The Hantan River area near the inter-Korean border has been designated a UNESCO Global Geopark.

The Gyeonggi provincial government said Tuesday that the United Nations body approved the decision during a meeting in Paris to add the one-thousand-165-square-kilometer area to the list.

The Hantan River area is South Korea's fourth geopark to be designated by UNESCO, after the southern island of Jeju, Cheongsong in the southeast and Mount Mudeung in the southwest.

UNESCO Global Geoparks are single, unified geographical areas where sites and landscapes of international geological significance are managed with a holistic concept of protection, education and sustainable development.

There are currently 140 designated sites in 40 countries.