Korean Air employees began to plant trees in the Kubuqi Desert in China’s Inner Mongolia for the seventh straight year Thursday.

The desert is the origin of about 40 percent of the sand that gets blown into Northeast Asia, including the Korean Peninsula, every year. It is also regarded in China as the source of Beijing’s spring dust.

The carrier has planted trees abroad to improve the global environment.

Sixty-five executives and employees planted trees in the desert Thursday and Friday with 55 Chinese university students.

Through the event held seven times so far, Korean Air has planted 1.13 million trees over 3.73 square kilometers at the Green Ecology Park that it aims to create in the desert.

It has also planted trees in a field near Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia, for 10 years since 2004.

By Chun Sung-woo (swchun@heraldcorp.com)