North Korea allows South Korean journalists to cover demolition of Punggye-ri nuclear test site after initially blocking entry
The dismantling of the North’s Punggye-ri nuclear test site is expected to happen between Wednesday and Friday depending on weather
North Korea has accepted a list of South Korean reporters to visit their nuclear testing site after a days-long tug of war with Seoul, South Korea’s unification ministry said on Wednesday.
North Korea invited a handful of media from a number of countries to witness the dismantling of the Punggye-ri testing site to uphold its pledge to discontinue nuclear tests.
However, it had declined to take the South Korea reporters after calling off planned inter-Korean talks in protest against US-South Korean air combat drills.
The invitation to witness the dismantling of the Punggye-ri site was seen as an indication that North Korea’s unexpected offer to end its nuclear tests still held despite renewed diplomatic uncertainty.
Reporters from news outlets from the other countries arrived in the North Korean port city of Wonsan on Tuesday, where they are waiting to be guided to the testing site for the event, set for between Wednesday and Friday.
However, South Korean journalists returned home overnight after failing to obtain a visa from Pyongyang in Beijing.