Japan will provide Y300 million (£2.03 million) to fund inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency of North Korea’s nuclear facilities if Pyongyang follows through with its vow to scrap its arsenal of atomic weapons.

The cost of initial inspections of the North’s nuclear capabilities is put at between £2.4 million and £2.7 million and Tokyo, which announced its offer on Saturday, is apparently attempting to ensure that the recent momentum towards détente and the elimination of nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula is not lost.

Japan is also likely to have been motivated by being sidelined in recent developments in the region, which have seen US President Donald Trump agree to an offer from Kim Jong-un, the North Korean dictator, for face-to-face talks.

Suh Hoon, the head of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, is scheduled to arrive in Tokyo on Monday to brief Taro Kono, the Japanese foreign minister, on the latest developments concerning North Korea and the details of Mr Kim’s offer to abolish his expensively acquired nuclear weapons.

Mr Kono will use that meeting to repeat Japan’s offer of financial assistance for the inspection of Yongbyon, which includes a uranium enrichment facility, a reactor and spent fuel reprocessing plant. Recent satellite images suggest that the facility has recently resumed production of nuclear material for the North’s weapons programmes.