Following Kim Jong-un’s sixth and largest-ever nuclear test blast deep inside a mountain on September 3, tensions have heightened in the region with many fearing a strike could be imminent.
The dictator has continued to threaten his neighbours on South Korea over recent months, accusing the state of being “puppets” for the United States.
And in return, Seoul has ramped up military training drills held joint with the US army and air force in a show of strength against North Korea‘s tyrannical regime.
Now Express.co.uk reveals what would happen if the newest H-bomb – which can yield the energy of at least 150 kilotons worth of TNT – was dropped on Seoul.
According to Nukemap, if the latest nuclear weapon – with 150kt behind it – hit the heart of South Korea it would create a fireball with a radius of around 1.09 square kilometres – instantly killing 215,270 people.
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A further 560,610 would be severely injured in the explosion – with many suffering such sever radiation exposure they are likely to die several months or even years after the blast.
The core of a nuclear bomb can reach a whipping 150 MILLION Fahrenheit (66 million Celsius) – which quickly forms into a nuclear fireball.
And all buildings in that radius of 1.09km would be instantly vaporised – which in Seoul’s case includes the British, Canadian, Russian and Singaporean embassies, the Deoksugung Palace and the national Bank of Korea Money Museum.
A 20psi blast radius would spread to a 4.2km squared around the impact point, leaving nothing standing and demolishing neighbourhoods such as Susong-Dong, Chungmuro, Migeun-Dong and Sinunno.
Radiation with a 50 to 90 per cent mortality rate “from acute dying effects alone” would spread within 11.8 square kilometres, causing death between “several hours and several weeks”.
And a 5psi air blast, where “most residential buildings collapse” would cover 18.6 square kilometres, with the Blue House being wiped out in the terrifying attack.
Thermal radiation causing third-degree burns would spread up to 68.4 square kilometres from impact point – effectively wiping out the whole city and its 51.44 million people.
Finally the fall-out could spread to between 23.3km and 6,480km squared from impact point – based on fallout contour being between 1,000 rads per hour and one per hour.
The spread of nuclear fallout is irregular because it depends on the direction of the wind, but it can be carried out over hundreds of miles.
And such a surface strike would also see the deadly fallout impact on North Korea – likely causing the eventual deaths of millions of citizens.
Japan, Taiwan and huge swathes of China – North Korea’s only remaining ally – would also be affected by the fall out.
However Nukemap creator and nuclear weapon historian Alex Wellerstein told Express.co.uk that if North Korea wanted to minimise the risk for its citizens, it could opt for an airburst rather than a surface strike.
He explained a surface hit would obliterate the land in Seoul, vaporising houses and businesses and sending intense radiation into the earth.
But an airtsrike – as used in Hiroshima and Nagasaki – could potentially cause even more damage.
While it would also limit the spread of fall out to North Korea.