{
  "id": 8309628,
  "title": "North Korea's nuclear testing may have triggered hundreds of earthquakes over several years",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/north-koreas-nuclear-testing-may-have-triggered-hundreds-of",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-18T21:00:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Phys.org",
    "slug": "phys-org",
    "url": "https://phys.org/news/2026-09-north-korea-nuclear-triggered-hundreds.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "A new study published in the journal Science has revealed that North Korea's six underground nuclear tests between 2006 and 2017 may have triggered hundreds of earthquakes over several years in the region surrounding Mount Mantap. Despite the initial assumption that such seismic activity would decrease following the tests, researchers detected a steady increase in seismicity that persisted until 2025. Using seismic wave data and advanced pattern-matching techniques, the international team of scientists discovered 1,399 small local earthquakes near Mount Mantap, including 955 that were never previously mapped. The study suggests that the nuclear explosions damaged the crust around pre-existing faults and potentially undiscovered faults, which then shifted and slid years after the blasts ended. This phenomenon demonstrates that underground nuclear explosions can have long-lasting crustal effects in a stressed geological environment.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}