NO TRACES of radioactive materials have been detected following North Korea's latest nuclear test, South Korea's nuclear safety agency announced today.
The revelation has raised questions about whether tyrant Kim Jong-un successfully conducted the nation's sixth and most powerful nuclear test underneath a mountain on Sunday.
The Punggye-ri test site in North Korea is carved deep into the side of Mount Mantap North Korea state media celebrates its missile capability as tensions riseNorth Korean state media claimed its underground test of the H-bomb is a major “game changer” and several shockwaves were recorded across the globe after the bomb’s supposed detonation.
But South Korea's Nuclear Safety and Security Commission said it has not found any traces of radionuclides, such as xenon, in its tests of soil, water and air samples.
It said air-sampling equipment installed on planes, ships and land radiation detection stations have been collecting samples to find traces of radioactive materials.
Radiation levels in South Korea are reportedly at their usual level.
Earlier today it was reported that the Punggye-ri test site of the supposed hydrogen bomb explosion is at risk of collapsing and leaking radiation into the region.
Experts say if the peak crumbles, clouds of radioactive dust and gas will blanket the region, Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post reported.
A satellite image taken on April 12, 2017 of a North Korean Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site The area around North Korea's Punggye-Ri nuclear test site shows graphics pointing to what monitoring group 38 North says are signs of increased activityThe Punggye-ri test site in the rogue-nation’s northeast is carved deep into the side of Mount Mantap.
Geophysicist Wen Lianxing and his team at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, Anhui province, said they “were confident” underground detonations were occurring underneath the mountain.
They posted an analysis of data collected from more than 100 seismic monitoring sites across China.
This has narrowed down the location of Pyongyang’s nuclear tests with a margin of error of just 100m. They’ve all been under the same mountain.
North Korea’s Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site is seen in commercial satellite imagery taken April 12, 2017 This satellite image provided by Airbus Defense & Space and 38 North on October 8, 2016 shows the Sohae Satellite Launching Station in North Korea
Seismic data showed the underground test triggered an earthquake of magnitude 6.3, around ten times more powerful than the fifth test a year ago.
Satellite images showed the blast caused numerous landslides around the Punggye-ri test site, according to the Washington-based 38 North monitoring project.
But radiation sampling in China, South Korea and Japan have so far returned no abnormal readings. So the chances of a leak having already been generated are very low.
Chinese nuclear weapons researcher and chair of the China Nuclear Society Wang Naiyan has told the Morning Post such an event indicates a potential major environmental disaster in the making.
He said: “We call it ‘taking the roof off’. If the mountain collapses and the hole is exposed, it will let out many bad things.
“A 100 kiloton bomb is a relatively large bomb. The North Korean government should stop the tests as they pose a huge threat not only to North Korea but to other countries, especially China.”
Pyongyang released pictures of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un with what state media said was a new type of hydrogen bombSatellite photos taken just a day after the blast reveal new gravel and scree fields shaken loose by the blasts at an elevation of about 2205m.
Analysts say these appear more numerous and widespread than those caused by previous detonations — which would be in keeping with the increased size of the bomb.
But they report no sign as yet of a collapse crater caused by the strong post-test tremor.
Wang said there are limited mountains in North Korea that are “suitable” to conduct a nuclear test.
South Korea released pictures on Monday showing its military firing test missiles off the east coast Trump said he would allow Japan and South Korea to buy more US weaponsHe said if the North had simply drilled into the side of the mountain, this increased the risk of “blowing the top off”.
North Korea has given no indication it intends to end - or slow - its testing of hydrogen bomb warheads intended to be carried by its new intercontinental ranged ballistic missiles.
A top North Korean diplomat has warned that his country is ready to send “more gift packages” to the United States as world powers struggle for a response to Pyongyang’s latest nuclear weapons test.
The US warned that Kim Jong-un is 'begging for war' after his latest nuclear testNorth Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations Han Tae Song last night declared the testing of its sixth and largest bomb to be a complete success.
He said: The recent self-defence measures by my country, DPRK, are a gift package addressed to none other than the US.
“The US will receive more ‘gift packages’ ... as long as it relies on reckless provocations and futile attempts to put pressure on the DPRK.”
Earlier this week, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations accused North Korea of "begging for war".
A version of this story story originally appeared on News.com.au.
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