Pyongyang preps for Punggye

A screen captured from Chinese Xinhua News Agency about the planned nuclear site dismantlement slated between May 23 and 25. / Yonhap

Uncertainties linger due to delay in visa process for reporters

By Choi Ha-young

North Korea is seemingly preparing to dismantle its nuclear test site in the northern village of Punggye-ri, scheduled for May 23 to 25, considering its presumed railroad repair work spotted by the government and construction seen in satellite images.

However, uncertainties linger whether the regime will keep its promise, because Pyongyang on Friday refused to accept South Korean journalists' visa applications, which are a must for them to enter the country to cover the event. No updates were given as of Sunday evening.

According to the U.S.-based website 38 North, satellite images showed North Korea was building a facility near the test site and cleaning up the site on May 15, possibly to provide a safe observation platform for journalists who will cover the event.

Earlier on May 12, North Korea's foreign ministry said it would invite reporters from South Korea, China, Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom, to view the dismantlement for transparency, with the specific date to be confirmed between May 23 and 25, given weather conditions.

"The unusual activity, observed a week ago on the hillside near the west portal, could represent the stockpiling of tunnel timbers and/or building materials reclaimed from ongoing dismantlement efforts, but given the exposed hillside location with a shed for an unobstructed view, the most likely explanation is that it will form an observation platform to allow journalists to safely view the explosive closure of the north and west portals," 38 North said.

Government officials also said Sunday that an outdated railroad connecting Wonsan and Kilju has been renovated, presumably to facilitate transportation for international journalists. Earlier, North Korea announced it would operate a special train between the press center in Wonsan to Kilju, where the Punggye-ri site is.

A North Korean online media outlet, DPRK Today, also reaffirmed the plan to dismantle the nuclear test site, saying it is a "meaningful and significant" move for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula based on the spirit of the agreements reached at the inter-Korean summit.

However, the North has not responded since Friday to the eight South Korean journalists chosen to cover the event.

Amid conflicting signals, the South Korean reporters -- four each from news agency News1 and broadcaster MBC -- will depart for Beijing on Monday, where they are supposed to wait for their flights to Kalma Airport in Wonsan along with other reporters from the other five countries, according to the Ministry of Unification. It is unknown whether North Korea will issue their visas at the last minute or just take the other foreign journalists only.

South Korean ministries said they are not fully aware which foreign news outlets were invited. North Korean authorities directly contacted foreign media outlets, unlike South Korean outlets that were contacted through the official channel between the two Koreas.

The U.S. Embassy in Seoul said it is not involved in the talks between some U.S. media companies and Pyongyang.

"If U.S. journalists inquire about the procedure to apply for a visa to visit North Korea, we will advise those journalists. However, we have not kept track of what North Koreans have done in terms of granting access to the U.S. journalists," an embassy official told The Korea Times.

According to a South Korean foreign ministry official, from the U.S., AP and CNN reporters have been in talks with North Korea, while Reuters will join the team from the U.K. From Russia, Ria Novosti reporters are expected to visit the North. "This is what the ministry has figured out, but we have difficulties in following up with the updates," the official said.

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