The World Health Organization(WHO) will open a regional center in Seoul dedicated to issues of public health and environmental pollution in the Asia-Pacific region.

South Korea's Environment Ministry, Seoul Metropolitan Government and the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific signed a memorandum of understanding for the establishment of this center on Tuesday.

The center, to formally open in May, will be located inside the Seoul Global Center building in downtown Seoul.

The Seoul center will be the first in the Asia-Pacific for the WHO, which currently has only a single center for environment and health in Europe.

The center will collect information on such things as fine dust, climate change and harmful chemical substances as well as conduct research on the effects of environmental pollution on human health. It will also offer guidelines to reduce pollution.