Baikal Lake Tourist

Kim Jong-il visits Siberia's Lake Baikal

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on Tuesday visited Russia's Lake Baikal and a Siberian helicopter plant, a source said.

The reclusive North Korean leader is making his first visit to Russia since 2002. He arrived in an armored train on Saturday. Rail travel is Kim's preferred mode of transport, due to a reported fear of flying.

His itinerary is being kept under wraps, and meetings with officials have been closed to the media. Police interrupted an attempt by a local TV crew to record Kim's arrival in the south Siberian republic of Buryatia earlier on Tuesday.

Kim's armored Mercedes drove directly to the ground from the train after special equipment was installed to allow him to do so,

The North Korean leader then visited the construction site of the Baikal Haven federal tourism and recreation zone and took a boat trip in the world's largest freshwater lake. As the water was too cold for swimming, Kim took a dip in a hot water pool.

For dinner he was offered Buryatia's traditional food, including buuza - steamed meat dumplings - and omul, a white fish of the salmon family endemic only to Lake Baikal.

The Korean leader also visited the Ulan-Ude plant of the Russian Helicopters holding, which produces mainly civil and military modifications of the Mil Mi-8 medium twin-turbine transport helicopter. The event was also closed to the media.

An eyewitness said the visit came amid unprecedented security measures.

"Even during the highest-profile visits, including by the President Dmitry Medvedev, fewer special service officers and servicemen were present," he said.

Overall, the health of Russia's Lake Baikal is probably very good ...

Hereby, we are really proud to present an exclusive interview done with Dr Anson W. Mackay , a professor at the Environmental Change Research Centre, Department of Geography at University College London, who shares his thoughts about Russia’s Lake Baikal and its environmental state.

In May of 2011, we were really lucky to have him giving us a like on the Ask Lake Baikal facebook page . Actually, we didn’t do anything to attract his attention. Dr. Mackay is a big admirer of Lake Baikal himself. Has been to the area many times and cares much of its ecology. In our turn, we do what we love to do. We share our passion for the world’s largest & deepest lake.

Our interaction with Dr Mackay started from Voice of Russia ‘s live radio story dedicated to pollution in Lake Baikal. There was a live talk on air with Nikolai Yasinsky from the Russian Geographical Society and Dr. Anson W. Mackay. You can listen to it online here .

We had our own questions to the UK-based professor, who, thank God, was really kind to give us answers. Proceed to read the interview.

- How would you evaluate an environmental state of Russia’s Lake Baikal?

Overall, I think that the health of Lake Baikal is probably very good. The volume of water is vast, and known pollution inputs relatively low. The Limnological Institute at Irkutsk have been undertaking regular monitoring of the lake, and as far as I am aware, have reported no major increases in pollutants.

However, there are serious threats to the ecosystem from e.g. mining in the catchment of the Selenga River, uncontrolled tourism and nutrient enrichment, forest fires etc. Moreover, monitoring of the lake I don’t think is comprehensive. Certain regions could act as early warning regions, such as the shallow waters off the Selenga Delta and the Maloe More.

- In your opinion, what is the main risk factor for Lake Baikal cleanness?