[Buried Radiation Exposure] ④ Even Academia 'Wary of the Regime'... "Must Conduct Public Verification"

Experts who denied concerns... go silent after regime change
Seokyunryeol & Lee Sugon "Seriously worried about leak possibility"
On resumed full investigation, "Government must disclose everything"

Editor's NoteThe ultimate goal of North Korea, which plunges the Korean Peninsula into security anxiety, is to be recognized as a 'nuclear-armed state.' However, in this process, residents are suffering from unexplained illnesses. There are also concerns that radioactive materials from the nuclear test site could threaten the Korean Peninsula. It is the nation's responsibility to verify and prepare for this. This article highlights that North Korea's nuclear issue is not only a security matter but also a human rights issue, and explores the government's tasks.

There are criticisms that even academia, which should provide the most objective and scientific opinions on the dangers of radioactive materials, is too eager to align with the regime's 'code.' In fact, several experts who, during the Moon Jae-in administration, expressed opinions through the Ministry of Unification that the Punggye-ri nuclear test site was safe, all refused interview requests citing it was 'difficult to mention.' There are calls for the comprehensive survey announced by the Ministry of Unification to be conducted publicly.

Seokyun-ryeol: "Radioactive Material Leakage from North Korea Could Reach South Korea"

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Professor Seokyun-ryeol, former vice president of the Korean Nuclear Society and professor of nuclear engineering at Seoul National University, recently expressed concerns in an interview with Asia Economy that radioactive materials leaked from the 'Punggye-ri nuclear test site,' even in trace amounts, could have reached some water sources in South Korea. Professor Seokyun-ryeol is an expert who has consistently voiced concerns about nuclear power plant risks alone within academia.

He stated, "Concerns that radioactive materials could leak from the Punggye-ri nuclear test site may have already progressed significantly," and emphasized, "The government must understand that knowing the risks and preparing for the future is a completely different matter from ignoring them."

Professor Seokyun-ryeol particularly focused on a woman among North Korean defectors who participated in radiation exposure tests in 2018, whose measured value reached as high as 1386 mGy. The unit mGy (milligray) indicates the 'absorbed dose,' showing how much radioactive material has entered the body. In daily life, the level is usually no higher than 5 mGy, and exposure from a CT scan can raise it to 10?50 mGy. At the time, the Ministry of Unification concluded that confounding variables such as smoking could not be ruled out, but Professor Seokyun-ryeol flatly dismissed this as "nonsense."

He pointed out, "Even the lowest measured levels of 200?300 mGy are enormous, but 1386 mGy is an astonishingly high figure," adding, "Compare this to nuclear power plant accidents, where workers entering the site for over an hour would measure about 1000 mGy." He explained that this is a level so high that ordinary confounding variables cannot be applied. This directly contradicts the Ministry of Unification's explanation that nuclear test-related exposure cannot be acknowledged due to confounding variables.

Professor Seokyun-ryeol also expressed concern that the woman had only experienced the 1st to 3rd nuclear tests. North Korea's 1st to 3rd nuclear tests are generally considered 'duds' with low yields, yet significant radiation exposure traces were found even after experiencing only these weaker tests. He explained, "If a proper nuclear fission does not succeed, it results in a nuclear dud, meaning there would be many materials that did not complete fission remaining." He diagnosed, "If these materials were carried down by typhoons, monsoons, and groundwater and used by residents as drinking water, then currently, the 1386 mGy figure is the only plausible pathway."

Lee Sugon: "Mantapsan Already Has Many Cracks... Groundwater Uncontrollable"

In May 2018, North Korea's Nuclear Weapons Research Institute carried out demolition work to close the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in Kilju County, North Hamgyong Province. The photo shows the command post and construction workers' barracks being demolished. The area around the nuclear test site is densely forested.

The possibility of radioactive material leakage through groundwater was explained in more detail by a geology expert. Professor Lee Sugon, former professor of civil engineering at the University of Seoul and considered the top authority in South Korea in geological research including landslides, focused on the fact that Mantapsan, where the Punggye-ri nuclear test site is located, is a granite area. Professor Lee is well-versed in this field, having completed his doctoral dissertation on Korean granite while studying a combined major in geology and civil engineering in the UK in 1987.

He said, "Mantapsan, where the nuclear test site is located, is composed of granite, which is solidified magma and the most common rock on the Korean Peninsula," and added, "What we need to pay attention to is the degree of cracks." He further explained, "Among granite mountains in South Korea, examples include Insu Peak and Gwanak Mountain," and "Insu Peak is bare without trees, meaning there are few cracks, whereas Gwanak Mountain is densely forested, indicating many vertical joints (cracks)." He concluded that the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, with its dense forest, is originally a 'weak' granite area with many cracks.

Professor Lee emphasized, "Since the Punggye-ri nuclear test site already has significant cracks, it is natural to see dense tree growth," and added, "Conducting nuclear tests in such an area inevitably weakens the bedrock, and concerns about contaminated groundwater leakage are very reasonable and scientific suspicions." He warned, "Especially the earthquakes following the 6th nuclear test, which had the greatest yield, suggest ground fractures and radioactive leakage. The frightening part is the groundwater. Once leakage starts, it will literally become uncontrollable."

As a result, it has become clear that during the Moon Jae-in administration, the Ministry of Unification's dismissal of concerns about radioactive material leakage as 'baseless claims,' citing experts from government-funded research institutions, was highly biased. The expert explained that the Mantapsan area where the nuclear test site is located is granite and therefore solid, but it was actually in a 'weak' state with many cracks. Professor Seokyun-ryeol also pointed out that the claim that radioactive materials trapped in melted rock immediately after the nuclear explosion would be safe only holds if the nuclear test was conducted just once.

International Community Concerns: "Radioactive Destructive Effects Know No Borders"

Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site in North Korea
[Image source=Yonhap News]

If it is difficult for domestic experts to speak out depending on the regime, it is worth paying attention to remarks from overseas experts unrelated to this. The transitional justice working group for North Korean human rights (TJWG) simultaneously published a special report worldwide, tracking the possibility of radioactive material leakage from the Punggye-ri nuclear test site over the past four years. As a result, the international community is again focusing on concerns about radioactive material leakage from the 'Punggye-ri nuclear test site.'

David Albright, director of the U.S. Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), recently told Voice of America (VOA) in response to related questions, "North Korea has a history of trying to hide radioactive materials (radionuclides), so they may have focused on limiting atmospheric releases but probably did not care about water contamination," pointing out inadequate safety standards. In other words, while atmospheric release pathways of radioactive materials may not be significant, there could definitely be problematic materials in waterways, according to Director Albright's estimation.

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017, also expressed serious concerns. Alicia Zuckerman, ICAN's policy officer, warned, "Even underground nuclear tests release radioactive gases into the air and contaminate groundwater, affecting the health of exposed people," and emphasized, "The destructive effects of radiation know no borders or boundaries and persist across generations."

Shin Heeseok, legal analyst at the Transitional Justice Working Group, stated, "The Moon Jae-in administration denied concerns about radioactive material leakage by citing experts from national research institutions, but it has been proven that such theories are untenable," and urged, "The Ministry of Unification should resume investigations in a 'way that allows civilian participation and oversight' to avoid repeating the same mistakes." He repeatedly emphasized that research should be conducted openly from the scientific to medical fields and that detailed inspection results should be disclosed to pressure North Korea based on international cooperation.