A study reveals that underground nuclear tests conducted by North Korea between 2006 and 2017 triggered nearly 1,400 earthquakes that have continued for years.

An international research team has identified a link between North Korea's six underground nuclear tests at Mount Mantap and a surge in seismic activity that has persisted long after the explosions ceased. While such tests typically cause a brief burst of tremors, researchers found that seismic activity in the previously quiet region has steadily increased and accelerated through 2025.

Seismic Data Analysis

Led by Xingli Fan from the Chengdu University of Technology, researchers analyzed 17 years of seismic wave data recorded between 2008 and 2025. By utilizing a sensitive pattern-matching technique known as matched-filter detection, the team identified 1,399 small local earthquakes that standard monitoring networks had missed. The study, published in the journal Science, notes that the region had no documented crustal earthquakes within 50 kilometers of the site for over a century prior to 2017.

Mapping Fault Lines

The researchers mapped the locations of 955 of the detected tremors, finding they aligned along two distinct, parallel tracks extending from the test site. One track follows a known fault line, while the second corresponds to a previously unmapped, hidden fault. The study suggests that the underground nuclear blasts damaged the Earth's crust, creating structural weaknesses that continue to drive fault movements years after the testing ended.