Radiation levels ‘normal’ in Russian Far East after N.Korea test

MOSCOW: Radiation levels in Russia's Far East remained ‘in normal range' yesterday after North Korea said it tested a hydrogen bomb, Russian monitors said.

“After the alleged nuclear test by North Korea no excesses in background radiation levels were detected on the territory of the Primorsky region,” local state monitoring service Primgidromet said in a statement.

“The radiation situation remains stable,” the statement said, adding that “the level in the region remains within the normal range.”

Neighbouring North Korea declared itself a thermonuclear power on Sunday, after carrying out a sixth nuclear test more powerful than any it has previously detonated, presenting President Donald Trump with a potent challenge.

Shockwaves were detected along Russia's border with North Korea, while residents in the city of Vladivostok, some 130 kilometres from the frontier, reported mild tremors, Primgidromet representative Viktor Chulkov said.

South Korea's weather agency said the “artificial quake” in North Korea Sunday was five to six times more powerful than the tremor from Pyongyang's fifth test.

US monitors measured a 6.3magnitude “explosion” near the North's main testing site site at Punggye-ri.

“The scale of the energy was five to six times more powerful than the fifth nuclear test,” Lee Mi- Sun, head of the Korea Meteorological Administration's earthquake and volcano centre, told a televised briefing.

The South's Yonhap news agency, citing the state weather agency, had previously reported that the quake was 9.8 times more powerful than the tremor from Pyongyang's fifth test. — AFP