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| A controlled detonation destroys the second tunnel at North Korea's Punggye-ri nuclear test site, Thursday. / Joint press corps |
NK officials keep saying 'no radioactive contamination'
By Choi Ha-young, Joint press corps
North Korea said it had totally destroyed all tunnels at its Punggye-ri nuclear test site, Thursday, but international reporters who witnessed the event said their lack of expertise in nuclear technology meant they couldn't verify the complete dismantlement.
The group of reporters from South Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom, China and Russia observed the demolition following a briefing by a deputy director of the North Korean Nuclear Research Institute.
"We had already discarded the first tunnel in the east, after the successful test in 2006. In the second one in the north, the country held five nuclear tests from 2009 to 2017," the official, who refused to be named, was quoted as saying by the pool reporters.
The research institute officials repeatedly said the third and fourth tunnels, which have not been used, have remained intact despite a series of nuclear tests in the second one. "The third one is the widest. It's always ready. The fourth was created because a bigger facility was needed," another official said.
The first explosion at 11 a.m. destroyed the second tunnel. North Korean officials asked photographers and cameramen "Are you ready to shoot?" before a thunderous roar resonated throughout Mount Mantap following a countdown of "three, two, one."
Another official from the institute said eight explosive devices had been placed in the walls for the destruction of that tunnel.
After having lunch, the reporters observed the fourth tunnel being destroyed at 2:17 p.m., followed by buildings. Along with consecutive booms, dark smoke blanketed the valley and wooden debris was seen.
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| Explosives are planted within the third tunnel in Punggye-ri. / Joint press corps |
At 4:02 p.m., the third tunnel was blown up. Reporters said they could hear a big noise from the entrance of the tunnel, but blasts deep inside the mountain were comparatively quiet.
"We presume the inside of the tunnels were destroyed given the consecutive blasts. However, we couldn't verify thoroughly because we are not experts. By looking from the outside, we couldn't detect ground subsidence or sounds inside the tunnels as they were surrounded by granite. Only the entrance parts collapsed," a South Korean pool reporter said.
Asked about the "transparency" of the demolitions, a research institute official said the explosions took place twice, both inside and outside the tunnels.
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| A deputy director of the North Korean Nuclear Research Institute reads a statement after a series of explosions destroyed three tunnels at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, Thursday. / Joint press corps |
After the detonations, the deputy director of the institute reappeared and read a statement. "It was confirmed by international and domestic reporters that two of the four tunnels were available for massive nuclear tests," he said.
"The transparent event reaffirmed the country's efforts for world peace. No more nuclear tests are an important step for global nuclear disarmament and we will keep moving forward to build a peaceful world without nuclear weapons."
The North Koreans highlighted that there were "no radiation leaks" near the tunnels. A reporter from Pyongyang's state-run Korean Central Television offered a South Korean reporter a taste of spring water there, saying "the water is pH 7.15, which would be way tastier than mineral waters for sale."
North Korean officials cited "ants and swallows" living near the tunnels as evidence of no radioactive contamination.
"No specific materials were provided to prove there was no radioactive leak," a South Korean pool reporter said. South Korean reporters couldn't measure radioactivity because North Korean authorities took their radiation detectors away.
Last year, the Ministry of Unification tested 30 North Korean defectors for possible radiation exposure ― they used to live in Kilju, where the Punggye-ri test site is located. At that time, four were found to have problems in their chromosomes, and one of these was determined to have been possibly exposed to radiation, the ministry said.
The inspection came after the sixth nuclear test in September 2017. Some defectors testified about "ghost disease," which refers to mysterious symptoms allegedly caused by radiation exposure. They claimed their families in the North are suffering from headaches, nausea and birth defects of newborns, and they witnessed the extinction of indigenous fish and mushrooms.
