N. Korea's Mount Paektu designated as UNESCO Global Geopark

SEOUL, April 11 (Yonhap) -- The North Korean side of Mount Paektu, an active stratovolcano on the North Korean-Chinese border, has been approved as a UNESCO Global Geopark.

The executive board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) endorsed the addition of Mount Paektu to its list of Global Geopark networks the previous day in Paris.

This marks North Korea's first inclusion in the UNESCO Global Geopark networks.

The list is maintained and updated to recognize major natural sites of significant geological value and to promote their sustainable preservation.

Last year, the UNESCO executive board designated the Chinese side of the mountain as Mount Changbaishan UNESCO Global Geopark under its Chinese name.

North Korea sought the UNESCO listing for the mountain in 2019, a year before China, but China secured the designation first as an on-site inspection in North Korea was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The territory demonstrates well-developed glacial geography, with cirques made by glacial erosion and other topographical features such as moraine hills, moraine plains and outwash plains by glacial depositions," according to a UNESCO council for geoparks.

Separately, the executive board also added South Korea's geoparks in Danyang and Gyeongbuk Donghaean to its Global Geopark networks, bringing the country's total Geoparks designations to seven.

pbr@yna.co.kr
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