‘Huge Threat’: Pyongyang’s Nuclear Test Site May Collapse, Spread Radiation
TEHRAN (Basirat) : The mountain underneath which the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is believed to have conducted five nuclear bomb trials would ooze radiation throughout the Korean Peninsula and into China if it implodes, the South China Morning Post reports.
"We call it ‘talking the roof off.’ If the mountain collapses and the hole is
exposed, it will let out many bad things,” Wang Naiyan, a researcher for China’s
nuclear weapons program, told the SCMP.
While mountains don’t usually implode by happenstance, just one more nuclear
test could cause the peak at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site to crumble,
researchers at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei told
the Hong Kong-based news outlet.
On Sunday, the DPRK tested what they say is a hydrogen bomb designed for
deployment on ballistic missiles. "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," the Post noted.
While the testing of the hydrogen bomb made waves in news coverage across the
world, Sputnik reported back on June 26 that North Korean military scientists
had the capability to produce materials needed for such an explosive device,
particularly tritium. Stanford University professor Siegfried Hecker said at the
time "the evidence is quite clear” Pyongyang had the technical capability for
making an H-bomb. Hecker estimates the DPRK has 25 nuclear warheads tucked away
in its stockpile.
The size of the explosion is the most significant development resulting from the
latest test, Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the
Federation of American Scientists, told Loud & Clear on Tuesday.
SOURCE: Sputniknews
