[Exclusive] Contaminated Water Source Exposing Defectors, Investigated and Covered Up

After Past Radiation Exposure Tests, Water Source Investigation Was Kept Confidential
"Significant Results... It Was a Mistake to Conclude No Relation"
Ministry of Unification: "We Will Disclose All Available Public Data"

The previous government investigated the drinking water sources of North Korean defectors who were suspected of radiation exposure due to North Korea's nuclear tests and obtained meaningful results, but it has been confirmed that these were not disclosed. Most of the abnormal cases, where radiation exposure levels hundreds of times higher than those of ordinary people were detected, were found to have consumed 'groundwater' originating from water flowing underground near the Punggye-ri nuclear test site and 'tap water' supplied from this groundwater through water supply facilities.

According to the Ministry of Unification on the 21st, the Moon Jae-in administration conducted radiation exposure tests on 40 defectors between 2017 and 2018 and also investigated their drinking water sources during their residence in North Korea. After the sixth nuclear test in September 2017, which was the most powerful, concerns about radioactive material leakage were raised, and experts repeatedly pointed out that water quality contamination was suspected due to rock fractures caused by repeated nuclear tests conducted by changing only the tunnel at the same site. However, the government at the time did not disclose these results.

According to the drinking water source investigation results from 2017 to 2018 obtained by this publication, the Korea Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences, which conducted the radiation exposure tests, asked the defectors which drinking water sources they used for each nuclear test. The options were ▲groundwater ▲well water ▲stream water ▲tap water, etc. Among a total of 56 responses (40 subjects, multiple answers allowed), 28 (50.0%) were 'tap water' and 17 (30.4%) were 'groundwater'. In particular, among the 9 abnormal cases where radiation exposure levels hundreds of times higher than those of ordinary people were detected, all except one non-responder reported drinking groundwater or tap water.

For example, a woman who was detected with an exposure dose of 1386 mGy in the 2018 test responded that she mainly drank tap water in the North. The unit mGy (milligray) indicates the 'absorbed dose,' showing how much radioactive material has entered the body, with ordinary people typically exposed to around 5 to 10 mGy in daily life.

The route of radiation exposure in North Korea is believed to be water originating from Mantapsan, where the nuclear test site is located. When water flows underground, it becomes groundwater; when it surfaces, it flows through Jangheungcheon and then into Namdaecheon. North Korea confines this waterway in Namsok Reservoir, about 30 km from the nuclear test site (the impact radius in case of a nuclear facility accident is 40 km), and uses it as a water source for the water supply system spreading throughout Kilju County.

Therefore, the investigation of drinking water sources, which converges on groundwater and tap water common to abnormal radiation exposure cases, can be interpreted as data confirming the correlation between drinking water and radiation exposure. However, the government at the time concluded that 'it is difficult to derive a correlation between the drinking water source survey results and radiation exposure test results' and did not disclose the results without further investigation.

Choi Kyung-hee, head of the Sand Research Institute, explained, "North Korea's tap water is not about disinfecting and supplying 'clean water' but rather about delivering water to distant areas," adding, "There is evidence that a significant number of residents' diseases are waterborne diseases caused by contaminated water." She further pointed out, "If radioactive material leaked from the nuclear test site, it is unlikely that it was purified in the aging water pipes," and criticized, "Judging this as normal drinking water is a complete error."

Tap Water in Kilju County Traces Back to 'Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site'

The waterway originating from Mantapsan, where the Punggye-ri nuclear test site is located, flows through Jangheungcheon to Namdaecheon [Photo provided by Jeonhwan Gijeong's Working Group (TJWG)]

A satellite image of Namseok Reservoir, created by damming the waterway (Namdaecheon) that started at the nuclear test site. A defector from Kilju County testified that this reservoir is the water source for the entire Kilju County's water supply, and equipment presumed to be a water intake tower was actually detected.
[Photo by Jeon Hwan-gi, Justice Working Group (TJWG)]

The connection between the tap water consumed by residents of Kilju County and the nuclear test site can also be confirmed through satellite images. According to satellite images analyzed by the Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG), a human rights investigation organization, Jangheungcheon, originating from Mantapsan where the nuclear test site is located, flows southward and joins Namdaecheon, and the waterway is dammed by Namsok Reservoir. A facility presumed to be a water intake tower was also detected on the southern side of the reservoir.

Kim Mirae, a defector and writer from Kilju-eup, Kilju County, who was a subject of the radiation exposure test, testified, "At Namsok Reservoir, it is clearly marked as 'water source,'" adding, "Water flowing out from the nuclear test site is directly connected to the water supply." She continued, "North Korea's tap water is often cut off due to electricity problems, and during the rainy season, insects and muddy water appear, indicating poor purification," and said, "There is no distinction between drinking water and agricultural water."

North Korea's nuclear tests and drinking water sources are issues attracting attention from experts and the international community. Lee Soo-gon, former professor of civil engineering at the University of Seoul and regarded as a top authority in geological research, said, "Mantapsan is originally an area with many fractures and weak granite," adding, "If nuclear tests are conducted in such an area, the bedrock inevitably weakens, and concerns about contaminated groundwater leakage are very scientific suspicions. Once leaked, it is uncontrollable."

Olli Heinonen, a special researcher at the Stimson Center and former deputy director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), warned in a recent interview with Voice of America (VOA), "Because nuclear tests were repeatedly conducted only at Punggye-ri, radioactivity has continuously accumulated, and most plutonium likely remains unexploded," adding, "The problem is the possibility of residual radioactivity flowing into groundwater, which poses practical risks."

"North Korean Drinking Water Source Research Data Should Be Disclosed and Follow-up Studies Continued"

Areas within a 40 km radius of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site and the Jangheungcheon~Namdaecheon danger zones
[Photo provided by the Transition Justice Working Group (TJWG)]

The error of the previous government in concluding that the drinking water source investigation results were unrelated to radiation exposure is pointed out to be due to simply accepting the opinion of the Korea Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences, which conducted the tests. There are demands that the Ministry of Unification disclose related information before the institute's interpretation is involved in the ongoing full-scale examination.

Lee Young-hwan, head of the Transitional Justice Working Group, said, "Data on drinking water source investigations from the new full-scale radiation exposure tests should be disclosed and followed by comprehensive research on the water environment and drinking water conditions near the nuclear test site," urging, "So far, the Ministry of Unification should disclose the status of research reports conducted by external research services or national research institutions regarding North Korea's water pollution and drinking water conditions and utilize them in interpreting test results and policy formulation."

The Ministry of Unification accepted the related criticism and announced that it will disclose the drinking water source investigation results along with the radiation exposure test results in the future. A ministry official said, "The decision to conduct a full re-investigation of 796 defectors from Kilju County and nearby areas is to supplement the limitations of past radiation exposure tests and completely resolve raised concerns," adding, "We will disclose as much information as possible, including drinking water sources, that can be made public."

Meanwhile, the Transitional Justice Working Group's special report titled 'Mapping the Risk and Impact of Groundwater Contamination by Radioactive Materials from the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site in North Korea' will soon be published in Chinese. The report, which traced radiation exposure routes through drinking water sources, was released to the international community in Korean and English versions in February this year. The Ministry of Unification decided on the full-scale examination based on this report and plans to continue the tests sequentially next year following 89 people tested this year.