The Mt Paektu area, registered as a world biosphere reserve in April 1989, covers an area of 132 000 hectares.
Located on the highest place of the DPRK, the reserve has a diverse range of plants which accord with the elements of climatic zones. It is literally a natural zoo as it is a habitat for hundreds of species of vertebrate animals, including tens of species of mammals and well over 100 species of birds, and more than a thousand species of invertebrate animals.
The country conducts the work of monitoring, researching, managing and conserving the reserve on a regular basis.