North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is willing to invite inspectors to North Korea

"North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is ready to allow international inspectors to inspect the missile engine testing facility and the Punggye-ri nuclear test site. However, there are still many logistical issues to be resolved,"Reutersquoted US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaking yesterday after a brief visit to the North Korean capital Pyongyang.

Secretary of State Pompeo said the two sides were "quite close" to agreeing on details of a second US-North Korea summit proposed by Kim Jong-un in a letter to US President Donald Trump last month. "Both leaders believe that real and substantial progress can be made at the upcoming summit," Pompeo said.

US envoy for North Korea Stephen Biegun, who accompanied Secretary of State Pompeo to Pyongyang, offered to meet with North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui "as soon as possible" to discuss the specific time and location for the second summit.

Experts say Pyongyang's opening of Tongchang-ri or Punggye-ri sites to international inspectors may be a gesture of goodwill, but it does little to accelerate the denuclearization process.

At last month's inter-Korean summit, North Korea said it was willing to close its Yongbyon nuclear facility if Washington took similar action, including signing a declaration ending the Korean War. Pompeo declined to comment on whether there had been any progress toward closing the Yongbyon facility.

North Korea's state news agency KCNA reported on October 8 that Kim Jong-un expressed satisfaction with the "productive and wonderful" talks with Pompeo, a move that was considered more positive, in contrast to when the negotiations stalled before. The North Korean leader believes that the US-North Korea dialogue will continue to develop, expressing gratitude to Trump for his efforts to implement the agreement reached at the first summit.