1. Monuments and sites in Gaeseong have been added to the world heritage list of UNESCO. The decision was made on June 23 at the 37th session of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee (WHC) under way in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, from June 17 through 27.

○ The WHC made the aforementioned decision in view of the fact that the monuments and sites exhibit the synthesis of various cultural and political values of states that existed on the Korean Peninsula before the Goryeo Dynasty as well as the interchange of such values with other neighboring states over a period of five centuries, and that they are an outstanding example demonstrating the transition from Buddhism to Confucianism, a unique cultural tradition of Goryeo.

○ The newly listed monuments and sites in Gaeseong comprise 12 separate property components, including the Gaesong city walls, the Gaesong Namdaemun, the Manwoldae Palace, the Gaeseong Cheomseongdae, the Seonjuk Bridge and the Mausoleum of King Wang Geon.

2. The latest addition marks the second world heritage listing for North Korea which had had 63 tombs located in five regions from the Goguryeo Kingdom registered as world heritage in 2004.

○ North Korea is required to make efforts to conserve the monuments and sites in Gaeseong registered as world heritage which all mankind should preserve and hand down to the posterity. It is also required to submit a report on the state of conservation to the WHC every two years.

3. Meanwhile, the government of the Republic of Korea dispatched to the 37th session of the WHC a government delegation led by Administrator Byun Young-sup of the Cultural Heritage Administration and comprised of officials from the Foreign Ministry, the Cultural Heritage Administration, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) Korea and the Korean National Commission for UNESCO. The delegation successfully held an international forum themed "Exploring New ODA Approaches to World Heritage Convention" on June 19.