and individual citizens, depending on the gravity
1. In cases where protection and management for the section in charge has not been done properly
2. In cases where prohibited acts have been done at a nature reserve or special protection zone
3. In cases where nature and scenic beauty have been damaged or destroyed
4. In cases where natural monuments have been damaged
5. In cases where the ground has been subsided by drawing underground water without approval
6. In cases where protected railway areas have been violated
7. In cases where environmental protection standards have been exceeded
8. In cases where wheeled vehicles that expel harmful gases and black smoke in excess of standards are operated
9. In cases where garbage is burnt in residential districts and the surroundings of key roads
10. In cases where garbage bins, slop buckets, and rubbish tips are not available as designated
11. In cases where garbage is not removed in time
12. In cases where wastewater that has not been purified has been released into seas, streams, lakes, or reservoirs
13. In cases where sea resources have been developed or seaside construction has been done without approval
14. In cases where ships that do not have pollution prevention facilities are sailed
15. In cases where chemicals that are harmful to people or pollute air, water, or soil have been produced or imported
16. In cases where other environmental protection regulations have been violated
Article 58 (Criminal responsibility)
In cases where an act under Article 57 of this law constitutes a crime, criminal responsibility shall be imposed according to the given provision in the criminal law.
Last updated 12 September 2020