N.korea readying nuclear site for inspectors

SEOUL: South Korea’s spy agency has detected signs that Pyongyang is preparing to allow international inspectors to visit its nuclear and missile test sites, Yonhap news agency reported Wednesday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has expressed his willingness to have foreign experts inspect the facilities, as part of on-off negotiations on denuclearisation, but there is no indication as to whether invitations have been sent.

At a parliamentary audit on Wednesday, the South’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) said it was “closely monitoring” the Punggye-ri nuclear test facility and the Tongchang-ri missile launching ground for possible inspections.

“Signs have been detected that North Korea is doing some preparations and intelligence-related activity over a possible visit by outside experts,” a lawmaker who was briefed by the NIS was cited as saying.

At a summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Pyongyang last month, Kim pledged to close the Tongchang-ri site and allow international experts to observe its dismantlement.

North Korea took apart the Punggyeri site in the country’s northeast in May but has yet to allow international observers in to verify its claims.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Kim had told him he was “ready” to allow foreign inspectors to verify the work at Punggye-ri, following a meeting in Pyongyang earlier this month.

The inspectors will be allowed in as soon as the two sides agree on “logistics”, Pompeo said.