N. Korea nuclear tests reactivated dormant faults: study
Repeated nuclear tests at North Korea’s Punggye-ri site appear to have reactivated dormant faults beneath Mount Mantap, triggering more than 1,000 earthquakes in the area, a new study has found. A research team led by Kim Kwang-hee, a professor of geological sciences at Pusan National University, analyzed seismic data collected in South Korea and northeastern China over 17 years, from 2008 to May…
North Korea's nuclear tests at the Punggye-ri site have apparently reawakened dormant faults beneath Mount Mantap, resulting in over 1,000 earthquakes in the region, according to a recent study. Led by Kim Kwang-hee, a professor of geological sciences at Pusan National University, the research team examined seismic data spanning 17 years from 2008 to May 2025, collected in South Korea and northeastern China.
The findings, published in the international journal Science, reveal that these nuclear explosions progressively weakened the shallow crust and altered stress on nearby faults, causing dormant fault zones to become active. Before North Korea commenced nuclear testing at Punggye-ri in 2006, historical earthquake records showed no seismic activity around Mount Mantap.
The number of earthquakes increased gradually after the third test in 2013, with a significant spike following the sixth and most recent test.
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