Life around North Korea's nuclear test sites

AFP

These before-and-after images show a closer view of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in North Korea

KIM Jong-un's leaky underground bomb site has turned the surrounding area into  a nuclear wasteland sparking a spate of babies born with horrific deformities, defectors have reported.

Locals have been struck down with mystery illnesses, more than 80 per cent of all trees have died and essential underground wells have run dry near the top secret Punggye-ri weapons test site, they told the Research Association of Vision of North Korea.

More than 200 people died and at least 100 people were trapped at the complex, which is carved deep into the side of Mount Mantap, on October 10.

The accident is believed to have been caused by Kim’s sixth nuclear test, which some officials believe was an H-bomb.

Now those who used to live near the site have revealed other horrors.

“I heard from a relative in Kilju that deformed babies were born in hospitals there,” one defector claimed, according to the Chosun Ilbo newspaper.

“I spoke on the phone with family members I left behind there and they told me that all of the underground wells dried up after the sixth nuclear test,” said another.

One defector - who lived through two nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009 -  revealed that most of those living near the weapons testing area are not warned ahead of bomb blasts.

“Only family members of soldiers were evacuated to underground shafts. Ordinary people were completely unaware of the tests,” he said.

EPA

Experts have warned that North Korea risks further radiation leaks if it continues its nuke tests

THE SUN

The Punggye-ri test site in North Korea is carved deep into Mount Mantap

North Korean people also drink the water that runs down from Mount Mantap, under which North Korea's military conducts its nuclear tests.

There are reportedly complaints in the area of a “phantom disease” that appeared after Kim's cronies began conducting regular blasts.

Defectors have revealed that residents suffer from unexplained fatigue, headaches and shocking weight loss.

Others have reported an unusually high mortality rate and nervous system disorders, such as the loss of certain senses, including smell and taste.

All those who fall ill after a radioactive test are BANNED from seeing top medical experts in the capital of Pyongyang to stop the spread of panic.

Anyone caught boarding trains with samples of soil, water or leaves, face being arrested and sent to one of despot Kim's state prison camps.