North Korea vows to dismantle nuclear site
> Journalists to be invited to event: KCNA
SEOUL: North Korea has scheduled the dismantlement of its nuclear bomb test site for sometime between May 23 and 25 in order to uphold its pledge to discontinue nuclear tests, the official Korean Central New Agency (KCNA) reported on Saturday a month ahead of a historic summit.
It said dismantlement of the Punggye-ri nuclear test ground would involve collapsing tunnels with explosions, blocking entrances, and removing all observation facilities, research buildings and security posts.
“The Nuclear Weapon Institute and other concerned institutions are taking technical measures for dismantling the northern nuclear test ground ... in order to ensure transparency of discontinuance of the nuclear test,” KCNA said.
US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will hold talks in Singapore on June 12.
US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said on Friday the North can look forward to “a future brimming with peace and prosperity” if it agrees to quickly give up its nuclear arms.
Trump welcomed the North Korean announcement, tweeting: “Thank you, a very smart and gracious gesture!”
South Korea’s presidential office echoed the sentiment yesterday, saying it shows Pyongyang’s willingness to denuclearise through actions beyond words.
But, in spite of its pledge to stop testing, North Korea has given no indication it is willing to go beyond statements of broad conceptual support for denuclearisation by unilaterally abandoning its nuclear programme.
In announcing the plan to shut Punggye-ri last month, Kim said the North no longer needed to conduct tests as it had completed its goal of developing nuclear weapons.
KCNA said journalists, including from the US and South Korea, would be invited to cover the event, to “show in a transparent manner the dismantlement of the northern nuclear test ground to be carried out”.
The exact date of the closure will depend on weather conditions, it said.
To accommodate the travelling journalists, North Korea said measures would be taken including “opening territorial air space”.
South Korean officials said in April that North Korea also planned to invite experts from the US and South Korea for the Punggye-ri shutdown, but KCNA made no mention of this.
Last month, South Korean President Moon Jae-in had asked the UN to help verify the shutdown.
South Korea’s deputy nuclear envoy Jeong Yeon-doo will visit the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna this week to discuss the “complete denuclearisation of North Korea”, the foreign ministry said yesterday. – Reuters