1. “Suncheon” in the Republic of Korea and “Mt. Geumgang” in North Korea were designated as new UNESCO Biosphere Reserves on July 25 at the 30^th session of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme International Co-ordinating Council (MAB-ICC) underway in Palembang, Indonesia, from July 23 till 27.

° The ROK delegation to the MAB-ICC session was composed of officials from such government agencies as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Environment and the Korea National Park Service.

° The Suncheon Bay is the sixth ROK area designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve after Mt. Seorak (1982), the Jeju Island (2002), Shinan Dadohae (2009), the Gwangneung Forest (2010), and Gochang (2013).

° Mt. Geumgang is the fifth North Korean region named as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve after Mt. Baekdu (1989), Mt. Guwol (2004), Mt. Myohyang (2009) and Mt. Chilbo (2014).

2. The MAB-ICC member states extended congratulations on the simultaneous designations of “Suncheon” in the ROK and “Mt. Geumgang” in North Korea, expressing hope that the decision would contribute to the efforts to move the Korean Peninsula peace process unswervingly forward.

° The member countries voiced hope that the concurrent designations would help to further step up inter-Korean cooperation through UNESCO, such as in research on ecological resources in North Korea.

° They also asked UNESCO to seek ways to contribute more actively to inter-Korean cooperation and the establishment of peace on the Korean Peninsula through the MAB and other UNESCO programs.

3. After the ROK and North Korean governments applied in September 2017 for the designations of “Suncheon” and “Mt. Geumgang” as UNESCO Biosphere Reserves, respectively, the International Advisory Committee for Biosphere Reserves recommended their designations as new Biosphere Reserves at its 24th session held at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, from February 5 till 8. With this recommendation approved with the support of the 34 member states of the MAB-ICC at the organization’s 30^th session, these two areas officially joined the World Network of the Biosphere Reserves (WNBR).

※ The UNESCO MAB names as UNESCO Biosphere Reserves -- consisting of core, buffer and transition zones -- areas with high ecological values in a bid to preserve biodiversity and to seek a sustainable development thereof. As of June 2018, there were 669 such sites in 120 countries.

※ The MAB-ICC is composed of 34 member states elected by the UNESCO General Conference to serve four years. The ROK is one of its member states for the 2016-2019 term.

4. The Foreign Ministry will seek to work more closely with UNESCO in order to contribute more actively to the establishment of peace on the Korean Peninsula through the organization.

* unofficial translation