North Korea Blast Buries its Own Nuclear Test Site

Is this one of the reasons for North Korea's sudden willingness to talk?

North Korea's mountain nuclear test site has collapsed, putting China and other nearby nations at an unprecedented risk of radioactive exposure, two separate groups of Chinese scientists studying the issue have confirmed, Stephen Chen reports on southchinamorningpost.com.

The last five of Pyongyang's six nuclear tests have all been carried out under Mount Mantap at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in North Korea's northwest, Chen wrote.

One group of researchers found that the most recent blast tore open a hole in the mountain, which then collapsed upon itself.  A second group concluded that the breakdown created a "chimney" that could allow radioactive fallout from the blast zone below to rise into the air, he added.

For more of Chen's timely report: http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2143171/north-koreas-nuclear-test-site-has-collapsed-and-may-be-why-kim-jong-un

USA Today, CNN, CBS and others carried similar reports today.

Photo: southchinamorningpost.com

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