North Korea invites South's journalists to inspect dismantling of nuclear site

SEOUL, South Korea -- Kim Jong Un followed through on his promise on Tuesday as the North Korean leader invited South Korean reporters to observe the dismantling of a nuclear site in the isolated country next week.

The North also proposed high-level talks on May 16 to follow up on pledges to denuclearize the Korean peninsula, South Korea's Unification Ministry said on Tuesday.

Pyongyang requested four South Korean reporters each from a news agency and a television broadcaster to travel on a chartered flight from Beijing on May 22, along with other foreign media covering the event at the Punggye-ri nuclear testing site.

The dismantlement, scheduled sometime between May 23 and May 25, is in line with the country's pledge to stop nuclear tests. The country has conducted six nuclear tests at the Punggye-ri facility since 2006, most recently on Sept. 3, 2017.

South and North will also hold a high-level talk on Wednesday to discuss carrying out the Panmunjom agreement reached by their leaders last month.

Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon will lead South Korea’s delegation. From the North, Ri Son Kwon, the chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification, will lead the delegation. Vice Minister of Railways Kim Yun Hyok and Vice Minister of Physical Culture and Sports Won Kil U are also included in the North’s five-person delegation.

U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Kim on June 12 in Singapore.