North Korean Sacred Volcano Could Be Ready To Erupt

A sacred volcano in North Korea could be waiting to blow, according to scientists.

Researchers involved in a rare scientific collaboration between North Korea, U.S. and U.K. discovered a soft spot in the core of Mt. Paektu, one of the three "spirited" mountains in Korea, writes Nature World News.

A significant amount of melted materials was located in the crust beneath the volcano - extending laterally to at least 12 miles (20 kilometers), creating a complex magma reservoir, according to a press release.

Researchers were given permission to enter North Korea and image the subsurface of the volcano. They gathered data from six broadband seismic stations provided by the National Environment Research Council (NERC).

Over the course of two years, the seismometers recorded earthquake movement around the world with the resulting data showed alterations in wave energy and form. These alterations suggested the presence of a softer, molten rock beneath Mt. Paektu.

The researchers believe that the partially melted magma beneath the soft crust of the volcano could suggest that the volcano still has some activity left in it.

Mt. Paektu, or Changbai Mountain for the Chinese, is a volcano located on the border between North Korea and China. The volcano's crater lake, Chon, is widely considered to be one of the deepest crater lakes in the world - as well as one of the coldest, according to Korea Konsult.

The volcano also has cultural significance for Koreans as a sacred mountain that serves as the place of their ancestral origin and the birthplace of North Korea's "Dear Leader," Kim Jong II.

The last recorded eruption of Mt. Paektu was in 1903. However, the biggest eruptionat the site occurred in 946 A.D., when volcano burst in one of the biggest eruptions in human history. The resulting explosion covered the entirety of East Asia in plumes of volcanic ash.

The study was published in the journal Science Advances.