Magnitude-3.4 quake recorded in DPRK not result of nuclear test: CENC

BEIJING - The zero-depth earthquake measuring 3.4 on the Richter scale that occurred Saturday in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is not the result of a nuclear test, the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) said.

The China Earthquake Administration, of which the CENC is a part, and related departments conducted studies on the infrasonic records of the earthquake and previous quakes including those provoked by nuclear tests on the Korean Peninsula. They concluded that Saturday's quake is a natural one, the seismic service said.

The epicenter was at 41.36 degrees north latitude and 129.06 degrees east latitude, according to the CENC.

The epicenter was roughly the same with a similar shallow earthquake on Sept 3, which turned out to be caused by a nuclear test by the DPRK.

Earlier, South Korea's weather agency said the quake is presumed to have been a natural one, the country's Yonhap news agency reported.

"The quake is presumed to have occurred naturally," the report quoted an agency official as saying. "A sound wave, which is usually generated in the event of an artificial earthquake, was not detected."