‘Well Under Way’

Satellite Images Show Dismantling of North Korea Nuclear Site

Several buildings appear to have been demolished.

Kim Jong Un’s recent rhetoric about his commitment to denuclearization appears to have been backed up by satellite images that show the dismantling of a nuclear testing site is underway. The North Korean leader made the shock announcement that his country would stop testing nuclear missiles in April in a major step toward the warming of ties between North and South Korea. The new pictures appear to confirm the dismantlement of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site has begun, with several key buildings and a rail line having been removed. The pictures, taken May 7, are “the first definitive evidence that dismantlement of the test site was already well underway,” according to a blog post by 38 North, a website run by former U.S. diplomats.