North Korea Will Allow Inspections at Nuclear Test Site, Pompeo Confirms

Punggye-ri site was dismantled in April

Secretary of State Mike Pomepo confirmed to reporters in Seoul that Kim Jong Un has agreed to allow international inspectors to visit Punggye-ri, the dismantled nuclear teting site. A date has not yet been set, but Pompeo says that is just a question of logistics.

Punggye-ri was a hollowed up series of tunnels under a mountain, wherein the North Korean government conducted several successful nuclear weapons tests over the past 12 years. The site was dismantled in April and May, as part of a deal to move toward denuclearization.

While reporters were welcomed to oversee the collapsing of the site, some critics complained that international inspectors were never allowed to conduct close-up inspections to confirm the site was totally unusable. Ironically, many of those same critics are now dismissing the invitation for inspectors as meaningless, since the site was already dismantled months ago.

The point of inviting the inspectors isn’t to provide new access, however, it is to allow verification of what has already been done, to the point that those opposed to a peace process with North Korea can no longer dismiss measures already taken or insinuate that North Korea has been something less than forthcoming with providing they have followed through.

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.