SEOUL, May 24 (Xinhua) -- South Korea on Thursday welcomed the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s dismantling of its nuclear test site, calling it a meaningful first step toward complete denuclearization.

Seoul's foreign ministry said in a statement that it hailed the DPRK's dismantling of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, noting that it was "the first meaningful measure" taken to implement its willingness toward complete denuclearization, which was expressed in the inter-Korean summit.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un held the third-ever inter-Korean summit on April 27 in the border village of Panmunjom.

During the summit meeting, Kim told Moon that he would dismantle the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, where all of its six nuclear tests were conducted, according to the Blue House of South Korea.

The DPRK blew up tunnels at the site earlier in the day, witnessed by journalists from China, Russia, the United States, Britain and South Korea.

The ministry said the South Korean government will support the upcoming DPRK-U.S. summit scheduled for next month.