Magnitude 3.4-quake hits North Korea; 'caused by suspected explosion'

Pic Courtesy: Reuters

Pyongyang: A 3.4 magnitude earthquake has been detected in North Korea. China`s earthquake administration suggests that the mild quake was caused by a suspected explosion.

The administration said in a statement on its website that the quake, which occurred around 11:30 a.m. (0330 GMT), was recorded at a depth of zero kilometres.

The epicenter is roughly the same as that of a previous shallow earthquake on September 3, which turned out to be caused by a North Korean nuclear test, the official Xinhua news agency said.

North Korea on Friday had said it might test a hydrogen bomb on the Pacific Ocean after US President Donald Trump vowed to destroy the country, with leader Kim Jong-un promising to make a "mentally deranged" Trump pay dearly for his threats.

In a rare statement, Kim Jong-un said that Trump would "pay dearly" for his threat, a state media report said on Friday. The leader said he "will consider with seriousness exercising of a corresponding, highest level of hard-line countermeasure in history", the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) report said.