The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972.[1] Cultural heritage consists of monuments (such as architectural works, monumental sculptures, or inscriptions), groups of buildings, and sites (including archaeological sites). Natural heritage is defined as physical and biological formations, geological and physiographical formations (including habitats of threatened flora and fauna), and sites which are important from the point of view of scientific research, conservation or natural aesthetic.[2]
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, ratified the convention on 21 July 1998, making its sites eligible for inclusion on the list. As of 2022[update], North Korea has two cultural sites on the list: the Complex of Koguryo Tombs, inscribed in 2004; and Historic Monuments and Sites in Kaesong, in 2013. In addition, the North Korean government has put five sites on its tentative list in 25 May 2000, meaning they intend to nominate them as World Heritage Sites sometime in the future.[3] In February 2023, a proposal to update the list was approved,[4] with Mt. Kumgang and the Relics in and around the Mountain seeing preparation for potential nomination starting in May 2018.[5]