Skeptic Review

25 Aug 2010 – “Storax Sedan” underground nuclear test – July 1962
Storax Sedan (yield 104 kt) – shallow underground nuclear test conducted by the United States on 6 July 1962 at Nevada Test Site. The main purpose of the detonation was to asses the non military dimension of a nuclear explosion. Image in the public domain

Photo: The Official CTBTO Photostream

SEOUL, Feb. 6 (Yonhap) — A 2.6-magnitude earthquake shook North Korea’s northern area on Tuesday in the aftermath of the communist country’s latest nuclear test, in September last year, the South Korean weather agency said.

The quake took place at 7:53 p.m., 46 kilometers northwest of Kilju, North Hamgyong Province, where North Korea has conducted a total of six nuclear tests, including the latest one in September last year, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).

The depth of the tremor’s epicenter appeared to be 5 km and it is believed to have been a natural result of the sixth nuclear test, in September, the agency said.

North Korea claimed to have tested a hydrogen bomb in the Sept. 3 nuclear detonation, the most powerful of the nuclear tests the North has conducted.

The weather agency detected an artificial quake with a 5.7 magnitude at the nuclear site in the northeast area at the time of the sixth nuclear test.

The Tuesday quake occurred some 3km northeast of North Korea’s sixth nuclear test site, a KMA official said.

It was the eighth natural quake that has taken place in North Korea since the September nuclear test.