North Korea didn't rip off reporters on Punggye

Smoke and debris rise as barracks for workers at North Korea's nuclear test site at Punggye-ri are blown up on May 24. AP-Yonhap

By Oh Young-jin

North Korea didn't rip off reporters from outside the country invited to cover the destruction of its nuclear test site at Punggye-ri last month after all.

According to four South Korean reporters, each was charged 1.28 million won, or $1,146, for their four-day trip to cover the event the North prepared to press for its leader Kim Jong-un's meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on June 12.

A South Korean cable channel reported that the North charged reporters from the South, U.S., China, Russia and Britain about $30,000, including $10,000 in visa fees.

This painted the North in a negative light for making a profit out of a political event.

The individual bill included $185 a night for two nights at a Wonsan hotel; $397 for a one-way flight from Pyongyang to Beijing (the southerners used their own plane to Wonsan); $75 for a train ticket to and from Wonsan; $64.50 for internet use and $100 for phone use. Added to this was $36 for registration.