The government hosted an environmental convention on the DMZ Friday to stress the preservation and ecological value of the area.
 
The event at Korea International Exhibition Center in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, marked the 60th anniversary of the border region’s creation in 1953 under the Korean War armistice.
 
The Environment Ministry announced 12 representative species living in the zone, including the Asiatic black bear, Eurasian small flying squirrel, otter, musk deer, eagle, antelope and white-naped crane.
 
It designated the red-crowned white crane as the DMZ’s flagship species, meaning it symbolizes the region’s ecological, geographical and cultural traits.
 
Based on a survey conducted since 2008, the ministry has confirmed five-thousand-97 species live in the DMZ including 106 endangered species.