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Earthquakes shook North Korea three times more than average last year: KMA

Published: 20 Feb. 2025, 15:56 Updated: 20 Feb. 2025, 18:17

The red dot shows where an earthquake occurred in North Korea's Ongjin County, South Hwaghae Province, near the western sea border with South Korea on Jan. 5. [KOREA METEOROLOGICAL ADMINISTRATION]

North Korea experienced three times the country's average number of earthquakes last year.

The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said on Thursday that 31 earthquakes with a 2.0-magnitude or higher were detected in North Korea last year.

This figure is about three times higher than the average of 11 earthquakes per year recorded so far.

Of those, 20 occurred in Kilju County, North Hamgyong Province, home to the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, where North Korea conducted all six of its nuclear tests from 2006 to 2017.

Kilju is on a stable geological foundation, where natural earthquakes have rarely occurred. However, natural earthquakes have been observed there since North Korea’s sixth nuclear test in September 2017.

“We believe that natural earthquakes are occurring because the ground in the Kilju area has weakened after nuclear tests,” said Park Sun-cheon, head of the earthquake and volcano research division at the KMA.

Following Kilju, earthquakes occurred five times in North Hwanghae Province, five times in South Pyongan Province and once in South Hamgyong Province. The largest earthquake had a 3.8-magnitude and struck Taehung County, South Pyongan Province, on Sept. 19 last year.

The second-largest was a 3.1-magnitude earthquake that hit Kilju on Nov. 9 last year.

Photo shows distribution of earthquakes throughout the Korean Peninsula in 2024 categorized by severity, with the left chart showing earthquakes with a magnitude between 2.0 and 5.0. Earthquakes below magnitude 2.0, depicted on the right, are less observed in North Korea due to the lack of monitoring. [KOREA METEOROLOGICAL ADMINISTRATION]

Due to the high number of earthquakes in Kilju, North Korea had a higher earthquake occurrence rate than South Korea last year.

Among the earthquakes with a 2.0-magnitude or higher that occurred on the Korean Peninsula and nearby waters last year, 35.6 percent were observed in North Korea, while 21.8 percent were recorded in South Korea. The remaining 42.5 percent occurred in the surrounding seas.

Last year, 87 earthquakes with a magnitude of 2.0 or higher were recorded in South Korea and its surrounding waters. This number is higher than the annual average of 72.2 but represents an 18 percent decrease from 106 earthquakes in 2023. Earthquakes with a magnitude of 3.0 or higher and those that residents felt were recorded seven times and 11 times, respectively, which is lower than the annual average.

The number of earthquakes with a magnitude of 2.0 or higher increased sharply due to the impact of the Gyeongju and Pohang earthquakes in 2016 and 2017, according to the KMA. However, after aftershocks subsided from those earthquakes in 2018, the situation has been returning to normal.

Broken roof tiles litter the ground in Buan County, North Jeolla, on June 12, 2024 after an earthquake hit the region. [NEWS1]

North Jeolla experienced a notable increase in seismic activity last year. This was due to a 4.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Buan County, North Jeolla, on June 12, marking the strongest earthquake recorded in the region since instrument-based observation began in 1978. It was also the 16th-largest earthquake among the 2,294 earthquakes recorded in South Korea.

North Jeolla had previously been considered an area with relatively little seismic activity. However, following the Buan earthquake, the region ranked second in the number of inland earthquakes with a magnitude of 2.0 or higher, recording five occurrences, after North Gyeongsang, which recorded seven.

A total of 720 microearthquakes — earthquakes with magnitudes below 2.0 — were observed in South Korea last year. Since the location of the Buan earthquake had no previously known fault, some experts suggested that the microearthquakes in the area could help identify a hidden fault.

Of the microearthquakes in South Korea last year, 496 were recorded on land, with North Gyeongsang and Daegu accounting for 196 and North Jeolla for 61. In the seas around the Korean Peninsula, the East Sea showed the most seismic activity, with 86 occurrences.

BY JEONG EUN-HYE, KIM MIN-YOUNG [[email protected]]