Scale of North Korea’s uranium mine collapse seen from space

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A North Korean uranium mine used in the making of nuclear bombs has been hit by a number of cave-ins.

The extent of the damage is visible from space, with satellite images providing the best proof of the situation.

Pyongsan mine is the main source of uranium ore for Kim Jong Un’s nukes.

Ore from the site can be refined into a powder called yellowcake, which is then processed into weapons-grade uranium.

Jacob Bogle, a freelance analyst who created a comprehensive satellite map of the secretive East Asian country, noticed the collapse in recent pictures of the Pyongsan mine.

He said: ‘The Pyongsan mine is underground, so the only visible aspects of it should be tunnel entrances, surface facilities like crushing equipment, and piles of coal.

‘However, what has developed at the mine is a series of irregular pits with no associated activity – no trucks, no bucket excavators, and nothing to suggest they were created to facilitate mining.’

Mr Bogle suggested the pattern of recent collapses suggested areas that had been ‘mined out’ had ‘lost their structural support’.

However, the size of the mine – which is located less than 30 miles from the border with South Korea – means there is unlikely to be an interruption in the supply of uranium to the regime.

Mr Bogle pointed out there is an active shaft just 230 metres from the section that has experienced cave-ins, and it has recently been refurbished for greater activity.

He said: ‘Kim Jong Un announced in December that he wants to build “exponentially” more nuclear weapons.

‘To do that, more ore has to be mined from Pyongsan.

‘Given the area’s track record, that can only mean even more accidents and cave-ins as greater and greater amounts of material is removed for processing.’

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