The Unification Ministry said Wednesday it will hold a photo exhibition of a mountain range that runs most of the length of the Korean Peninsula to mark the 70th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule.

The ministry said it will display a total of 70 photos of a chain of mountains, known as Baekdudaegan, taken by Roger Shepherd, a mountaineer from New Zealand, until Nov. 10 in Islan, north of Seoul.

Baekdudaegan, described as the backbone of the peninsula, starts from Mount Baekdu in North Korea, the peninsula's highest peak located on the border with China, to Mount Jiri in the southwest province of South Korea.

The photos to be put on display are the same ones as those showcased at an exhibition in Pyongyang in August, according to the ministry.

"The exhibition is meaningful as photos of the mountain range will show South and North Korea were originally one," the ministry said in a statement. "(The government) will make efforts to promote cultural exchanges between the two Koreas."

Shepherd has taken photos by climbing mountains in the Baekdudaegan range since 2008, and published a collection of related photos and an English brochure in 2013. (Yonhap)