A man dressed as Santa Claus smiles after disembarking a Qantas plane, that allegedly came from the North Pole, for a charity event in Sydney November 9, 2005. The man is part of a group of 45 Santas that has recently been through a training course on how
A man dressed as Santa Claus smiles after disembarking a Qantas plane, that allegedly came from the North Pole, for a charity event in Sydney November 9, 2005. The man is part of a group of 45 Santas that has recently been through a training course on how to be calm, friendly, warm and relaxed when dealing with children in the months leading up to Christmas. REUTERS/David Gray REUTERS/David Gray

Denmark is set to file before the United Nations an application laying claims to the highly disputed North Pole, which abounds in energy resources.

Martin Lidegaard, Danish foreign minister, said they have data to show that a ridge beneath the Arctic Ocean is connected to Greenland's continental shelf, thus giving the country access to Santa Claus' bailiwick. The North Pole is bound by the United States, Russia, Norway, Canada and Denmark. Only Canada and Russia, so far, have indicated an interest in the region.

Located in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, the North Pole is surrounded by waters that are permanently covered with constantly shifting sea ice. This makes it impractical to construct a permanent station at the North Pole, unlike in the South Pole which lies on a continental land mass. Yet, interests on its massive reserves of natural resources have made each of the five nations set a rat race to claim dominion on the region. The Soviet Union, which later became Russia, had constructed a number of manned drifting stations since 1937. They have also established a base close to the Pole.

Studies in the early 2000s forecast the North Pole may become seasonally ice-free due to ice shrinkage. Scientists say this could happen from 2016 to the late 21st century or even later. Lidegaard told the Associated Press he hopes the other nations that also have made claims in the Arctic will continue to keep to "the rules of the game."

Under international law, none of the five surrounding Arctic countries can really claim ownership of the North Pole or the region of the Arctic Ocean surrounding it, by virtue of the 200-nautical mile (370 km; 230 mi) exclusive economic zone around their coasts. But this was somehow overruled by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea treaty. When it first got ratified sometime in the 1960s, claimant nations to the extended continental shelf beyond its 200-mile exclusive economic zone were given 10 years to validate their claims.

If validated, the claimant state has access to what's on and beneath the sea bottom within the claimed zone. Norway, Russia, Canada and Denmark have all launched projects to support their claims.

In December 2013, the Canadian government filed before the United Nations an application regarding the outer limits of its continental shelf in the Arctic Ocean. It maintained it has rights to claim the North Pole because it lies within Canadian territory. Data from the U.S. Geological Survey said the Arctic region holds 30 percent of the world's undiscovered natural gas, along with 15 percent of oil.