Smoky Mountain Journal -North Korea's Nuke Tests Run Risk Of Collapsing Region, Leaking Radiation




The Great Smoky Mountain Journal Staff Reports Posted: Sunday, January 21, 2018 03:50 PM

North Korea's Nuke Tests Run Risk Of Collapsing Region, Leaking Radiation
A mountain in North Korea believed to have served as the site of five of the rogue regime’s nuclear tests -- including Sunday’s supposed hydrogen bomb explosion -- is at risk of collapsing and leaking radiation into the region, a Chinese scientist said Monday. Researchers at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, Anhui province, examined the Punggye-ri site and said they “were confident” underground detonations were occurring underneath the mountain, South China Morning Post reported. Wang Naiyan, a former chairman of the China Nuclear Society and a researcher on China's own nuclear weapons program, said another test underneath the mountain can cause an “environmental disaster” if the site caves in on itself, allowing radiation to escape and “drift across the region,” including into China. “We call it ‘taking the roof off.’ If the mountain collapses and the hole is exposed, it will let out many bad things.” Wang told the South China Morning Post. Wang said there are limited mountains in North Korea that are “suitable” to conduct a nuclear test and vertical tunnels could reduce the likelihood of the “top” of the mountain being blown off. However, horizontal tunnels are easier to build – but more likely to cause the mountain to implode with a bigger blast. North Korea claimed it detonated a hydrogen bomb over the weekend, calling the test a “perfect success.” The test triggered an artificial magnitude 6.3 earthquake, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. A second tremor was detected minutes after the first, described as a cave-in or collapse by USGS and China’s earthquake administration.