North Korea’s nuclear test site at risk of imploding, Chinese scientist says

South China Morning Post ^ | 09/06/2017 | Stephen Chen

[SeekAndFind]

The single mountain under which North Korea most likely conducted its five most recent nuclear bomb tests, including the latest and most powerful on Sunday, could be at risk of collapsing, a Chinese scientist said.

By measuring and analysing the shock waves caused by the blasts, and picked up by quake stations in China and neighbouring countries, researchers at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, Anhui province, said they were confident that they were all carried out from under the same mountain at the Punggye-ri test site.

The team from the seismic and deep earth physics laboratory made the claim in a statement posted on their website on Monday. Its leader, geophysicist Wen Lianxing, said that based on data collected by more than 100 earthquake monitoring centres in China, the margin of error was no more than 100 metres.

Wang Naiyan, the former chairman of the China Nuclear Society and senior researcher on China’s nuclear weapons programme, said that if Wen’s findings were reliable, there was a risk of a major environmental disaster.

Another test might cause the whole mountain to cave in on itself, leaving only a hole from which radiation could escape and drift across the region, including China, he said.

“We call it ‘taking the roof off’. If the mountain collapses and the hole is exposed, it will let out many bad things.”

Sunday’s blast was followed by an earthquake eight minutes later, which China’s seismic authorities interpreted as a cave-in triggered by the explosion.

Not every mountain was suitable for nuclear bomb testing. Wang said, adding that the peak had to be high, but the slopes relatively flat.

[mbj]

Very interesting: thank you!

[cornfedcowboy]

I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that the Norks do not care.

[Monorprise]

“Based on the fact that North Korea has a limited land area and bearing in mind the sensitivity of its nuclear programme, it most likely does not have too many suitable peaks to choose from.
How long the mountain would continue to stand would also depend on where the North Koreans placed the bombs, Wang said.”

The Chinese also said part of the problem is the North Koreans are being cheap about it and building hormonal tunnels rather than vertical tunnels, as everyone else does.

This is a man made disaster waiting to happen because north Korea can’t be troubled to do nuclear testing the smart way.

That said I doubt it will be that bad, the world has seen far worse. Mostly something for Japan, South Korea, China, and Russia to all yell at North Korea over.

Im still more worried about what they send our way.

[Cvengr]

Methinks the PR machines are spinning.

NK threatens to use EMP against the US.
US space weather claims sun has sent a giant solar CME our way which might result in EMP-like devastation to our power grid.

US warns of pre-emptive strike against NK Nuclear testing and warehousing facilities.
China warns a massive nuclear detonation at the NK testing site caused by NK weapons testing may result in a giant hole under the mountain and it collapsing, therefore any radiation in the area afterwards is effectively caused by the NKs.

FWIW, sure seems like if things go awry they may be easily explained by natural phenomenon and foolish people playing with nukes.

(...and not one SUV implicated...)

[JimSEA]

It wouldn’t be a big surprise if the mountain is very fractured and unstable. I recall some discussion in the 70s of using a nuclear bomb to fracture an ore body in Arizona’s Galiuro Mountains so the ore could be leached in site. Obviously, the government thought it too risky and too politically difficult to go beyond the talking phase. North Korea has used far more energy in a geologically confined area and a lot of the rock is undoubtedly shattered. So this is what some would call a “Well duh!” moment.

[Fresh Wind]

Maybe they can stop using that site and use Guam instead. /s