North Korea’s nuclear test site puts hundreds of thousands of North Korean residents and people in South Korea, Japan, and China at risk of exposure to radioactive elements through groundwater contamination, according to a South Korean human rights organization.
In a recent report (pdf), the Transitional Justice Working Group said that North Korean residents living in eight cities and counties near the Punggye-ri nuclear testing site could be exposed to radioactive materials spread through groundwater.
More than a million North Koreans are living in the cities and counties where groundwater is used for daily activities, according to the report.
“North Korea’s 2008 census results show that nearly one out of every six households (15.5 percent) in North Hamyong province, which includes Kilju County, uses groundwater, waterhole, public tap, spring, etc. as drinking water,” it says….