The mysterious volcano that got Western scientists a rare invite to North Korea

Washington Post

April 17, 2016

With a roar that sounded like the pounding of a divine drum, the peak of towering Mount Paektu was blasted into the air. The resulting plume of volcanic material turned daytime into darkness and blanketed the landscape for hundreds of miles in a thick layer of snow-white ash. Meanwhile, a fast-moving flow of toxic gas and superheated rock barreled down the mountainside, obliterating everything in its path. An ancient emperor was said to be so alarmed by the devastation he set all convicts in the country free. The "Millennium eruption," thought to have occurred somewhere around 946 AD, was one of the largest in recorded history — second only to a blast from Mount Tambora in 1815. But little is