By Sohn JiAe

North Korea will dismantle one of its nuclear test sites in Punggye-ri, Hamgyeongbuk-do Province, between May 23 and 25.

The regime announced on May 12 in a press release by its foreign ministry that the dismantlement would be done by collapsing all four entrances to the underground tunnels and to the monitoring facilities on the ground, and by withdrawing all its researchers. It also said that it would allow journalists from Korea, the U.S., China, Russia and the U.K. to cover the shutdown on-the-spot.

During a summit with President Moon Jae-in on April 27, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un promised to invite outside journalists and experts to the dismantling of a nuclear test site in the northern part of the country in May, in an effort to transparently show the closing to the global community.

Cheong Wa Dae immediately welcomed the announcement. Spokesperson Kim Eui-kyeom said on May 13 that, “This move manifests the North’s pledge made at the April 27 Summit and its willingness to carry out the pledge not through words but through action. Ahead of the upcoming U.S.-North Korea Summit, we hope trust between the leaders of the two countries will be strengthened.”

“The invitation of journalists to the Punggye-ri site is quite significant as it shows Pyeongyang’s pledge to transparently make public its dismantling of its nuclear test sites. We hope that the sound of dynamite blowing up the tunnels will be a gun salute to a journey toward a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula,” the spokesperson said.

U.S. President Donald Trump, too, who will meet Kim on June 12 in Singapore, welcomed the North’s decision, tweeting on May 12, “Thank you for a very smart and gracious gesture.”

jiae5853@korea.kr