Kim blows nuke tunnels

– North Korea followed through on a pledge to blow up tunnels used for nuclear testing yesterday, media reported, as part of steps that have reduced tension on the Korean peninsula and raised the possibility of a summit with the United States.

North Korea has conducted all six of its nuclear tests at the Punggye-ri site, which consists of tunnels dug beneath Mount Mantap in the northeast of the country.

A small group of international media, selected by North Korea, was on hand to witness the demolition, which Pyongyang says is proof of its commitment to end nuclear testing.

The destruction of the site began with the blowing up of a tunnel and an observation post.

After some time, it destroyed another tunnel and other facilities, then a third tunnel and another observation post.

About five hours after beginning the operation, it destroyed two military barracks, South Korean media said.

The North Korean offer to

Seoul

scrap the test site has been seen as a major concession in months of easing tension between it, on the one hand, and South Korea and the United States on the other.

But the progress appears to have been checked this month with North Korea raising doubts about a June 12 summit in Singapore between its leader, Kim Jong-Un, and US President Donald Trump.

The North objects to US demands that it unilaterally give up its arsenal of nuclear bombs and ballistic missiles.

Last week, Trump sought to placate North Korea after it threatened to call off the summit, saying Kim’s security would be guaranteed in any deal and his country would not suffer the fate of Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya.

But the reference to tLibya has angered North Korea.

Vice-Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui called US Vice-President Mike Pence a “political dummy” for comparing them to Libya. – Reuters