The Group for Comprehensive Exploration of Lake Chon on Mt. Paektu discovered a mother bear and its cub on the frozen Lake Chon at around 8 a.m. Saturday with the thaw coming late as compared with the ordinary years due to this year's heaviest snowfall in 50 years.

A dark brown bear presumed to weigh more than 250 kg was seen standing together with its cub weighing 30-40 kg on the ice of Lake Chon for about 15 minutes.

The movements of bears had been observed on the lake several times since the discovery of the first bear in Juche 70 (1981) but it was the first time that the mother bear appeared there together with its cub.

This indicates that the environment in the Mt. Paektu area is turning favorable for the existence and inhabitation of diverse living things. Faunas and floras in the area have already been under active protection and propagation as evidenced by a shoal of bull trout brought to Lake Chon from the River Tuman.

The members of the group said that the steady discovery of animals and their propagation in the area of the lake in a crater where the existence of living things was considered as impossible in the past are very peculiar phenomena worldwide.