Donald Trump thanks North Korea for ‘gracious gesture’ after it says it will dismantle nuclear test site
Pyongyang says the exact date will depend on the weather, and that the world’s media will be invited to the ‘dismantling’ ceremony
US President Donald Trump thanked North Korea on Saturday after it announced that it would dismantle its nuclear test site this month.
“North Korea has announced that they will dismantle Nuclear Test Site this month, ahead of the big Summit Meeting on June 12th,” he tweeted.
“Thank you, a very smart and gracious gesture!”
“A ceremony for dismantling the nuclear test ground is now scheduled between May 23 and 25, depending on weather condition,” North Korea’s official KCNA news agency said, citing a foreign ministry press release.
The test tunnels will be blown up, blocking their entry points, while observation facilities and research institutes will be removed along with guards and researchers, the statement said.
Reporters from China, Russia, the United States, Britain and South Korea would be allowed to “conduct on-the-spot coverage in order to show in a transparent manner the dismantlement of the northern nuclear test ground”, the foreign ministry statement said.
The limit on foreign journalists was due to the “small space of the test ground” which it said was “located in the uninhabited deep mountain area”.