SEOUL, South Korea: South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Monday welcomed North Korea’s announcement that it is set to dismantle its only nuclear test site, calling it a start to the country’s nuclear disarmament.
North Korea said Saturday that it will dismantle its northeastern Punggye-ri test site between May 23 and 25 in the presence of local and international media. The dismantling would come before North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump meet for June 12 talks in Singapore expected to focus on Kim’s nuclear program.
Moon said Monday that the North’s move shows how sincere the country is about making the talks between Kim and Trump a success. “This would be a preliminary step toward complete denuclearization,” Moon said during a meeting with his aides, according to his office.
Trump, in a tweet Saturday, already thanked North Korea for its plan to dismantle the nuclear test site, calling it “a very smart and gracious gesture!”
After months of tensions over his nuclear and missile tests, Kim has been reaching out to Washington and Seoul since the beginning of the year. He sent a delegation to February’s Winter Olympics in South Korea, held a landmark summit with Moon in April and last week released three Americans detained in North Korea.
Kim is also willing to place his nuclear program up for negotiations in return for security assurances, according to Seoul. But some experts still doubt how committed Kim is to taking serious disarmament steps because his country was close to achieving its goal of possessing nuclear missiles targeting the mainland US after decades of struggle.
Moon’s office previously said Kim told Moon during their April 27 summit that he would allow not only outside journalists but also experts to watch the dismantling of the Punggy-ri test site. But the North’s announcement Saturday did not mention anything about inviting experts to Punggy-ri, spawning speculation that the North may want to hide some information about its past nuclear tests.
Some experts have downplayed the closure of the Punggy-ri site, where all six of the North’s known underground nuclear explosions happened, saying it is already too unstable for more testing. Kim has denied such views, saying the site has two additional underground tunnels that could be used for new tests.
South Korea praises Pyongyang’s plan to dismantle nuclear test site
South Korea praises Pyongyang’s plan to dismantle nuclear test site
France, Algeria to resume security cooperation: minister
- Algeria plays a key role in the latter, sharing borders with junta-led Niger and Mali, both gripped by terrorist violence
ALGIERS: France and Algeria agreed on Tuesday to restart security cooperation during a visit to Algiers by French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, marking the first sign of a thaw in diplomatic ties.
After meeting with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Nunez said both sides had agreed to “reactivate a high-level security cooperation mechanism.”
The visit took place against a backdrop of thorny relations between France and its former colony, frayed since Paris in 2024 officially backed Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region, where Algeria supports the pro-independence Polisario Front.
Nunez said Monday had been devoted to working sessions aimed at “restoring normal security relations,” including cooperation in judicial matters, policing and intelligence.
He thanked the Algerian president for instructing his services to work with French authorities to “improve cooperation on readmissions.” Algeria has for months refused to take back its nationals living irregularly in France.
The renewed cooperation is expected to take effect “as quickly as possible” and continue “at a very high level,” Nunez confirmed.
According to images released by Algerian authorities, the talks brought together senior security officials from both countries, including France’s domestic intelligence chief and Algeria’s head of internal security.
Invited by his counterpart Said Sayoud, Nunez’s trip had been planned for months but repeatedly delayed.
Both sides have a backlog of issues to tackle. Before traveling, Nunez said he intended to raise “all security issues,” including drug trafficking and counterterrorism.
Algeria plays a key role in the latter, sharing borders with junta-led Niger and Mali, both gripped by terrorist violence.
Ahead of the trip, Nunez had also mentioned the case of Christophe Gleizes, a French sports journalist serving a seven-year sentence for “glorifying terrorism.”
It is unclear whether the matter was discussed with Tebboune, from whom the journalist’s family has requested a pardon.
