A group of foreign journalists is on its way to North Korea to witness the planned dismantling of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in the country's mountainous northeast.
Teams of journalists from the US, Britain, China and Russia were on board a charter flight from Beijing, according to a tweet from Sky News producer Michael Greenfield.
South Korean journalists, however, were denied permission to join the flight and Seoul's Unification Ministry said North Korea had not accepted its list of proposed participants.
North Korea last week cancelled high-level talks with South Korea to protest US-South Korean joint military exercises.
Earlier this month, Pyongyang said it planned to dismantle the test site in a "ceremony" to be held at some point between Wednesday and Friday in an apparent display of its commitment to abandoning its nuclear weapons program.
Officials said the site's tunnels will be collapsed with explosions, access will be blocked off, and guards and research staff ordered to leave.
US President Donald Trump described the planned closure as a "very smart and gracious gesture."
The event is scheduled to take place ahead of proposed talks between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore on June 12.
The dismantling is, however, seen as a largely symbolic act as the site of six nuclear tests has reportedly become unstable, with scientists saying parts have already collapsed.
Some analysts remain sceptical, pointing out that without proper verification of the closure North Korea will be able to simply reactivate the site in the future.
Australian Associated Press
