September 2016 North Korean nuclear test
| September 2016 North Korea nuclear test | |
|---|---|
Graphic from the United States Geological Survey showing the location of seismic activity at the time of the test
|
|
| Information | |
| Country | North Korea |
| Test site | 41°17′53″N 129°00′54″E / 41.298°N 129.015°ECoordinates: 41°17′53″N 129°00′54″E / 41.298°N 129.015°E,Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site, Kilju County |
| Period | 09:00:01, 9 September 2016 UTC+08:30 (00:30:01 UTC) |
| Number of tests | 1 |
| Test type | Underground |
| Max. yield |
|
| Navigation | |
| Previous test | January 2016 test |
The government of North Korea conducted a nuclear detonation on 9 September 2016, the fifth since 2006, at the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site, approximately 50 kilometres (30 miles) northwest of Kilju City in Kilju County.
North Korea's previous nuclear test was conducted 8 months earlier in January 2016 and drew sharp international condemnations. Despite calls from China and Russia to return to the six-party talks, North Korea maintained its nuclear and missile ambitions:
The nuclear test was conducted on 9 September 2016, which is the 68th anniversary of the founding of North Korea.
According to South Korean and Japanese estimates, the nuclear yield was equivalent to about 10 kilotons of TNT (10 kt), generating about a 5.3 magnitude seismic shock. This would make the explosion the largest North Korean nuclear test.
Jeffrey Lewis of the California-based Middlebury Institute of International Studies told Reuters that the blast is estimated to be at least 20 to 30 kt. The article has since been republished by some international media outlets. Such a yield would make the blast more powerful than that of the Little Boy atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.
The German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources has initially estimated the yield as 25 kt.
The Japanese military dispatched two Kawasaki T-4 aircraft fitted with special containers to measure airborne radioactivity.
...
Wikipedia