Calhoun07
09-12-2004, 11:58 PM
N.Korea Blast Cause Unclear But Many Theories
13 minutes ago
http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/my/my16.gif Add World - Reuters (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/addtomy/*http://edit.my.yahoo.com/config/set_news?.add=rw&.src=yn&.done=http%3a//news.yahoo.com/%3ftmpl=story%26cid=574%26ncid=721%26e=2%26u=/nm/20040913/wl_nm/korea_north_dc) to My Yahoo! By Jack Kim
SEOUL (Reuters) - An accident at an underground munitions depot or a weapons factory was the likely cause of a huge explosion in North Korea (news (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news?fr=news-storylinks&p=%22North%20Korea%22&c=&n=20&yn=c&c=news&cs=nw) - web sites (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=web-storylinks&p=North%20Korea)) last week, and there were possibly two blasts, South Korean media reports said on Monday.
http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/nm/20040913/amdf693895.jpg (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/040913/photos_wl/mdf693895)
Reuters Photo (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/040913/photos_wl/mdf693895)
South Korea (news (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news?fr=news-storylinks&p=%22South%20Korea%22&c=&n=20&yn=c&c=news&cs=nw) - web sites (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=web-storylinks&p=South%20Korea))'s financial markets, which can react sharply to developments in the North, ignored the blast reports, which came as diplomats were seeking to persuade Pyongyang to return this month to six-party talks on its nuclear weapons programs.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly, in Beijing for talks with Chinese officials on the nuclear standoff, made no comment as he left his hotel on Monday.
The South Korean government has all but ruled out the possibility of a nuclear test by North Korea in the northeastern region of Ryanggang between Sept. 8 and 9, the reports said.
"There is a possibility of an accident at a military factory or a munitions depot dug underground," the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper quoted a source in South Korea as saying.
The North has said nothing yet about the incident but often notes events long after they happen -- and sometimes not at all.
South Korean intelligence detected two explosions on the night of Sept. 8 to 9, the JoongAng Ilbo said.
The area in Ryanggang that borders with China has been known to have a secret missile base but the site of the accident is some distance away, the source was quoted as saying.
South Korean officials are analyzing satellite images and other data to determine the cause of the explosion that produced a large cloud detected on Sept. 9.
U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Colin Powell (news (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news?fr=news-storylinks&p=%22Colin%20Powell%22&c=&n=20&yn=c&c=news&cs=nw) - web sites (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=web-storylinks&p=Colin%20Powell)), also played down the possibility of a nuclear test.
Another South Korean daily, Chosun Ilbo, said the explosion left marks as if a blast set off by an equivalent of 1,000 tonnes of dynamite had hit a munitions depot or a military cargo train carrying explosives.
The blast produced a smoke cloud that stretched to four kilometers, the newspaper said.
"Considering the existence of various missile bases near the area, it is possible that chemical materials exploded," the daily quoted a North Korean defector familiar with the area as saying.
NO INDICATION OF ATOMIC BLAST
While not placing the blast at one of the bases, the defector said it could be attributed to liquid fuel used for missiles.
The time sequence of the explosion followed several hours later by a smoke cloud supports a theory that the blast took place under ground, the paper quoted several sources as saying.
The Kyunghyang Shinmun newspaper quoted a senior government official as saying seismic monitors detected two explosions before and after midnight on Sept. 9.
But the government was unable to link conclusively the seismic waves and the explosions, the newspaper said.
South Korea first got indications of the blast from a satellite, a senior South Korean official told Reuters on Sunday.
"The weather overall at the time was cloudy but there was a peculiar cloud, a cloud that was different from any other," said the official, who asked not to be identified. "We cannot confirm whether it had the characteristics of a mushroom cloud."
Powell said there was "no indication that that was a nuclear event of any kind. Exactly what it was, we're not sure." Asked on ABC's "This Week" if North Korea had tested a nuclear device, Powell said, "No."
North Korea is believed to be developing nuclear weapons -- Washington has said it may have one or two or even more already.
In October 2002, U.S. officials said North Korean officials had said they had a clandestine uranium enrichment program that could be used to develop nuclear weapons and that violated its international commitments. They subsequently denied say this.
South Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper said the blast site was 10 km (6 miles) southwest of the Yongjori Missile Base at a point 30 km (18 miles) from the China frontier. The mountainous area is off-limits to outsiders, including aid workers.
The base has tunnels for storing, deploying and launching medium-range Rodong missiles, according to defector reports.
The New York Times reported in its Sunday editions the Bush administration had received recent intelligence reports that some experts believed could indicate North Korea was preparing to conduct its first nuclear weapons test explosion.
The news broke as South Korea, Japan, China, Russia and the United States sought to persuade Pyongyang to resume talks on its nuclear ambitions. The North, which threatened at earlier talks to test an atomic bomb, says it sees no need for more talks.
There was no immediate reaction from China, North Korea's big neighbor and main ally.
A senior Chinese Communist Party delegation met leader Kim Jong-il Sunday, the North's official KCNA news agency said. It said the Chinese handed Kim a letter from President Hu Jintao and promised aid for the impoverished country. (Additional reporting by Marie Frail in Beijing)
13 minutes ago
http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/my/my16.gif Add World - Reuters (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/addtomy/*http://edit.my.yahoo.com/config/set_news?.add=rw&.src=yn&.done=http%3a//news.yahoo.com/%3ftmpl=story%26cid=574%26ncid=721%26e=2%26u=/nm/20040913/wl_nm/korea_north_dc) to My Yahoo! By Jack Kim
SEOUL (Reuters) - An accident at an underground munitions depot or a weapons factory was the likely cause of a huge explosion in North Korea (news (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news?fr=news-storylinks&p=%22North%20Korea%22&c=&n=20&yn=c&c=news&cs=nw) - web sites (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=web-storylinks&p=North%20Korea)) last week, and there were possibly two blasts, South Korean media reports said on Monday.
http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/nm/20040913/amdf693895.jpg (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/040913/photos_wl/mdf693895)
Reuters Photo (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/040913/photos_wl/mdf693895)
South Korea (news (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news?fr=news-storylinks&p=%22South%20Korea%22&c=&n=20&yn=c&c=news&cs=nw) - web sites (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=web-storylinks&p=South%20Korea))'s financial markets, which can react sharply to developments in the North, ignored the blast reports, which came as diplomats were seeking to persuade Pyongyang to return this month to six-party talks on its nuclear weapons programs.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly, in Beijing for talks with Chinese officials on the nuclear standoff, made no comment as he left his hotel on Monday.
The South Korean government has all but ruled out the possibility of a nuclear test by North Korea in the northeastern region of Ryanggang between Sept. 8 and 9, the reports said.
"There is a possibility of an accident at a military factory or a munitions depot dug underground," the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper quoted a source in South Korea as saying.
The North has said nothing yet about the incident but often notes events long after they happen -- and sometimes not at all.
South Korean intelligence detected two explosions on the night of Sept. 8 to 9, the JoongAng Ilbo said.
The area in Ryanggang that borders with China has been known to have a secret missile base but the site of the accident is some distance away, the source was quoted as saying.
South Korean officials are analyzing satellite images and other data to determine the cause of the explosion that produced a large cloud detected on Sept. 9.
U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Colin Powell (news (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news?fr=news-storylinks&p=%22Colin%20Powell%22&c=&n=20&yn=c&c=news&cs=nw) - web sites (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=web-storylinks&p=Colin%20Powell)), also played down the possibility of a nuclear test.
Another South Korean daily, Chosun Ilbo, said the explosion left marks as if a blast set off by an equivalent of 1,000 tonnes of dynamite had hit a munitions depot or a military cargo train carrying explosives.
The blast produced a smoke cloud that stretched to four kilometers, the newspaper said.
"Considering the existence of various missile bases near the area, it is possible that chemical materials exploded," the daily quoted a North Korean defector familiar with the area as saying.
NO INDICATION OF ATOMIC BLAST
While not placing the blast at one of the bases, the defector said it could be attributed to liquid fuel used for missiles.
The time sequence of the explosion followed several hours later by a smoke cloud supports a theory that the blast took place under ground, the paper quoted several sources as saying.
The Kyunghyang Shinmun newspaper quoted a senior government official as saying seismic monitors detected two explosions before and after midnight on Sept. 9.
But the government was unable to link conclusively the seismic waves and the explosions, the newspaper said.
South Korea first got indications of the blast from a satellite, a senior South Korean official told Reuters on Sunday.
"The weather overall at the time was cloudy but there was a peculiar cloud, a cloud that was different from any other," said the official, who asked not to be identified. "We cannot confirm whether it had the characteristics of a mushroom cloud."
Powell said there was "no indication that that was a nuclear event of any kind. Exactly what it was, we're not sure." Asked on ABC's "This Week" if North Korea had tested a nuclear device, Powell said, "No."
North Korea is believed to be developing nuclear weapons -- Washington has said it may have one or two or even more already.
In October 2002, U.S. officials said North Korean officials had said they had a clandestine uranium enrichment program that could be used to develop nuclear weapons and that violated its international commitments. They subsequently denied say this.
South Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper said the blast site was 10 km (6 miles) southwest of the Yongjori Missile Base at a point 30 km (18 miles) from the China frontier. The mountainous area is off-limits to outsiders, including aid workers.
The base has tunnels for storing, deploying and launching medium-range Rodong missiles, according to defector reports.
The New York Times reported in its Sunday editions the Bush administration had received recent intelligence reports that some experts believed could indicate North Korea was preparing to conduct its first nuclear weapons test explosion.
The news broke as South Korea, Japan, China, Russia and the United States sought to persuade Pyongyang to resume talks on its nuclear ambitions. The North, which threatened at earlier talks to test an atomic bomb, says it sees no need for more talks.
There was no immediate reaction from China, North Korea's big neighbor and main ally.
A senior Chinese Communist Party delegation met leader Kim Jong-il Sunday, the North's official KCNA news agency said. It said the Chinese handed Kim a letter from President Hu Jintao and promised aid for the impoverished country. (Additional reporting by Marie Frail in Beijing)