Human rights activists have reported on the radiation risk for North Korean residents

Tens of thousands of people in North Korea, as well as residents of South Korea, Japan and China, may be exposed to radioactive substances that spread through groundwater. This was reported by Reuters with reference to the report of the human rights organization Transitional Justice Working Group, which is based in Seoul.

According to the US and South Korean governments, between 2006 and 2017, North Korea secretly conducted six nuclear weapons tests at the Pungera test site.

The study of the Transitional Justice Working Group states that radioactive substances could have spread to eight cities and districts located near the landfill. More than 1 million people live on this territory, and groundwater is used in everyday life, including for drinking. South Korea, Japan and China may be at risk due to the smuggling of agricultural and fish products from the DPRK.

During the research, the organization worked with experts in the nuclear field, medical experts, and also used intelligence data from open sources and publicly available government and UN reports.

“This report is important because it shows that North Korea’s nuclear tests can threaten the right to life and health not only of the North Korean people, but also of the residents of South Korea and other neighboring countries,” said the head of the organization, Hubert Yanghwan Lee.

As Reuters writes, in 2015, South Korea’s food safety agency found levels of radioactive isotopes of cesium nine times higher than the norm in imported mushrooms. It is noted that the mushrooms were sold as Chinese products, although they were actually from North Korea.

China and Japan have strengthened radiation monitoring and expressed concern about potential radiation after nuclear tests in North Korea.

Third-party experts also expressed concern about the potential risk to health from contaminated water, but North Korea rejected these concerns, saying that there were no leaks of harmful substances after the nuclear tests. The country did not present any evidence.

• In June 2022, US and South Korean intelligence discovered that North Korea was equipping the Pungera test site for the seventh nuclear test. The UN and the IAEA called on Pyongyang to abandon nuclear weapons tests.