North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Saturday that the communist regime would hold a ceremony on a date between May 23 and 25 to permanently shut down the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site, and journalists from five countries, including the United States, were invited to attend.

The announcement appeared on the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) website, and appeared to be a gesture of goodwill towards the international community, which has pressured North Korea for years to dismantle its illegal nuclear weapons program. The ceremony will occur less than a month before a planned in-person meeting between dictator Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump, scheduled for June 12.

The press release from the Foreign Ministry did not specifically name the Punggye-ri site, describing it only as the "northern nuclear test ground of the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea]." There is no evidence, however, that North Korea possesses any other nuclear test sites, active or otherwise.

"A ceremony for dismantling the nuclear test ground is now scheduled between May 23 and 25, depending on weather condition," KCNA announced. "Dismantlement of the nuclear test ground will be done in the following sequence: making all tunnels of the test ground collapse by explosion; completely blocking entries; removing all observation facilities, research institutes and structures of guard units on the ground."

The North Korean Foreign Ministry affirms that, following the ceremony, the site will be "completely closed." It adds that international journalists will be welcomed into the country "to conduct on-the-spot coverage in order to show in a transparent manner the dismantlement of the northern nuclear test ground." Journalists applying to cover the event will be limited to citizens of China, Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, and South Korea, due to the remote and diminutive nature of the site.

The North Korean communist regime will also provide transportation directly from Beijing, claiming this to be necessary "in consideration of the fact that the test ground is located in the uninhabited deep mountain area." Full control of transportation and lodging will allow North Korean officials to control the movements of the journalists and prevent them from encountering any individuals unauthorized to speak to foreigners or venture into territories the government does not wish them to see.