North Korea's Mount Kumgang likely to win Unesco World Heritage status after four-year bid

North Korea's Mount Kumgang is expected to be listed as a Unesco World Heritage site following a four-year application process, Unesco said Tuesday.

Mount Kumgang has long been regarded as one of Korea's most scenic mountains for its breathtaking beauty that changes with the seasons.

The International Council on Monuments and Sites (Icomos) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which serve as advisory bodies to the World Heritage Committee, have recommended the inclusion of Mount Kumgang on the Unesco World Heritage list, according to Unesco.

The official name submitted by North Korea is Mt. Kumgang — Diamond Mountain from the Sea.

North Korea submitted its application for World Heritage inscription in 2021, but the site's review was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The evaluation resumed this year.

North Korea’s bid to register Mount Kumgang as a Unesco World Heritage site reflects an effort to erase remnants of South Korea from the mountain, which was once accessible to South Korean nationals. 

The Kim Jong-un regime demolished South Korean-owned facilities including the Ananti Golf Resort and a gas station within the Mount Kumgang tourism zone earlier this year.  

The mountain located on North Korean soil was a symbol of inter-Korean cooperation when it was opened to South Korean tourists in 1998 under the Sunshine Policy — an initiative aimed at improving relations between the two Koreas — but South Korea suspended the tourism program after a North Korean soldier fatally shot a South Korean tourist named Park Wang-ja in 2008.   

BY YONHAP, PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]