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| / Captured from KMA website |
By Park Si-soo
A minor 2.3-magnitude earthquake was detected near North Korea's closed nuclear test site in Gilju early on Monday.
The
Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said the tremor took place at 4:31 a.m. 47 kilometers north-north-west of Gilju, North Hamgyong Province, at a depth of five kilometers. The tremor was believed to be natural, but could have been caused by the North's sixth underground nuclear test there in September, KMA officials said.
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Experts here have said the nuclear test weakened the underground structure around the site, leaving it vulnerable to natural collapse. There have been nine natural quakes in the area since the Sept. 3 test, they said.
"The quake's epicenter was within five kilometers of the test site," a KMA official said. "Various signs showed the quake was natural and different in many ways from an artificial one caused by an underground explosion."
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared the shutdown of the Gilju nuclear test site on Saturday, along with a freeze on missile and nuclear tests.
