N. Korea nuclear tests reactivated dormant faults: study

The Korea Times - Sep 18, 2026

Repeated nuclear tests at North Korea’s Punggye-ri site appear to have reactivated dormant faults beneath Mount Mantap, triggering more than 1,000 earthquakes in the area, a new study has found. A research team led by Kim Kwang-hee, a professor of geological sciences at Pusan National University, analyzed seismic data collected in South Korea and northeastern China over 17 years, from 2008 to May 2025. The study, conducted jointly with researchers from several Chinese institutions, was published Friday in the international journal Science. The research found that repeated underground nuclear explosions progressively damaged the shallow crust and altered stress on nearby faults, causing previously quiet fault zones to become active. Historical earthquake records showed no seismic activity around Mount Mantap before North Korea began nuclear testing at the Punggye-ri site in 2006. About 60 earthquakes were detected between 2006 and the sixth nuclear test in 2017, with seismic activity gradually increasing after the third test in 2013. The most dramatic change came after the sixth and mos

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