More than 800 North Korean defectors who lived near North Korea’s Punggye-ri nuclear testing site before escaping to South Korea will be offered radiation exposure tests, a South Korean government official said.
This came after a recent study revealed that more than a million North Koreans living near the Punggye-ri nuclear testing site could be exposed to radioactive materials spreading through groundwater.
Ministry of Unification’s spokesperson Lee Hyo-jun said the ministry will seek consent from 881 North Korean escapees who meet the criteria for the radiation test. Those who consented will also be given a health checkup.
Nine of 40 North Korean escapees tested in 2017 and 2018 showed signs of radiation exposure, but no causal relationship could be established and none of them needed medical treatment, according to the official….