N. Korea's Mount Kumgang listed as UNESCO World Heritage site

Two historic sites here on the Korean Peninsula have been listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites over the weekend, one each from the two Koreas: a set of prehistoric rock carvings in South Korea and North Korea's Mount Kumgang.

Lee Seung-jae reports.

During the 47th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Paris on Sunday, a new addition for both South and North Korea was added to the list.

First,.. North Korea's Mount Kumgang, a scenic mountain known for its beauty, was named a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Listed officially as "Mount Kumgang-Diamond Mountain from the Sea," the inclusion comes as the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which serve as advisory bodies to the World Heritage Committee, recommended the inclusion in May.

According to UNESCO's website, Mountain Kumgang is "a strikingly beautiful mountain with numerous peaks and curious rocks amounting to some 1,200, waterfalls and pools formed by crystal-like clear waters flowing from hundreds of gorges, as well as with the seascape stretched along the coastline."

The mountain is North Korea's third World Cultural Heritage site, after the Complex of Koguryo Tombs in 2004 and the Historic Monuments and Sites in Kaesong in 2013.

Meanwhile, a set of prehistoric rock carvings located in South Korea's Ulsan has also been added to UNESCO's World Heritage list.

"Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream" were officially recognized for their significant cultural value in Paris.

Located along the Bangucheon Stream, a tributary of the Taehwa River in Ulsan, some 360 kilometers southeast of Seoul, the petroglyphs are carved into vertical cliffs, depicting prehistoric hunting scenes and animals.

According to the committee, the carvings are "masterpieces created through the creativity of prehistoric people."

And for South Korea, the inclusion of the prehistoric art spanning some 6-thousand years,.. was a long time coming.

"The Korea Heritage Service will do its best to protect the value of the Bangucheon petroglyphs as a common heritage of mankind and to preserve and utilize them well."

With the latest addition, the country now has 17 entries on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.