Nuclear tests in North Korea have 'created a wasteland where trees can't grow and babies are born deformed'

Contamination: Defectors have claimed areas of North Korea have been reduced to wasteland after Kim Jong Un's latest tests
EPA
Chloe Chaplain7 November 2017

Nuclear testing in North Korea has left parts of the country barren and is causing babies to be born deformed, defectors have reported.

The area surrounding the Punggye-ri underground nuclear test site near Kilju is so contaminated by recent testing that it has been reduced to a wasteland, according to the Chosun Ilbo newspaper.

A group of defectors told the Research Association of Vision of North Korea how, in the North Hamgyong Province, 80 per cent of trees die and underground wells have run dry.

One member of the group, who all used to live in Kilju county, said locals were worried about radioactive contamination.

Punggye-ri: The test site is around 26 km from the town of Kiju
Google Maps

“I heard from a relative in Kilju that deformed babies were born in hospitals there,” he said.

“I spoke on the phone with family members I left behind there and they told me that all of the underground wells dried up after the sixth nuclear test,” said another.

Locals described how former delicacies from the region like trout and pine mushrooms stopped growing after the first nuclear test in 2006.

One person, who claimed to have lived through two nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009 before escaping, said local people were not warned in advance.

“Only family members of soldiers were evacuated to underground shafts. Ordinary people were completely unaware of the tests,” they said.

The defector added that, before nuclear testing, locals are ordered to dig deep holes for detonator-only tests - which can lead to human casualties.

“I personally saw corpses floating down the river with their limbs severed," they said.

According to other sources, residents from Kilju have been banned from going to Pyongyang and, since Kim Jong Un’s most recent nuclear test, are refused hospital appointments in the capital.

Anyone caught boarding trains from Kilju with samples of soil, water or leaves, are reportedly being arrested and sent to prison camps as officials attempt to contain the problem.

The claims came as US President Donald Trump arrived in South Korea as part of his Asian tour.

The American leader will spend just 24-hours in the province but had made clear the north’s nuclear ambitions are high on his agenda.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and President Donald Trump
EPA

He flew in from Japan on Monday after telling reporters Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was "going to purchase massive amounts of military equipment" from the US.

Referencing North Korea's missiles, he said Mr Abe could "shoot them out of the sky" when he completed the purchase, which Mr Trump said would provide jobs to Americans as well as "safety for Japan".

The President will meet South Korean leader Moon Jae-In and is believed to focus on securing fresh terms for a trade deal with the America.

Before leaving for South Korea, Mr Trump tweeted: “Getting ready to leave for South Korea and meetings with President Moon, a fine gentleman. We will figure it all out!”

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