Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Facility

This page is part of the Facilities Collection.

For April 2017 b-roll of the test site, please see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR_FKpN8Xic&t=5s

The Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Facility is North Korea’s only nuclear test site and was the location of the 2006, 2009, 2013, January 2016, September 2016, and September 2017 nuclear tests. ¹ The facility is located in mountainous terrain with three visible tunnel entrances known as the South Portal, East Portal, and West Portal. ² Since the 2006 nuclear test, numerous satellite images have revealed on-going construction, excavation, and movement at the facility prior to testing. ³

On May 24, 2018, North Korea declared that it had destroyed the facility, in the lead-up to the first US-DPRK summit, witnessed by international reporters.⁴ Over three years later, construction at the facility was detected.⁵ As of April 11, 2023, no signs of imminent testing were seen at the facility, despite its likely capability to support testing if a decision was made.⁶

2006 Nuclear Test

On 9 October 2006, North Korea’s KCNA reported that the country had “successfully conducted a nuclear test” at the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Facility. ⁷ The test used a horizontal-shaft, and the shock is estimated to be magnitude 4.3. ⁸ The U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) estimated the yield at less than one kiloton. ⁹ The test took place in the East Tunnel approximately 1 km NE from the entrance. The overburden is estimated at 310 m. ¹⁰

2009 Nuclear Test

North Korea tested a second nuclear device at the Punggye-ri facility on 25 May 2009. ¹¹ The U.S. Geological Survey estimated the seismic activity generated from the test at a magnitude of 4.7. ¹² This time no noble gases were detected from the explosion, meaning scientists could not definitely say whether the explosion used plutonium or highly enriched uranium (HEU). ¹³ The test is estimated at about 4-6 kilotons, and was detonated in the West Tunnel at about 1.2 km NW from the tunnel entrance. The overburden is estimated at 490 m. ¹⁴

2013 Nuclear Test

On 12 February 2013, North Korea conducted a third nuclear test at the Punggye-ri facility.¹⁵ This test was recorded by the U.S. Geological Survey as 5.1 on the Richter scale. ¹⁶ Xenon-131m and Xe-133 were detected at CTBTO’s radionuclide detection stations in Japan and Russia 55 days after the explosion, but were too degraded by the time it was detected to indicate whether the device had used plutonium or HEU. ¹⁷

2016 January Nuclear Test

On 6 January 2016, North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test at the Punggye-ri facility. ¹⁸ This test was recorded by the U.S. Geological Survey as a 5.1 on the Richter scale, about the same magnitude as the 2013 nuclear test. ¹⁹ North Korea claimed that this was a hydrogen bomb test, which if true would mark a major advancement of its nuclear program. ²⁰ However, experts were skeptical given that the earthquake caused by the test was approximately the same magnitude as the previous test. ²¹

2016 September Nuclear Test

On 9 September 2016, North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test at the Punggye-ri facility. ²² The test was recorded by the U.S. Geological Survey as a 5.3 on the Richter scale making it more powerful than any previous North Korea test. ²³ Estimates of the test yield placed it between 20 and 30 kilotons. ²⁴

2017 Nuclear Test

On 2 September 2017, North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear test at the Punggye-ri facility. ²⁵ The U.S. Geological Survey recorded the test as a 6.3 on the Richter Scale, making it the largest North Korean test to date by far. ²⁶ North Korea claimed that the bomb tested was a two-stage thermonuclear device, claims which many experts consider credible. ²⁷ The USGS has recorded numerous seismic events in the months following the test, thought to be aftershocks from the test event. ²⁸