International press arrives at Wonsan to report on close of North Korean nuclear test site

An Air Koryo charter flight (JS622) carrying reporters from four countries landed at Kalma Airport in Wonsan, North Korea, around 1 pm on May 22 to cover the closing of the Punggye Village nuclear test site in Kilju County, North Hamgyong Province (Sky News)

Reporters from US, China, Russia and UK greeted at Kalma Airport to be escorted to Punggye Village

“We know that to get to the nuclear test site, we will take a 12-hour train, a four-hour bus and then hike for two hours through the mountains to the site.”

Twenty-two reporters from four countries boarded an Air Koryo charter flight (JS622) from Beijing Capital International Airport at around 9:45 am on May 22 and arrived at Kalma Airport in Wonsan, North Korea, around 1 pm to cover the closing of the Punggye Village nuclear test site in Kilju County, North Hamgyong Province, which Pyongyang announced would be taking place from May 23 to 25 as a way of showing its commitment to denuclearization.

The view from Kalma Airport in Wonsan, North Korea (Sky News)

The journalists invited to the event represented television networks and news agencies in four countries: CNN and CBS in the US, CCTV and Xinhua in China, APTN and Sky News in the UK, and RT in Russia. Before their departure, North Korean authorities checked them for GPS devices capable of detecting their precise location.

The first video report from the scene came from Tom Cheshire, Asia correspondent for Sky News. A one-minute, 58-second video uploaded on the website that afternoon showed him explaining about the reporters’ situation and the trip from Beijing to Wonsan.

In his report, Cheshire said the journalists were greeted at Kalma Airport by “silent women wearing purple uniforms and fixed smiles.” Outside the airport, he said, “you cannot hear a sound.”

“At Wonsan airport, our satellite phone was confiscated,” he reported, adding that each reporter had “a government minder [. . .] by our side every minute.”

Cheshire explained that the Sky News minder was a student of international relations at a North Korean university. North Korean officials proceeded to tell the reporters that they would “show everything we can.”

CCTV said in its first report from the scene that afternoon that the coverage environment in Washington was “relatively good” in terms of internet available, mobile phones, and accommodations.

“North Korean authorities are making some efforts to assist the press. All of the foreign reporters appear likely to head north to the coverage site at around 7 pm,” it reported.

The AP reported that the foreign journalists would travel to Kalma Hotel after finishing entry procedures at Kalma Airport in Wonsan.

South Korean press accepted at last minute

Planned coverage by South Korean reporters appeared to be a lost cause. However, on the morning of May 23 North Korea made an abrupt announcement that it would accept the list of reporters submitted by the South Korean government to cover the closing of the site.

“We attempted to submit a list of South Korean reporters just after the Panmunjeom telephone line opened at 9 this morning [on May 22, but the North Korean side did not accept it,” a Ministry of Unification senior official said. The North Korean liaison officer was reported as saying that had not received orders to accept the list. The South Korean side had prepared for visits by News1 and MBC.

In a statement the same day, Minister of Unification Cho Myung-gyon said the South Korean government “is dismayed and disappointed that while the North Korean side invited South Korean reporters to the scheduled closing of the Punggye Village nuclear test site from May 23 to 25, the visit by journalists has not come to pass due to a lack of follow-up measures by the North.”

At the same time, Cho added, “We have noted that the Punggye Village nuclear test site closure is going ahead as scheduled as an early measure for the denuclearization pledged by the North, and we hope this measure by the North will lead to a successful North Korea-US summit.”

International reports arrive at Kalma Airport in Wonsan, North Korea

CNN reporter Will Ripley, who was visiting North Korea for the 18th time, said before his departure that the journalists “hope that North Korea is going to be transparent like they said.”

But the reporters only really know that the officials told them, meaning they would have to wait and see, he added.

A hopeful Ripley described the visit as very unique, noting that it was his first time traveling somewhere in North Korea besides Pyongyang.

In a Foreign Ministry announcement on May 12, North Korea invited journalists from five countries, including South Korea, to attend an event for the closing of the Punggye Village nuclear test site. According to that announcement, the journalists were to take a special train from Wonsan to Punggye Village to cover the explosion of the site’s tunnels, after which they would return to Wonsan to report the news to the rest of the world.

Reporters from the US, the UK, China and Russia arrived in Wonsan from Beijing Capital International Airport on May 22 to cover the site’s closure. While they were originally scheduled to depart for Punggye at 7 pm, the schedule was changed due to rain, CCTV reported.

By Kim Oi-hyun, Beijing correspondent, and Gil Yun-hyung and Kim Ji-eun, staff reporters

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