Seoul, South Korea: North Korea appears to have conducted a fifth nuclear test on Friday, South Korean authorities reportedly said after monitors detected a 5.3-magnitude earthquake near its main nuclear site.
The quake was detected near North Korea’s Pyunggye-ri nuclear test site as the country celebrates Foundation Day, which marks the anniversary of the founding of the nation in 1948.
Seoul’s meteorological agency said the tremor, detected by quake monitors around the world including in the US and Europe, was likely to be the nation’s fifth nuclear test, according to Yonhap.
“The artificial 5.0-magnitude earthquake in the North... is likely a nuclear test,” a South Korean meteorological agency official said according to the Yonhap news agency.
“There is a high possibility that it was a nuclear test, given the location and the magnitude of the quake,” another unidentified government official told Yonhap.
Seoul’s military also said it was analysing the nature of the tremor.
North Korea has been hit by five sets of United Nations sanctions since it first tested a nuclear device in 2006.
It has also conducted a series of missile tests this year in defiance of UN sanctions.
