SEOUL, About 50 percent more earthquakes with a magnitude of 2 or stronger struck the Korean Peninsula and its surrounding seas last year than in previous years, a weather agency report showed Monday.

The sharp increase is attributable to a series of quakes reported in the East Sea from April to October last year, as well as those in the North Korean county of Kilju, where a nuclear testing site is located, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration’s annual 2023 earthquake report.

The report showed that 106 earthquakes with a magnitude of 2 or higher shook the peninsula and its nearby waters in 2023 compared to the annual average of 70.8 recorded since 1999, the year the digital earthquake instrumentation system was adopted.

The 2023 total also represents the fourth-highest yearly record, following the corresponding annual figures of 252 in 2016, 223 in 2017 and 115 in 2018.

Last year, the number of quakes with a magnitude of 3 or stronger reached 16, also surpassing the yearly average of 10.4
.

There were also 706 earthquakes weaker than a magnitude of 2, which are barely perceptible to humans, about the same as the average of 708.

The strongest tremor reported last year took place in waters 52 kilometers northeast of the coastal city of Donghae on May 15, with a magnitude of 4.5.

A total of 16 foreshocks and aftershocks with a magnitude 2 or stronger accompanied the strong May quake. Including microearthquakes, 63 tremors shook the area before or after the 4.5-magnitude quake.

Last year, Kilju in North Korea’s northeast saw 33 quakes with a magnitude of 2 or stronger.

The frequent earthquakes are believed to be related to the condition of the ground, which has presumably loosened due to six nuclear tests conducted in the area. Kilju is not geographically predisposed to frequent natural quakes.

Source: Yonhap News Agency