Earthquakes reported near N Korea nuclear site amid talk of resumed testing

Seismic activity induced by nuclear tests is not unusual, and has been documented at other major nuclear test sites such as the Nevada Test Site in the US and the former Soviet Union's Semipalatinsk

A series of small, natural earthquakes has struck near North Korea's shuttered nuclear test site, South Korea has said, highlighting the area's geological instability as Pyongyang hints it could resume testing for the first time since 2017.

At least four earthquakes have hit the region in the past five days, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) in Seoul.
 

The latest was a 2.5 magnitude quake on Tuesday morning, which was centred about 36 km (22 miles) from the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site. A pair of 2.3 magnitude earthquakes were reported in the area on Monday and another at 3.1 magnitude