북한 풍계리 핵실험장 붕괴로 200여명 사망_방사능 유출가능성은?
북한의 핵시설인 함경북도 길주군 풍계리 핵실험장 지하갱도에서 지난달 붕괴 사고로 200여명이 사망했을 가능성이 있다고 일본 아사히 TV 가 어제 10월 31일 보도했습니다
북한이 6차 핵실험을 강행한 풍계리에서 지난 10일경 지하갱도를 만드는 공사 중 붕괴사고가 발생했는데
작업 중이던 100여명이 매몰됐다고 전했습니다
또한 이들을 구조하는 과정에서 재차 발생한 붕괴사고로 100여명이 더 매몰 모두 200여명의 사망자가 발생할 가능성이있다고 밝혔는데요
매체는 붕괴사고 원인으로 핵실험 폭발로 인한 지반 약화를 들었습니다
미국의 북한 전문 매체인 38노스가 촬영한 북한의 풍계리 핵실험장 : 에어버스 디펜스 엔드 스페이스 38노스 공동제공
위성에서 찍은 핵실험장소
정확한 붕괴와 사망날짜가 아직 밝혀지지는 않았으나 이는 북한이 6차,, 그리고 가장 강력한 지하 핵실험을 시행한 지 얼마 되지 않아 발생한 것 같습니다
북한은 9월 초 대륙간탄도미사일 (ICBM) 탄두부에 장착할 수소폭탄을 개발했다고 주장한 바 있습니다
조선중앙통신 김정은 노동당 위원이 핵무기 연구소를 찾아 '핵무기 병기화 사업'을 현지지도 했다면서 한단계 높은 수소폭탄을 개발했다고 주장했었지요
이곳이 바로 함경북도 길주군 풍계리인데 당시 규모 5.6의 지진이 발생했다고 미국지질조사국(USGS)가 밝혔습니다. 주국 지진당국은 지진 규모를 6.6으로 보고 있으며 외신들은 전문가들을 인용해 핵실험에 따른 지진의 가능성이 있을 것으로 보았습니다
지난 9월 3일 발표했던 수소폭탄 실험 이후 갱도가 무너지면서 사망한 것으로 보입니다
지난 10월 26일 중국은 이제 한번만 더 하면 풍계리 핵실험장이 붕괴된다고 경고한 바 있습니다
방사능 물질의 확산 가능성
- 붕괴에 따른 방사능 물질의 확산 가능성 有
- 함몰 지진이 일어나면 북풍에 의해 방사성물질 확산 가능성 有
또한 남재철 기상청장은 길주군 풍계리에 추가 핵실험이 진행될 경우 붕괴에 따른 방사능 물질의 확산 가능성이 있다고 말했습니다
바른정당 하태경 의원이 환경노동위원회 종합감사에서
'중국은 북한이 핵실험을 한 번 더 하면 풍계리는 완전히 무너지고 엄청난 방사능 물질이 주변으로 확산될 것이라고 경고했는데
그 가능성은 어떠한가 라고 묻자
남 청장은 "저희가 위성자료를 분석한 내용에 의하면 풍계리 만탑산 밑에 60∼100m의 공동이 있다고 평가되기 때문에 만약 추가 핵실험을 한다면 그럴 가능성이 있다고 본다"라고 말했다.
'함몰 지진이 일어나더라도 안에서 바깥으로 방사능 물질이 뿜어나올 수 있지 않나'라는 추가 질문에는 "함몰된다면 가능성이 있다"라고 말했다.
이어 '북풍이 겨울에 불어온다면 이쪽(남한)으로 불어오는 것 아닌가'라는 질문에는 "그것은 기류분석을 그렇게 우리가 하고 있다. 방사성 물질이 (확산)되면 정부에서는 원자력안전위원회 매뉴얼에 따라서…"라고 말했다.
As many as 200 North Korean labourers have been killed after a mine shaft being dug at the regime's nuclear test site collapsed, according to Japan's Asahi TV
Sources in North Korea told the news channel that a tunnel being excavated by around 100 workers at the Punggye-ri test site collapsed earlier this month.
An additional 100 labourers sent to rescue their colleagues were reportedly killed when the tunnel suffered a second collapse.
AN embarrassing disaster at a North Korean nuclear site could push Kim Jong-un to explode an atomic warhead over the Pacific - in a provocative show of strength.
The communist leader could be at the brink of launching the deadly 'Juche Bird' missile, which has the power to kill most of life in its strike zone, and cause extraordinary levels of environmental devastation to nearby countries, according to reports.
Kim Jong-un could launch the 'Juche Bird' missile into the atmosphere above the Pacific Ocean at any moment
Jong-un may be keen to explode the hydrogen bomb after 200 people died and at least 100 people were trapped at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, carved deep into the side of Mount Mantap, on October 10.
The accident is believed to have been caused by Kim Joing-un’s sixth nuclear test, which some officials believe was a H-bomb, according to the reports.
Nuclear arms expert Joshua Pollack said the North may be pressed to explode the bomb in a "public demonstration" because "North Korean leadership undoubtedly feels pushed into a corner" to demonstrate the reliability of their missile which killed nearby underground workers.
The launch of this hydrogen bomb would be the first atmospheric nuclear test in almost 40 years.
The Punggye-ri test site in North Korea is carved deep into Mount Mantap, as these file images show THE SUN
The Punggye-ri test site in North Korea is carved deep into Mount Mantap, as these file images show
Satellite images show the area around North Korea's Punggye-ri nuclear test siteREUTERS
Satellite images show the area around North Korea's Punggye-ri nuclear test site
If such a bomb hits the Pacific, radioactive particles will soar through the air and water - and wind could carry the deadly particles over hundreds of miles.
In the event of a failed missile test, the live nuclear warhead could fall onto Japan.
Joshua Pallack, an expert from James Martin Centre of Nonproliferation Studies told the Daily Caller: "It will be seen as an extraordinary provocative act, one that could create a new unity among the great powers against North Korea and inspire a drive for rearmament in Japan," .
The hydrogen bomb obtained its name from Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear arms expert from Middlebury Institute of International Studies.
Mr Lewis coined the term so the missile would be seen as the North Korean answer to the American 'Frigate Bird' nuclear test of 1952."
The horrific impact of the Hiroshima bomb launched by the US in the 1950s - around five years after the bomb was detonated
This newspaper report claims the radiation emitted from the bomb could affect human fertility
Pyongyang officials initially threatened to launch the "most powerful detonation of an H-bomb in the Pacific" after Donald Trump said America will "totally destroy" the communist state.
When detonated it could launch a blinding flash, producing a signature mushroom cloud that emerge after hydrogen bomb explosions.
Conducting the test could involve putting a nuclear warhead on top of a ballistic missile, before launching them together towards the sea.
"Multiple North Korean officials have alluded to atmospheric testing," Ankit Panda, the senior editor at The Diplomat told the site.
"It suggests to me that they're priming the international community for such an eventuality," he added.
The powerful rocket engine is ignited
The missile is capable of being launched into orbit before the warhead reenters the atmosphere and falls on to the target
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un celebrates the launch of a Hwasong-12 missile in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency
Pyongyang released pictures of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un with what state media said was a new type of hydrogen bomb
Nuclear war may break out any moment' North Korean Deputy Ambassador delivers warning at United Nations
Reinforcing their bid to launch the bomb, Ri Yong Pil, the deputy director of the Department of North American Affairs in the foreign ministry reportedly said the US must take "literally" the threat from the North Korean foreign minister, to conduct the "strongest hydrogen bomb test over the Pacific Ocean".
After the underground collapse, to the North's horror, a further 100 people were lost in a second collapse as emergency services tried to save the initial trapped construction workers, Asahi reported on Tuesday.
The tunnel collapse initially prompted fears of a massive radioactive leak which could spark a Chernobyl- or Fukushima-style disaster.
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