North Korea’s repeated nuclear tests could trigger the eruption of its highest peak, Mount Paektu, given the volcano’s proximity to a detonation site, warned a number of South Korean experts last Wednesday.
Mt. Paektu is an active volcano situated 116 kilometers (72 miles) from a North Korean test site, remaining dormant since its last eruption in 1903. It is considered close enough to be likely affected by a moderate or large seismic event.
Seismology professor Hong Tae-kyung from Yonsei University in Seoul says that strong ground motion can lead to massive dynamic stresses, disturbing the volcano’s magma chamber and inciting volcanic activity.
Hong deems an underground nuclear test “a direct threat” to Mt. Paekdu.
"North Korean nuclear explosions are expected to produce pressure changes of tens to hundreds of kilopascals, causing concern over the possible triggering of a volcanic eruption,” warn the authors of the study, which was published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.
North Korea carried out four underground nuclear explosion tests at the location in 2006, 2009, 2013 and January this year, creating artificial earthquakes. Citing previous research, the seismologists assert that quakes have triggered volcanic eruptions, and that a future major nuclear test could spell danger.
The Jan. 6 test, for instance, registered the equivalent of a magnitude 5.1 quake. Hong says that nuclear explosions that are 5.0 to 7.6 in magnitude may be enough to “overpressure” the magma chamber and induce an eruption.
Upon the former’s request, experts from North and South Korea gathered in 2011 – shortly after the devastating Japan earthquake and tsunami – to discuss the activity of Mt. Paektu. The talks, though, failed to continue or lead to an on-site scientific survey.
Mt. Paektu holds great significance to the two divided nations. Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, claims that it is the birthplace of its former leader and current leader’s father, Kim Jong-Il, while the South Korean national anthem mentions the 9,000-foot-high volcano.
In April last year, current North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was claimed by its state media to climb the peak wearing his suit and dress shoes.
