Artificial earthquake for major nuclear test, detected in North Korea

Seismic event in country’s northeast measures 5.1 on Richter scale. North Korea has announced to the world it tested a hydrogen bomb.

An artificial earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale has struck North Korea, triggering seismological detectors.

The epicenter of the quake appears to be in central part of North Hamgyong province, near the border of Ryanggang. The Punggye-ri nuclear test site is located in this area. According to world-earthquakes.com the depth of the quake was 10km.

“It seems an artificial earthquake, we are figuring out the exact scale and point of the earthquake,” the Korean Meteorological Association (KMA) told NK News. “The magnitude, 5.1 is less than the third nuclear test and more than the first two.”

News of the development comes after satellite imagery analysis at the 38 North website late last year identified activities at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site potentially consistent with a fourth nuclear test.

In mid September, imagery suggested North Korea was building a new tunnel for nuclear testing that could be related to anything from maintenance work to preparations for another nuclear test.

A subsequent December 2nd analysis on the Washington DC based site said that “recent commercial satellite imagery indicates new activity at North Korea’s Punggye-ri nuclear test site, the location of Pyongyang’s previous three nuclear detonations.”

North Korea has previously conducted nuclear tests on October 9^th, 2006, May 25^th, 2009, and February 12^th, 2013, with explosive yields of less than one kiloton, 2-4 kilotons and 6-7 kilotons, respectively. Additionally, North Korea has shown a military capability totally unpredictable in the past, such as the December 2012 launch of the Unha-3 space rocket and Kwangmyongsong-3 Unit 2 satellite.

We remember here that 1 kiloton indicates the energy released by an amount equal to 1 thousand tons of TNT.

The earthquake follows a smaller one in China’s Heilongjiang province three days ago, which measured 4.9 on the Richter scale.

Source: Artificial earthquake, probable nuclear test, detected in North Korea