Seminar on sustainable urban planning in Pyongyang

For more than 10 years the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) has been actively engaged in capacity building and knowledge sharing with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

In March, 50 North Korean architects, scholars, and officials from the Ministry of City Management took part in a lecture at the Koryo Hotel in Pyongyang, which was organized by FNF. Professor Lutz Katzschner of University Kassel spoke about sustainable, ecological urban planning in Germany and various Asian cities. The renowned environmental meteorologist’s remarks on how to improve urban climate were received with keen interest and raised a variety of questions by the knowledgeable attendants.

The foundation’s delegation was led by the Regional Director for Southeast and East Asia, Rainer Adam. Along with Lars-André Richter, Head of the Korean Office, he held talks with representatives of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, the Ministry of City Management, and the German ambassador to the DPRK, Thomas Schäfer. During these, the positive development of the political climate on the Korean peninsula over the course of the last year became apparent.

With the Academy of Agriculture and a farming cooperative achievements and difficulties in providing food supplies for the population were discussed. Visits to the Munsu Water Park, the Rungra Dolphinarium, and the Mirim Horse Riding Club provided the delegation with an impression of recent construction activities in Pyongyang. Furthermore, thanks to the invitation of a professor at Kim Il Sung University the German guests had a chance to view an academic’s domicile in the North Korean capital.