FOLLOWING NUCLEAR TEST, NORTH KOREA TUNNEL COLLAPSE LEAVING MORE THAN 200 WORKERS DEAD…
Over 100 workers were affected by
the initial collapse at the Punggye-ri site on 10 September following the
country's sixth nuclear test, TV Asahi reported, citing unnamed North Korean
sources.
Over 100 more are likely to have died as
further collapses occurred during a rescue operation, the broadcaster said.
There has been no independent confirmation of the report. Experts said the
sixth blast, on 3 September, would have destabilized the region. It was
reported two weeks ago that the area surrounding the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, in the
country's north west, was suffering from "Tired Mountain Syndrome" as
a result of the underground blasts.
The geological condition occurs when
underground nuclear blasts cause the surrounding rock to become weak and
permeable. The 3 September test caused the USGS to register a tremor of
magnitude 6.3, with a smaller, second earthquake being measured at the site,
about eight minutes later.
The USGS said the second quake was
indicative of a collapse and it recorded a further seismic event of 3.1
magnitude on the site on 2.The 38 North website, which reports on issues
involving North Korea, said the effects of the latest blast could potentially
extend as far as 1.4km from the detonation point. But it said they probably
won't stop Mount Mantap being used for further tests. Other specialists,
however, have said the effects on the mountain mean the Punggye-ri site may not
be used for much longer to test nuclear weapons.
Meanwhile, Seoul and Beijing have agreed to
move beyond a year-long stand-off over the deployment of the US anti-missile
THAAD system in South Korea. The dispute has been devastating South Korean
businesses that rely on Chinese consumers and the announcement comes just days
before Donald Trump begins a trip to Asia, where the North Korean nuclear
crisis will take centre stage. In Japan, where tensions have been raised as a
result of the North Korean nuclear and missile tests, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
has met NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
They
discussed cooperation in addressing security challenges, with Mr Stoltenberg
telling North Korea afterwards it "must abandon its nuclear ballistic
missile programmes and implement a complete denuclearisation of the Korean
Peninsula".
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