North Korea denies nuclear test tunnel collapse

North Korea says reports of a tunnel collapse at its nuclear test site are fabricated.

The Mantap Mountain area at North Korea's nuclear test site. Photo: Google Earth.

North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) today denied reports that a tunnel under construction at the country's nuclear test site collapsed and killed many people, according to Reuters.

KCNA said this was "false information" aimed at defaming North Korea and the progress in Pyongyang's nuclear development program.

Earlier, Japan's Asahi TV station cited several anonymous sources as saying that an unfinished tunnel at North Korea's Punggye-ri nuclear test site collapsed after the sixth nuclear test on September 3, possibly killing more than 200 people.

Experts warn that the ground at North Korea's nuclear test site, south of Mount Mantap, may be unstable because of six nuclear tests, of which last month was the latest and most powerful. A collapse could happen at any time.

Nam Jae-cheol, head of the Korea Meteorological Administration, said during a parliamentary session yesterday that another nuclear explosion could cause a collapse at the mountain test site and a radiation leak in North Korea.

Lee Won-jin, one of the researchers at the Korea Meteorological Administration, said multiple landslides occurred near the facility after the September 3 nuclear test, based on satellite image analysis.

In September, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho said in New York that leader Kim Jong-un may plan to test an "unprecedentedly large-scale hydrogen bomb" over the Pacific Ocean.

According to VNE