Tremors after North Korean nuclear test raise threat of radioactive pollution
Seoul — A series of tremors and landslides near North Korea’s nuclear test base probably mean the country’s sixth and largest blast has destabilised the region, and the Punggye-ri nuclear site may not be used for much longer to test nuclear weapons, experts say. A small quake was detected early on Friday near the North’s nuclear test site, South Korea’s weather agency said. Unlike quakes associated with nuclear tests, though, it did not appear to be manmade. The tremor was the latest in a string of at least three shocks to be observed since Pyongyang’s September 3 nuclear test, which caused a 6.3-magnitude earthquake. Friday’s quake was a magnitude 2.7 with a depth of 3km in North Hamgyong Province in North Korea, the Korea Meteorological Administration said. The US Geological Survey measured the quake at 2.9 magnitude at a depth of 5km. The series of quakes has prompted experts and observers to suspect the last test — which the North claimed to be of a hydrogen bomb — may have dama...
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