Mongolia is working to recover dinosaur fossils which have been illegally smuggled into South Korea and France, the Department for Economic Crime of the Mongolian General Police Department said on Monday.

A South Korean court has officially ordered the return of the dinosaur fossils, and the French authorities said the fossils will be returned to its native Mongolia as soon as the country submits a petition for the recovery of the fossils.

The fossils originated from Mongolia’s southern Umnugobi or South Gobi Province, which is known for its large numbers of dinosaur finds, according to the Mongolian Palaeontological Institute.

Under Mongolian law, significant fossil discoveries cannot be permanently exported or sold to non-Mongolians, even if privately owned.

Mongolia is famous for its fossil remains, dating back to the late Cretaceous, or the last age of the dinosaurs which ended 66 million years ago. A large number of stolen fossils have been recovered from the United States, most notably a complete skeleton of Tarbosaurus ‘Baatar’, which was brought back at the intervention of former President Ts.Elbegdorj.