More than 60 North Korean defectors who lived near the country’s nuclear test site were found to have chromosomal abnormalities, though researchers have yet to confirm a direct link to nuclear testing, according to South Korea’s Ministry of Unification. 

Radiation exposure tests conducted annually between 2017 and 2025 on 214 North Korean defectors from areas near the Punggye-ri nuclear test site found that 64 people, or 29.9%, showed genetic abnormalities that could be linked to past radiation exposure, a spokesperson from Seoul’s Unification Ministry told NK News on Monday, citing data from state-funded National Radiation Emergency Medical Center.

The center