The North Korean side of Mount Paekdu has been designated as a UNESCO Global Geopark.

UNESCO’s executive board approved the designation during a meeting in Paris on Thursday.

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

This is the first time that a place in North Korea has been listed as a Global Geopark.

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.

Meanwhile, the UNESCO executive board also added South Korea’s Danyang, North Chungcheong Province, and the east coast of North Gyeongsang Province to its Global Geoparks Network, bringing the number of Global Geoparks in the country to seven.