"[1][2] The discovery was said to have been made by the History Institute of the DPRK Academy of Social Sciences [ko] at Moranbong, Pyongyang, only 200 metres (660 ft) from the site of the Buddhist temple Yongmyongsa.

The original Korean-language report referred not to a unicorn but to a kirin (or qilin in Chinese), a mythological chimera-like beast with "the body of a deer, the tail of a cow, hooves and a mane", as well as a single horn on its head.

The 2012 North Korean report was ambiguous about whether the discovery was of the cave itself, of an older inscription marking its location, or simply of the previously described site of Kiringul.

North Korean officials may have been hoping to secure Pyongyang's connection to the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo, while creating an association between their own leader, Kim Jong Un, and the larger-than-life rulers of old.

The North Korean government has also utilised its propaganda claims to the legacy of Goguryeo to score points against China and Japan, its traditional rivals, over territorial and political disputes with those countries.