Matt Korda, a researcher in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London argues that Kim Jong-un’s regime is harbouring a potentially “catastrophic” threat.
And he warns it is “surprising” a nuclear tragedy has not yet struck the secretive regime amid a flurry of missile launches and hydrogen bomb tests in the last year.
Writing for North Korea watchdog 38 North, Mr Korda said: “It is extremely fortunate—and perhaps surprising—that a major nuclear accident has not yet occurred in North Korea.
“Outside of Yongbyon there have been minor incidents, perhaps the most notable being an alleged series of tunnel collapses immediately following North Korea’s sixth nuclear test in September.
“The accident reportedly killed 200 workers and triggered some alarm along the Chinese border about potential radiation leakage.”
South Korean President Park Geun-hye claimed Yongbyon, North Korea’s primary nuclear research centre, “is home to such a dense concentration of nuclear facilities that a fire in a single building could lead to a disaster potentially worse than Chernobyl.”
Scientists warn the hermit state does not take safety seriously enough – especially after the supreme leader, Kim, was spotted smoking a cigarette near an untested liquid-fuelled missile.
North Korea angered the international community when it tested a long-range missile in November which it claimed could reach the west coast of the United States.
Tensions have risen in recent months over North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile programs as Pyongyang has test-fired several missiles and conducted what it said was a test explosion of a hydrogen bomb as it advances toward its goal of developing a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the US mainland.
And, researchers Niko Milonopoulos and Edward D. Blandford said a sudden fault in North Korea’s outdated power grid could prevent the Yongbyon reactors from being adequately cooled and could potentially trigger a meltdown.
They also expressed their fears over the impact of a natural disaster or abnormal weather patterns.
In 2013, North Korea’s 5 MWe plutonium production reactor had to be briefly shut down following a flood which destroyed parts of the cooling systems.
Nick Hansen said “if a major flood cuts off the cooling water supply to the reactors before they can be shut down, a major safety problem could occur.”
And, this is exactly what prompted the series of nuclear meltdowns at Fukushima.
Mr Korda adds: “In 2010, a team of Stanford scientists led by Dr. Siegfried Hecker visited North Korea’s 25-30 MWe Experimental Light Water Reactor, which was still under construction at the time and will likely be operational soon.
“Their subsequent analysis expressed a lack of confidence in North Korea’s ability to operate the site safely upon completion, citing insufficient concrete quality, the lack of an independent nuclear regulator, and the inexperience and isolation of the design team as particular concerns.”
“If a crisis were to occur, North Korea’s secretive nature would also hinder any kind of collective response to a nuclear accident.
“Reliable information would be scarce, as the regime would certainly attempt to suppress any reporting on the extent of the damage.
“Regional panic would set in, and governments in South Korea, China and Japan would feel immense pressure to respond.”
It comes as the US calls on the international community to help stop the North Korea crisis.