N. Korea to dismantle northern nuclear test site by May
- 6 years ago
Another big announcement from North Korea.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un told South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the summit talks on Friday... that Pyongyang will dismantle its northern nuclear test site within May and show that to experts and journalists from South Korea and the U.S.
Kim also said the North will move back its clocks so that its time zone is the same as South Korea's.
Our Oh Jung-hee is on the line for us with more.
Jung-hee, fill us in.
Good afternoon, Jiyeon.
A couple of major announcements came from South Korea's presidential office roughly an hour ago.
First of all, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made a clear and specific promise to shut down the regime's Punggye-ri nuclear test site by May... and even offered to show that transparently to the outside world by inviting experts and journalists over to North Korea.
This idea was already put out by Pyongyang's ruling party in its policy meeting last week,... and some have pointed out that the test site is anyways damaged and therefore already useless.
But Kim refuted that claim and said the test site, in fact, has two other underground tunnels that are operational.
The North Korean leader added... though Washington is not entirely comfortable with North Korea, if he and President Trump meet and talk,... then Washington will know that Kim won't fire nuclear-tipped missiles at the South or into the Pacific.
Also, he said, there would be no reason for the North to live in such a harsh way, with its nuclear weapons, if it could build trust with the U.S. and pledge an end to war and aggression.
He pledged once again that there will be no war on the Korean peninsula ever again and there needs to be measures to prevent accidental clashes.
The other announcement is that the North plans to use the same standard time zone as the South.
Also on the summit day,... Kim Jong-un told President Moon Jae-in... that seeing two clocks at the Peace House -- one showing South Korean time and the other showing North Korean time -- saddened his heart.
North Korea pushed back its standard time by 30 minutes three years ago in a political gesture.
Kim Jong-un then said... because it was Pyongyang that pushed back its clock, it will be the one to change it back.
Seoul's presidential office says,... changing standard time will take a lot of administrative effort by the North,... but it seems willing to get rid of any obstacles in preparing for prospective interactions between the two Koreas as well as between Washington and Pyongyang.
It's indeed a tremendous announcement, Jung-hee.
Now, we're hearing that South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump spoke on the phone last night and had a pretty long conversation... lasting over an hour.
Tells us more about that, too.
You're right.
South Korea's presidential office confirmed this morning that President Moon Jae-in spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump last night... for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Presid
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un told South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the summit talks on Friday... that Pyongyang will dismantle its northern nuclear test site within May and show that to experts and journalists from South Korea and the U.S.
Kim also said the North will move back its clocks so that its time zone is the same as South Korea's.
Our Oh Jung-hee is on the line for us with more.
Jung-hee, fill us in.
Good afternoon, Jiyeon.
A couple of major announcements came from South Korea's presidential office roughly an hour ago.
First of all, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made a clear and specific promise to shut down the regime's Punggye-ri nuclear test site by May... and even offered to show that transparently to the outside world by inviting experts and journalists over to North Korea.
This idea was already put out by Pyongyang's ruling party in its policy meeting last week,... and some have pointed out that the test site is anyways damaged and therefore already useless.
But Kim refuted that claim and said the test site, in fact, has two other underground tunnels that are operational.
The North Korean leader added... though Washington is not entirely comfortable with North Korea, if he and President Trump meet and talk,... then Washington will know that Kim won't fire nuclear-tipped missiles at the South or into the Pacific.
Also, he said, there would be no reason for the North to live in such a harsh way, with its nuclear weapons, if it could build trust with the U.S. and pledge an end to war and aggression.
He pledged once again that there will be no war on the Korean peninsula ever again and there needs to be measures to prevent accidental clashes.
The other announcement is that the North plans to use the same standard time zone as the South.
Also on the summit day,... Kim Jong-un told President Moon Jae-in... that seeing two clocks at the Peace House -- one showing South Korean time and the other showing North Korean time -- saddened his heart.
North Korea pushed back its standard time by 30 minutes three years ago in a political gesture.
Kim Jong-un then said... because it was Pyongyang that pushed back its clock, it will be the one to change it back.
Seoul's presidential office says,... changing standard time will take a lot of administrative effort by the North,... but it seems willing to get rid of any obstacles in preparing for prospective interactions between the two Koreas as well as between Washington and Pyongyang.
It's indeed a tremendous announcement, Jung-hee.
Now, we're hearing that South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump spoke on the phone last night and had a pretty long conversation... lasting over an hour.
Tells us more about that, too.
You're right.
South Korea's presidential office confirmed this morning that President Moon Jae-in spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump last night... for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Presid