An earthquake near North Korea’s nuclear test sight was detected Sunday, raising concerns that Kim Jong Un’s regime had conducted its sixth nuclear weapons test.
There are varying accounts of the strength of the quake. The U.S. Geological Survey initially detected a 5.2 magnitude tremor, and later upgraded it to a 6.3 magnitude earthquake.
“Possible explosion, located near the site where North Korea has detonated nuclear explosions in the past. If this event was an explosion, the USGS National Earthquake Information Center cannot determine its type, whether nuclear or any other possible type,” USGS said in a brief statement.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s weather agency reported a 5.6 magnitude earthquake at 12:36 p.m. around North Hamgyeong Province, according to Yonhap, the country’s news agency. South Korea’s military confirmed an artificial quake, and is examining whether it was due to a nuclear weapons test.
Not long after, a second quake due to what China reported was a “cave in,” according to Agence France-Presse.
If North Korea has conducted a nuclear test, then it would be after President Trump’s threat last month to bring “fire and fury” on the country if it continued nuclear activities and aggression towards the U.S.
The last reported nuclear test was in September 2016; there have been five since 2006.
North Korea has continued to make aggressive moves; earlier this launching a missile that flew over Japan. North Korea’s news agency also reported earlier on Saturday that it has created a hydrogen bomb that can be mounted onto an intercontinental ballistic missile.
President Trump spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday to discuss “ongoing efforts to maximize pressure on North Korea,” according to a White House statement. “The two leaders reaffirmed the importance of close cooperation between the United States, Japan and South Korea in the face of the growing threat of North Korea.”
Trump also spoke with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday and gave “conceptual approval of planned purchases” of military equipment, according to a White House readout of that call.
