North Korea held a closing ceremony afterwards, with officials from its nuclear arms programme in attendance. This May 7 2018 satellite image provided by DigitalGlobe shows the nuclear test site in Punggye-ri North Korea’s state media called the closure of the site part of a process to build “a nuclear-free, peaceful world” and “global nuclear disarmament”. North Korea also did not invite international nuclear weapons inspectors, opting instead for the impact of the television footage to impress the world. A tunnel on the eastern side of the facility had already been shut down after an initial nuclear test in 2006. North Korea said the demolition of the facility did not cause any leakage of radioactive materials or have any “adverse impact on the surrounding ecological environment”.

Source: Irish Independent May 24, 2018 15:56 UTC