By Park Ji-won
North Korea has cleared some of its Tongchang-ri missile testing sites and shut down the Punggye-ri nuclear testing site, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) said Wednesday.
“The spy agency observed the North's activities which are assumed to be preparation or assumed an inspection before letting international experts in for an inspection, as part of efforts to take pre-measures for denuclearization,” the NIS was quoted as saying by Rep. Kim Min-ki of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) who was briefed by the NIS during a closed-door National Assembly audit along with Rep. Lee Eun-jae of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party.
Upon U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's fourth visit to North Korea, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed to allow international inspectors into the key nuclear testing site that the North has claimed it destroyed.
The NIS said the spy agency is taking a close look into the North's nuclear- and missile-related facilities such as the Yongbyon facility while saying it is considering various possibilities of the North's moves. But no major moves have been seen lately, the intelligence agency added.
In May, the North showed the moment the Punggye-ri nuclear test site was demolished before foreign journalists. The North has conducted all six of its nuclear tests at the site, including the latest in September 2017.