For the first time, a Danish government is to officially lay claim to the North Pole as part of the Kingdom of Denmark, the newspaper Information reports. A draft Danish-Greenlandic-Faroese Arctic strategy, which was leaked to the newspaper, states that new sovereignty claims will be made to five sites adjoining the continental shelf, including the North Pole. While such a claim has previously been hinted at, it has not until now been official policy, Information writes. The area around the North Pole is not expected to contain significant oil or gas reserves, the newspaper continues, and the draft strategy offers no explanation as to why sovereignty over the North Pole is considered important. According to Information, the Danish claim will be submitted to the UN by 2014 at the latest.
