North Korea forces forest rangers to seize firewood from freezing people

2026-02-10 - 08:35

People gathering firewood in the hills along North Korea’s northern border with China are dodging forest rangers who have intensified patrols to meet quotas for factories producing presents ahead of Kim Jong Il’s Feb. 16 birthday. “Hyesan residents can’t go a single day without fuel in this intense cold, so they risk arrest to bring back firewood. But that has prompted an even tougher crackdown... Source