2013 North Korean nuclear test

2013 North Korean nuclear test
Information
Country	North Korea
Test site	41°18′N 129°05′E / 41.30°N 129.08°E / 41.30; 129.08Coordinates: 41°18′N 129°05′E / 41.30°N 129.08°E / 41.30; 129.08,Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site, Kilju County
Period	02:57:51, 12 February 2013 (2013-02-12T02:57:51) UTC
Number of tests	1
Test type	Underground
Device type	Fission
Max. yield	Exact yield or intended yield was not announced by DPRK 6–9 kilotons of TNT (25–38 TJ)(Estimations from South Korean Defense Ministry) 8–10 kilotons of TNT (33–42 TJ)(Japanese estimates) 8.4–16 kilotons of TNT (35–67 TJ) (Estimations from University of Science and Technology of China) More than 7 kilotons of TNT (29 TJ) (Russian Defence Ministry) 14 kilotons of TNT (59 TJ) (Estimation from Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources) - Initially however was estimated at 40 kilotons of TNT (170 TJ)
Navigation
Previous test	2009 test
Next test	January 2016 test

On 12 February 2013, North Korean state media announced it had conducted an underground nuclear test, its third in seven years. A tremor that exhibited a nuclear bomb signature with an initial magnitude 4.9 (later revised to 5.1) was detected by the China Earthquake Networks Center,Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization and the United States Geological Survey. In response, Japan summoned an emergency United Nations meeting for 12 February and South Korea raised its military alert status. It is not known whether the explosion was nuclear or a conventional explosion designed to mimic a nuclear blast; as of two days after the blast, Chinese, Japanese, and South Korean investigators had failed to detect any radiation.

On 12 February 2013, a spokesman for North Korea's army command said it had successfully conducted a third underground nuclear weapons test, according to the Yonhap. North Korea also said the test had used a miniaturized nuclear device with greater explosive power.

Before North Korea announced they had conducted the test, seismic activity had already been detected in North Korea by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the seismic network operated by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) Preparatory Commission, near the site of previous nuclear tests at Mantapsan in Kilju County. A large tremor, first estimated at magnitude of 4.9, was detected in North Korea, and governments in the region were trying to determine whether it was a third nuclear test. The USGS upgraded the magnitude of the possibly nuclear tremor from 4.9 to 5.1, located 24 kilometres (15 mi) east-northeast of Sungjibaegam, North Korea. The tremor occurred at 11:57am KST (2:57am UTC), and the USGS said the hypocenter of the event was only one kilometer deep.

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