Is North Korea's nuclear mountain test site still functional?


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Washington: In upcoming talks between the United States and North Korea, one of the key details is a mystery at a 2200 metre-high point in the country’s north: Mount Mantap.


This mountain hosts part of a facility, Punggye-ri, that has been the site of all six of North Korea’s nuclear weapons tests. The most recent test, carried out underground on September 3, caused a 6.3-magnitude earthquake. Analysis of the seismic data suggested that the explosion’s yield was as high as 250 kilotons, almost 17 times that of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945.


Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un announced that his country would not only suspend nuclear and missile tests, but also shut down Punggye-ri.


The Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site is North Korea's only known nuclear test site and is located in Kilju County, North Hamgyong Province.

The Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site is North Korea’s only known nuclear test site and is located in Kilju County, North Hamgyong Province.


Photo: Supplied

The move was greeted warmly by President Donald Trump, who called it “big progress!” But observers suspect that Kim’s announcement wasn’t as generous as it seemed. After so many damaging tests, some noted, Mount Mantap had probably exhausted its use anyway.


On Wednesday, a group of Chinese scientists said that they believe the testing site had already collapsed. According to the Hong Kong-based newspaper South China Morning Post, this team was led by Wen Lianxing, a geologist with the University of Science and Technology of China, and had concluded that last year’s test had turned the mountain into “fragile fragments.”


Article source: http://watoday.com.au/sport/boxing/sun-shines-on-jeff-horn-as-he-stuns-manny-pacquiao--and-the-boxing-world-20170702-gx2vxu.html

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