North Korea's past nuclear tests conducted in Punggye-ri, Kilju County, North Hamgyong Province, could have activated massive faults in the area, potentially triggering a major earthquake, according to a recent research study.
An international research team, including researchers from Pusan National University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, analyzed seismometers in South Korea and near Mount Paektu. Their findings confirm that natural earthquakes continue to occur as faults are reactivated by the Punggye-ri nuclear tests.
The research team stated that they identified a reactivated fault spanning at least 20 kilometers in the Punggye-ri region.
[Kim Kwang-hee / Department of Geological Sciences, Pusan National University : The length of the fault appears to be over 20 kilometers. If a fault is 20 kilometers or longer, speaking in terms of earthquake magnitude, we believe that an earthquake of magnitude 6.2 or 6.3 could sufficiently occur.]
Prior to North Korea's nuclear tests, no natural earthquakes had ever been recorded in the area dating back to 23 BC.
Faults that had remained dormant for thousands of years were awakened by North Korea's nuclear tests, initiating seismic activity.
[Kim Kwang-hee / Department of Geological Sciences, Pusan National University : Earthquakes did not occur frequently in that region. However, it was only after several weeks following the end of the nuclear tests that earthquakes began to occur in that area. As time passes, the frequency of earthquakes increases, and their magnitudes gradually grow larger.]
Following the sixth and final nuclear test until last year, 1,339 earthquakes occurred in the region, among which a total of 90 earthquakes had a magnitude of 2.0 or higher.
On July 3, 2023, a magnitude 3.3 earthquake also occurred.
Mount Mantap in Punggye-ri features an asymmetric structure with varying slopes, making it a place with a complex stress structure—the forces applied to underground bedrock.
The study indicates that through six rounds of nuclear testing, the stress structure of the area has been redistributed.
The sixth nuclear test, which was the largest in scale, registered a magnitude of 6.3 according to the U.S. Geological Survey, and satellite imagery captured the destruction of the surrounding environment around Mount Mantap after the test.
Evidence was also found that the shock from the nuclear tests caused the mountain peak to sink by 0.5 meters and shift horizontally by 3.5 meters.
Other research findings suggest that if a large earthquake of magnitude 6.0 or greater occurs in Punggye-ri, it could impact Mount Paektu, located 120 kilometers to the north.
The results of this study were published in the international academic journal Science.
(Video by Kim Hak-mo | Video Editing by Park Na-young | Design by Kim Min-hyung, Kim Han-gil, Park Cheon-woong, Lee Jun-ho, Yang Gi-tae | Produced by SBS Digital News)
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