Roh: Turn DMZ into eco-park

SEOUL, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- North and South Korea should work together on ecological ventures, including a park in the demilitarized zone, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said.

The DMZ, a 2.5-mile-wide swathe across the Korean Peninsula, has become a haven for rare plants and animals in the past half-century. Roh asked North Korean President Kim Jong Il to consider moving military installations out during a meeting last week, Yonhap News Service reported but Kim reportedly said it is too early to make such a move.

Roh, in a speech on ecology, said that North and South Korea should also cooperate to preserve the Grand Paektu Range. The mountains form the spine of the peninsula from Mount Paektu in North Korea to Mount Jiri near the coast in South Korea.

"The two Koreas will closely cooperate to establish a joint ecological system across the Korean Peninsula," Roh said.