Captured from KMA website

By Park Si-soo

South Korea's weather agency detected two natural earthquakes in the sea off North Korea on Monday.

The first quake, measured at 3.2 on the Richter scale, took place 12:02 p.m. in waters 43 kilometers southwest of North Korea's Ongjin County and the second with a 3.1 magnitude at 12:07 p.m. at almost the same location.

The epicenter of the two quakes was estimated 15 kilometers underground, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).

The administration branded the quakes as "natural seismic activities" which were felt in some of South Korea's border areas.

"There were cases of multiple earthquakes taking place back to back near Ongjin area," a KMA official said, referring to the earthquake-prone underground structure of the area.

According to the KMA, a 2.2-magnitude quake was detected 12 kilometers north of Ongjin on Oct. 24.