Mantapsan Explained

Mantapsan
Elevation M:2205
Location:Kilju County, North Hamgyong Province, North Korea
Range:Hamgyong Mountains
Map:North Korea
Label Position:top
Coordinates:41.2986°N 129.0817°W
Context:north
Hangul:만탑산
Rr:Mantapsan
Mr:Mant'apsan

Mantapsan (or Mount Mant'ap, Chosŏn'gŭl: Korean: 만탑산) is a mountain in the south of North Hamgyong Province in North Korea.[1] The granite peak,[2] which reaches an elevation of 2205m (7,234feet), is part of the Hamgyong Mountains. It is located on the border between Kilju County, Myŏnggan County and Orang County.

Political prisoners were reportedly forced to dig tunnels into the southern side of the mountain, at the nuclear test site near P'unggye-ri.[3] The horizontal tunnels are believed to be two to three meters wide and high and hundreds of meters long.[4] This is where the detonations of the North Korean nuclear tests in 2006, 2009, 2013 and 2016 occurred.[5]

International analysts believe that the sixth and largest explosion, as of January 2024 the last, "made the mountain bulge sideways by about 12 feet and collapse vertically by about a foot and a half", with one seismologist describing the subsequent reaction as the mountain "pancaking".[6]

Hwasong concentration camp, at 549km2 the largest North Korean concentration camp,[7] is located between Mantapsan and Myŏnggan (Hwasŏng).

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Geographic Names: Mant'ap-san. Geographic Org. February 5, 2013.
  2. Web site: Image shows inside of N.K. nuclear weapons test facility. The Korea Herald, February 4, 2013. February 5, 2013.
  3. Web site: The Terrible Secrets of N. Koreas Mount Mantap . Chosun Ilbo, June 3, 2009. February 5, 2013.
  4. Web site: The anatomy of North Korea’s nuclear test tunnels released for the first time . The Hankyoreh, February 5, 2013. February 5, 2013.
  5. Web site: North Korean Nuclear Test Preparations: An Update. US-Korea Institute at SAIS, April 27, 2012. February 5, 2013.
  6. News: "How powerful was North Korea’s last nuclear test? It moved a mountain". The Verge. Rachel Becker. May 10, 2018. May 11, 2018.
  7. Web site: The Hidden Gulag – Exposing Crimes against Humanity in North Korea’s Vast Prison System . 78–79. The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea . February 5, 2013.