South Korean reporters assigned to cover the North's dismantlement of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site departed for the North Korean city of Wonsan on a government transport plane at around 12:30 p.m. 

Earlier this month, North Korea invited journalists from five countries, including South Korea, to observe the high-profile demolition event, which it said will take place between Wednesday and Friday. 

Reporters from the U.S., Britain, Russia and China left for Wonsan from Beijing on Tuesday, but South Korean journalists returned home after the North refused to issue visas for them. 

However, North Korea, which until the previous day refused to receive Seoul's list of eight pool reporters, accepted it Wednesday morning during a phone call at the truce village of Panmunjeom. 

The South Korean reporters will join other journalists in Wonsan and head to Punggye-ri together. 

[Photo : YONHAP News]