North Korea Details Plan to Dismantle Nuclear Test Site, Invites World to Watch

Trump thanks North Korea for 'gracious' announcement

Over the weekend, North Korea has offered a more detailed plan on the dismantling of their lone nuclear test site. The dismantlement will happen from May 23 to May 25, as part of a pledge to discontinue nuclear weapons testing.

Explosives will be used to collapse the tunnels within Punggye-ri, a hollowed out mountain that has been the sole site for all North Korean tests. North Korean officials have invited the world, and foreign journalists in particular, to attend and watch the shutdown.

Closing the site permanently will be a very significant symbolic gesture ahead of the June 12 summit with President Trump. The main topic of that summit is expected to be the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and North Korea is positioning itself as very much ready to make such a deal.

President Trump praised the move by North Korea, saying it was a “very smart and gracious gesture” for them to make ahead of the big summit. North Korea had already invited top US and South Koran officials to witness the dismantlement.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.