An earthquake near a known nuclear testing site in North Korea that appears to have been artificially made has been detected by several monitoring agencies.
The United States Geological Service reported a 5.1 magnitude quake on Wednesday that South Korea said was 49km (30 miles) from the Punggye-ri site where the North has conducted nuclear tests in the past.
An official from the South Korean meteorological administration said: “We suspect a man-made earthquake and are analysing the scale and epicentre of the quake with the geoscience and mineral resource institute of South Korea.”
While the USGS put the depth of the earthquake at 10km, the South Korean agency said it was near the surface. The earthquake was detected just after 10am Seoul time (1am GMT).
North Korea planned a major announcement later on Wednesday, likely at 3.30 GMT, South Korean media said.
South Korea’s presidential office convened an emergency security meeting while Japan’s chief government spokesman said the earthquake was likely caused by a nuclear test.
The Pentagon said it was investigating the reports. North Korea is known to have conducted three nuclear tests and is under UN sanctions for its nuclear and missile programmes.
What a great way to start the year. So a magnitude 5.1 earthquake was detected in North Korea earlier today very close to one of North Korea's well known nuclear testing sites.
Now I have absolutely no idea about the seismicity of the Korean Peninsular or its vulnerability to earthquakes so I do not know whether or not the earthquake in question, which seems fairly large for an underground nuclear detonation, is natural or man made. However, I am erring on the side of man-made given that North Korea has a history of flagrantly violating international laws and conducting nuclear tests anyway.
What says NSG?
