GETTY A North Korean soldier stands on top of Mt Paektu

Mount Paektu, which lies on the borders of North Korea and China, is now in danger or erupting again after its last devastating lava spill in 946AD. It was so powerful it formed a 5 kilometre crater, known as a caldera, at its summit and produced enough ash that it even showered Japan – almost 1,100km away. Scientists have issued stark warnings saying it needs to be monitored as a matter of urgency, saying the threat is “very real”.

Google Maps Mt Paektu (circled) sits on the boarder of North Korea and China

The mega-volcano attracted interest from scientists between 2002 and 2005 when experts feared activity due to several mini-earthquakes in the region. It has now been confirmed as being active and could burst into life in the future. Some 1.6 million people live within 100km of the volcano. The fear of eruption is so great North Korea has even made a rare collaboration with Western scientists.

The secretive nation has even gone as far as to let US and UK experts inspect the volcano from inside the Kim Jong-Un ruled country. Six seismic stations that measured energy from nearby earthquakes to see how it effected Mount Paektu. They found an explosion there could rate at a seven on the Volcanic Explosively Index, a study published in Science Advances said. Anything above eight on this scale could cause worldwide devastation.

GETTY The volcano could cause worldwide devastation

Stephen Grand, a seismologist at the University of Texas at Austin, said: “I think the risk of a destructive eruption here is very real.” James Hammond, a seismologist at Birkbeck, University of London, who helped on the research, said: “This volcano is quiet at the moment, but it’s definitely got potential. “We need to keep an eye on it.”

GETTY The caldera at the bottom of Mt Paektu

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