A top official at a U.S. research institute is promoting the creation of an ecology zone connecting the Korean Peninsula, China and Russia.

Executive Director of the Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainable Development Peter Hayes made the call during an academic seminar held in Seoul on Thursday.
Hayes said that conditions are ripe for discussions on creating an ecology zone that would house a variety of organisms, noting that the environment in North Korea is well-preserved and that discussions are already taking place on the building of a peace park in the demilitarized zone (DMZ).

Hayes said the 14-hundred-kilometer mountain range, called Baekdu-daegan, that stretches across the Korean Peninsula is vital in terms of its ecology.

Hayes is joining some 100 academics and environmental experts from both home and abroad in the academic seminar organized by the Korea Association of International Studies and the DMZ Future Forum. Participants in the seminar will hold discussions on 16 topics related to the Korean Peninsula, including the ecological state of the DMZ and peace management along the inter-Korean border.