Name: North Korea’s Nuclear Site Exposes South Korea, Japan, China to Radioactive Materials: Report
Uploaded: 2023-02-23T08:17:15.000Z
Description: North Korea's nuclear test site puts hundreds of thousands of North Korean residents and people in South Korea, Japan, and China at risk of exposure to radioactive elements through groundwater contamination, according to a South Korean human rights organization.

Vivian Li is a producer and reporter based at NTD’s global headquarters in New York City. With more than a decade of experience as a reporter and anchor for NTD’s Chinese-language division, she now primarily contributes to NTD’s English-language program China in Focus.

Vivian Li

NTD Plus

Shows

Fast, compelling, first-hand news from China. China in Focus airs Monday–Friday at 9:30 p.m. ET.

China in Focus

Beijing Moves to Lock Down Outbound Tech and Data Flows

NTD Newsroom comprises teams of reporters, editors, and producers assigned to cover breaking news and other stories.


NTD Newsroom

China Military-Linked Universities Seek Nvidia AI Chips: Report

Juliet Song is an international correspondent exclusively covering China news for NTD. She primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus," covering U.S.-China relations, the Chinese regime's human rights abuses, and domestic unrest inside China.

Juliet Song

China Appears to Boost Nuclear Strike Capability

Frank Fang is a Taiwan-based journalist. He covers U.S., China, and Taiwan news. He holds a master's degree in materials science from Tsinghua University in Taiwan.

Frank Fang

Eva Fu is a New York-based writer for The Epoch Times focusing on U.S. politics, U.S.-China relations, religious freedom, and human rights. Contact Eva at eva.fu@epochtimes.com

Eva Fu

News

US News

US Revokes Visa of Chinese Journalist

Philippines, Japan Deepen Defense Ties Amid China's Military Activity In South China Sea

Taiwan Opposition Leader Heads to US for 2-week Visit Amid China Tensions

Ryan Morgan is a reporter for The Epoch Times focusing on military and foreign affairs. He was previously a news writer for NTD. 


Ryan Morgan

World News

Asia &amp; Pacific

Hegseth Stresses Need for Defense Burden-Sharing in Indo-Pacific to Check China

Pentagon Seeks Funding for China Deterrence Strategy

EU Warns Economic Relationship With China Is 'Not Sustainable'

Pentagon Chief Attends Asia Security Summit Amid China-Taiwan Tensions

Tiffany Meier is an anchor, China news investigative reporter, and producer for NTD News based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Tiffany anchors NTD's flagship shows "NTD Evening News" and "China in Focus" and co-moderates NTD's special election coverage "The Nation Decides." She produced the award-winning NTD Original documentary "Hollywood Takeover: China's Control in the Film Industry."


Tiffany Meier

China in Focus Full Broadcast (June 2)

China in Focus Full Broadcast (June 1)

China in Focus Full Broadcast (May 29)

China in Focus Full Broadcast (May 28)

China in Focus Full Broadcast (May 27)

China in Focus Full Broadcast (May 26)

China in Focus Full Broadcast (May 25)

China in Focus Full Broadcast (May 22)

China in Focus Full Broadcast (May 21)

China in Focus Full Broadcast (May 20)

The Associated Press is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. 

The Associated Press

State News

California

More Than 17,000 Under Evacuation Orders as Southern California Wildfire Threatens Homes

Rudy Blalock is a Southern California-based daily news reporter for NTD. Originally from Michigan, he moved to California in 2017 and the sunshine and ocean have kept him here since. In his free time, he may be found underwater scuba diving, on top of a mountain hiking or snowboarding, or at home meditating—which helps fuel his active lifestyle.

Rudy Blalock

40,000 Ordered to Evacuate as Chemical Tank Leaks, Threatens Explosion in California

Video of US Fighter Jet Shooting Down UFO Over Lake Huron Emerges in New Pentagon Files

Mari Otsu is NTD's White House correspondent based in Washington. 

Mari Otsu

Middle East

Iran

3 US Warships Fend Off Iranian Attacks, Trump Says Ceasefire Still Holds

News you can trust from the U.S. and around the world. Critical information and insight. We cover the stories that others don’t. NTD News Today airs Monday–Friday at 11 a.m. ET.

NTD News Today

US Government Sues Chick-fil-A Over Religious Rights

Sports News

Kyle Busch, Two-Time NASCAR Champion, Dies at 41

Haika Mrema

Medical Plane Crash in New Mexico Mountains Kills 4, Sparks Wildfire

Daniel Monaghan is a reporter for NTD News covering culture, social issues, and education. He holds a BA in Political Science and Government.

Daniel Monaghan

California Mayor Resigns, Will Plead Guilty to Acting as Chinese Agent

Jackson Richman is a Washington correspondent for The Epoch Times. In addition to Washington politics, he covers the intersection of politics and sports/sports and culture. He previously was a writer at Mediaite and Washington correspondent at Jewish News Syndicate. His writing has also appeared in The Washington Examiner. He is an alum of George Washington University.

Jackson Richman

Iranian Strikes on UAE, Ships Amid US Operation to Open Hormuz Strait Test Ceasefire

Reuters is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages.

Reuters

Trump Calls Iran's Response to Latest US Ceasefire Proposal 'Totally Unacceptable'

Label

Live

NTD+ Live

NYC Firm Hosts Book Party on Investing in Critical Minerals Beyond Beijing’s Reach

China News

'Mineral War' Author on China's Rise, Global Response

China’s Long Arm on American Soil

Special Reports

Global Trade Under the Shadow of the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre

How Americans View China and Chinese ‘Elections’: Special Report

Countering Communism in US With Memorial for Its Victims

US Funding Chinese Communist Party Economic Growth: Experts

China's Artistic Censorship Aimed at Americans: Browde

Taiwan 2024 Special Election Coverage: China in Focus

Expert: Why Social Media Apps Are 'Legal Malware'

North Korea's nuclear test site puts hundreds of thousands of North Korean residents and people in South Korea, Japan, and China at risk of exposure to radioactive elements through groundwater contamination, according to a South Korean human rights organization.

In a recent report (<a href="https://en.tjwg.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Report2023_MappingRadioactiveContaminationPunggye-riNuclearTestSiteNorthKorea.pdf">pdf</a>), the Transitional Justice Working Group said that North Korean residents living in eight cities and counties near the Punggye-ri nuclear testing site could be exposed to radioactive materials spread through groundwater.

More than a million North Koreans are living in the cities and counties where groundwater is used for daily activities, according to the report.

"North Korea's 2008 census results show that nearly one out of every six households (15.5 percent) in North Hamyong province, which includes Kilju County, uses groundwater, waterhole, public tap, spring, etc. as drinking water," it says.

The report states that populations in neighboring countries, including South Korea, China, and Japan, are also exposed to radioactive risk due to agricultural and marine products smuggled from North Korea.

"If the radioactive materials disseminate through water, it can also affect the agricultural products from the Kilju plain and the marine products from nearby seas," the Seoul-based rights group said.
They urged South Korea, Japan, and China to investigate the contamination risks of North Korean agricultural and seafood products, given that the area around the nuclear testing site is a food-producing region with a network of streams that lead to the sea.
The Chinese government warned of a possible radioactive leak after North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear test in 2017, but North Korean agricultural and marine products continued to be smuggled into China.

In 2015, South Korea's authorities detected high levels of radioactive cesium in dried hedgehog mushrooms imported from North Korea under the pretext of Chinese products.

Japan has banned all imports from North Korea but the country is still at risk of radioactive exposure due to the smuggling of North Korean pine mushrooms disguised as Chinese products, the report states.

North Korea has repeatedly insisted that there are no radioactive material leaks or negative impact from its nuclear facility, but the regime failed to offer any scientific evidence.

In 2018, North Korea invited foreign journalists to witness the dismantling of some tunnels at the Punggye-ri nuclear testing site but confiscated the journalists' radiation detectors.

North Korea demolished the Punggye-ri site in May 2018 as a sign of its commitment to end nuclear testing. But South Korean and American intelligence reported spotting construction work at the site in recent years.
The group also stated that South Korean records show that nearly 900 people from the region around the Punggye-ri site have escaped to South Korea since North Korea's first nuclear test in 2006.
They said resuming radiation testing for the North Korean escapees was crucial considering the lack of access to North Korea’s nuclear facility.
“North Korean escapees who display symptoms of radiation exposure must given accurate information and appropriate medical treatment,” said Ethan Hee-Seok Shin, a legal expert with Transitional Justice Working Group.

<h2>Possible 7th Nuclear Test</h2>
North Korea conducted six nuclear tests between 2006 and 2017. Observers <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/analysts-discover-early-signs-of-construction-work-at-north-koreas-nuclear-site-dismantled-in-2018_4322915.html?utm_source=ai&utm_medium=search">have said</a> that North Korea may be making preparations at the Punggye-ri site to conduct its seventh nuclear test.
Analysts from the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies said in a 2022 report that <a href="https://www.armscontrolwonk.com/archive/1215261/changes-at-punggye-ri/">construction work had occurred</a> at the Punggye-ri site, citing satellite images captured on March. 4, 2022, by the commercial satellite firm Maxar.

Jeffrey Lewis, co-author of the report, speculated that the images could signal that North Korea intends to restore the <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/satellite-photos-reveal-north-korea-developing-nuclear-test-site_2411717.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">test site</a> and begin nuclear explosive testing, though this could take months or years to complete.

He added that North Korea could also resume nuclear testing at another place.

“How long it would take North Korea to resume explosive testing at the site depends on the extent of the damage to the tunnels themselves, something we do not know with confidence,” Lewis said in the report.

North Korea set a new record last year in weapons demonstrations, including the launch of over 70 ballistic missiles, some of which had the capacity to reach the U.S. mainland.

The United States has been urging for a return to the diplomatic approach to resolve the tensions through dialogue, a call North Korea has ignored due to what it says are the United States and its allies’ “hostile policies.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

From <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/north-koreas-nuclear-site-exposes-south-korea-japan-china-to-radioactive-materials-report_5072014.html">The Epoch Times</a>

Programs

china

japan

north korea

Videos

south korea

Latest Clips

Aldgra Fredly is a freelance writer covering U.S. and Asia Pacific news for The Epoch Times.

Aldgra Fredly

Latest and breaking news, documentaries, movies, and lifestyle content on NTD+.
 
Empower your knowledge and elevate your spirit with NTD+, your go-to destination for truthful news, insightful documentaries, and captivating lifestyle content that enriches your life.