Small North Korean Quake Likely Natural, Not Nuclear Test: Experts

Small North Korean Quake Likely Natural, Not Nuclear Test: Experts
A North Korean flag flies on a mast at the Permanent Mission of North Korea in Geneva October 2, 2014. Reuters/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
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BEIJING/SEOUL—A small earthquake near North Korea’s nuclear test site on Saturday was probably not manmade, the nuclear proliferation watchdog and a South Korean official said, easing fears Pyongyang had exploded another nuclear bomb just weeks after its last one.

Chinese earthquake officials said the magnitude 3.4 quake detected at 0829 GMT was a “suspected explosion” but both the CTBTO, which monitors nuclear tests, and a South Korean meteorological agency official said they believed it was a natural quake.