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Magnitude 2.2 artificial quake detected in N. Korea: KMA

March 16, 2016

SEOUL (Yonhap) — An artificial earthquake occurred in North Korea Wednesday, presumably due to a blast, South Korea’s meteorological agency said.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), a 2.2-magnitude tremor was detected in an area some 34 kilometers southeast of the country’s capital of Pyongyang at around 12:30 p.m.

Considering the depth of the seismic center, which was only about 1 kilometer, the quake seems to have been caused by some sort of blasting work, it said.

“The quake is not believed to be the result of a nuclear test, considering its location or magnitude,” a KMA source said.

A 4.8-magnitude earthquake was detected near the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in North Korea in January after the North conducted its fourth nuclear test. Punggye-ri is situated in the northeastern part of the country.