Fatalities from Kim Jong Un’s most powerful nuclear missile test to date were revealed today and those who are dead reportedly died in the earthquakes caused by the detonation of that nuclear missile. Dozens were killed when buildings collapsed after a 6.3 magnitude quake was set off just minutes after the nuclear missile test detonated. This happened near the Punggye-ri nuclear base where the testing is being done.
Along with a list of fatalities up to 150 students were injured in their school classrooms when that earthquake hit in North Hamgyong Province. The nuclear explosion caused aftershocks within eight minutes of detonation, which took down nearby buildings.
The reports of these deaths in North Korea are coming from the defector group, named South and North Development. The news of these fatalities just saw the light of day today, a few months after the September nuclear missile test that caused the quakes, damage, death, and injuries.
According to VOA News , South Korea reports the nuclear missile blast in September caused “scores of deaths” and school children were among the fatalities. This test caused deaths inside Kim Jong Un’s own country which speaks to the value North Korea has for human life, especially their own citizens.
Houses still remain demolished as farmers were in the middle of harvest time when the missile test set off the Earthquake. They had no time to repair their dwellings while attempting to get their crops harvested , reports the Daily Mail .
The farmers whose houses are still in a shambles, almost three months after these quakes, are staying in shelters or with family and friends. Kim is reportedly close to attaching nuclear warheads to missiles that would be capable of reaching the mainland of the United States. These reports indicate he is just weeks away from erecting these missiles with the warheads.
Despite the testing of nuclear missiles slowing down in North Korea over the final quarter of this year, the country is still thought to be close to being recognized as a nuclear power. According to Tetsuo Sawada, who is an assistant professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technolgy, the “increasing strength of North Korea’s nuclear tests could mean its programme develops without detonations.”
The lack of nuclear blasts in the last few months doesn’t necessarily mean the country’s slowed down with their development of a nuclear weapon. Despite the nuclear missile testing not being as prevalent as it was in the beginning and middle of the year, their development may be beyond the stage of testing, suggests the experts. North Korea has reached new heights with nuclear technology allowing it to develop weapons without the tests previously seen, according to VOA News.
[Featured Image by Wong Maye/AP Images]
