North Korea has trumpeted UNESCO’s recent designation of Mount Paektu as a “Global Geopark,” a rare international recognition that Pyongyang is using to elevate the propaganda value of its tallest mountain within the Kim family’s cult of personality.

A short report issued by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Monday stated that the designation further highlights the geological and tourism value of Mount Paektu, regarded as the “ancestral mountain.”

The decision was approved at a UNESCO Executive Board meeting in Paris earlier this month, according to KCNA, and it marks a milestone in North Korea’s efforts to bolster national