North Korea to Invite U.S. Experts for Nuclear Site Shutdown Next Month
Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters
North Korea's Kim Jong Un intends to invite U.S. and South Korean experts to observe the shutdown of the country's nuclear test site next month, according to officials in Seoul. During his meeting with South Korea's Moon Jae-in on Friday, Kim reportedly vowed to "open to the international community" the nuclear site's dismantling. "The United States, though inherently hostile to North Korea, will get to know once our talk begins that I am not the kind of person who will use nuclear weapons against the South or the United States across the Pacific," Kim was quoted as saying by Moon's press secretary, Yoon Young-chan. "There is no reason for us to possess nuclear weapons" if "an end to the war" and "non aggression are promised" and "mutual trust" is built with the U.S., he said. Kim said two of the larger tunnels at the Punggye-ri test site are still "in a very good condition," despite experts saying much of the site had collapsed and been rendered unstable.