Foreign media arrive in North Korea to cover nuclear shutdown

BEIJING: About two dozen journalists from Western and Chinese news organisations arrived in North Korea on Tuesday to witness the closure of its nuclear test site, an indication that the shutdown will go ahead amid renewed diplomatic uncertainty.

North Korea invited a handful of media to witness the dismantling of the Punggye-ri site this week but not technical experts, even though the United States has called for “a permanent and irreversible closure that can be inspected and fully accounted for.” Isolated North Korea’s offer to scrap the test site was seen as a key concession in months of easing tension between Pyongyang and its long-time bitter rivals, South Korea and the United States.

However, the improving diplomatic environment has hit a rocky patch, with North Korea threatening last week to pull out of a planned June 12 summit in Singapore between leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump.

Journalists from AP, CNN, CBS, Russia Today and Chinese state media outlets were among those seen checking in at Beijing Capital International Airport to catch the Air Koryo flight to North Korea.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said the group had arrived at the airport in the east coast city of Wonsan. Numerous other news organisations, including Reuters, had also sought to cover the shutdown of the North’s nuclear test site but were denied invitations.