International experts will be allowed into the dismantled Punggye-ri site, according to reports in South Korea

This article is more than 10 months old

This article is more than 10 months old

North Korea is preparing its Punggye-ri nuclear test site for international inspectors, according to South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, the first time foreign experts would be allowed to inspect facilities since a thaw in tensions this year. However, its refusal to allow international experts to observe the destruction of the site, which has been the staging ground for all six of its nuclear tests, including its most powerful one – reportedly of an H-bomb – last September, drew criticism that its actions were for show and could be reversed. Following a summit between North and South Korea in September Pyongyang agreed to allow international inspectors to observe a "permanent dismantlement" of its other key missile facilities, and would take additional steps such as closing its main Yongbyon nuclear complex, but only if the United States took "reciprocal measures".
North Korea is set to allow inspections of its Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site, which officially closed in May 2018.