Journalists Visited North Korea Nuclear Test Location. A group of foreign journalists went to a remote area in North Korea to witness the dismantling of a nuclear test site. At the last moment, eight reporters from South Korea also received permission to travel to Punggye-Ri.
The journalists boarded the train for the first part of the journey, whose windows are blinded. They were told not to open the windows during the trip, writes Town News.
The American, British, Chinese and Russian journalists gathered in the North Korean port city of Wönsan last night. A South Korean government plane flew its journalists to the town this morning.
The group will witness a formal closing ceremony of the test location, which takes place tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, depending on the weather.
Punggye-RI is located in the sparsely populated northeast of North Korea. The train journey takes between 8 and 12 hours, followed by an hour-long bus trip. The final piece is received in cars.
One of the elected journalists is the American CNN employee Will Ripley. Before leaving, he wrote on Twitter that the participants were not allowed to take their phone with them and do not have internet access on their way.
The Emergency Korean decision to allow the South Koreans to enter the voyage fell after a talk in the White House between President Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The conversation was meant to continue the summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The meeting has become uncertain after a protest by North Korea against joint military exercises by the Americans and South Koreans.
The dismantling of the test site is generally seen as a positive gesture from North Korea. However, decommissioning is not an irreversible measure. Besides, many more steps from North Korea in the nuclear field are needed.