N Korea blows up nuke test site, calls Pence a ‘political dummy’
PUNGGYE-RI:NORTH Korea carried out what it said is the demolition of its nuclear test site on Thursday, setting off a series of explosions over several hours in the presence of foreign journalists.
The explosions at the nuclear test site deep in the mountains of the North’s sparsely populated northeast were centered on three tunnels into the underground site and a number of observation towers in the surrounding area.
The planned closing was previously announced by leader Kim Jong Un ahead of the nowcancelled summit with US President Donald Trump next month.
The demolition came as the North lobbed another verbal salvo at Washington, calling vice president Mike Pence a “political dummy” and saying it is just as ready to meet in a nuclear confrontation as at the negotiating table.
The outburst at Pence, issued in the name of a top foreign ministry official, comes on the heels of another sharp rebuke of Trump’s newly appointed national security adviser, John Bolton.
Choe Son Hui, a vice minister of foreign affairs, was quoted Thursday by the North’s staterun news agency slamming as “ignorant” and “stupid” comments Pence made in an interview with Fox News that compared the nuclear-capable North to Libya.
Libya gave up its programme at an early stage only to see its longtime dictator overthrown and brutally killed years later.