Huge Explosion Reported in North Korea (New information)

[girl gone mad]

Huge Explosion Reported in North Korea

20 minutes ago

By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA, Associated Press Writer

SEOUL, South Korea - A large explosion occurred in the northern part of North Korea (news - web sites), sending a plume of smoke more than two miles wide into the air on an important anniversary of the communist regime, a South Korean news agency reported Sunday.


The explosion happened at 11 a.m. Thursday in Yanggang province near the border with China, according to the Yonhap news agency.


Yonhap carried reports from unidentified sources, with one in Washington saying the incident could be related to a natural disaster such as a forest fire. It also cited a diplomatic source in Seoul as raising the possibility of an accident or a nuclear test.


Yonhap later quoted Kim Jong-min, spokesman for the presidential office, as saying:


"Currently, we are trying to find out in detail the exact character, cause and size of the accident, but we don't think North Korea conducted a nuclear test."

...
The agency also quoted an unidentified government official as saying there was seismic activity related to two blasts in North Korea at 11 p.m. Wednesday and 1 a.m. Thursday.

...
The damage and crater left by the explosion in Kim Hyong Jik county was big enough to be noticed by a satellite, a source in Beijing told Yonhap.


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&e=5&u=/ap/20040912/ap_on_re_as/nkorea_explosion

[TomClash]

1. From the BBC . . .

An unnamed diplomatic source, who spoke to South Korean news agency Yonhap in Beijing, said a cloud with a radius of up to 4km (2.5 miles) had been spotted in Yanggang's Kimhyungjik County.

The area is mountainous and thinly populated, and home to an underground military base known to contain medium-range missiles.

The blast took place on North Korea's National Day - commemorating the 1948 founding of the country.

. . .

The United States suspects that the closed region where the blast occurred may be where the North is conducting an alleged uranium enrichment programme, our correspondent adds.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3648794.stm

[MindPilot]

2. The US government must think we are REALLY stupid

A crater big enough to be seen from space and they tell us it was a forest fire. Riiiight.

[telamachus]

3. Bingo!

But them irainians MIGHT have a bomb....

[girl gone mad]

7. Coming right on the heels of..

a report that NK was readying itself to conduct nuclear tests.

That's just what I thought: "How stupid do they think we are?"

[quaoar]

4. Had to be a test

But since there was no seismic activity detected, Kim may have decided to minimize geologically detectable activity so as to maintain plausible deniability. He might have conducted an above ground test. He may have done it in an unpopulated mountainous region so as to contain the blast in a valley. Seems insane, but then the Dear Leader is indeed insane -- or at least a megalomaniac.

[Ohio rules]

8. The answer my friend,is blowing in the wind

Results of radiation fallout should have been detected by now.

[allemand]

10. An above ground test would be even more easily detectable

by satellites.

BTW, seismic activity has been detected:

"SEOUL/BEIJING/WASHINGTON/NEW YORK/VLADIVOSTOK, Sept. 12 (Yonhap) -- Signs of earthquakes were observed related to two large blasts that reportedly took place in North Korea's northernmost inland province of Ryanggang on Wednesday and Thursday, a government source said Sunday.

"Earthquake officials in neighboring countries observed signs that appeared to be related to two large explosions around 11 p.m. Wednesday and 1 a.m. Thursday in North Korea's Ryanggang Province," the source said.""

http://english.yna.co.kr/Engnews/20040912/301100000020040912185508E4.html

I doubt that they would blow up their own railway line in a nuclear test:
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200409/200409120031.html

[Ediacara]

25. I am not sure about the seismic activity

The USGS shows no seismic activity in Korea for the last week, but this report says that there was some seismic activity. It could just be below the 2.5 magnitude threshhold that the USGS reports on their website.

ON EDIT: Unfortunately, there is no way to see anything that is smaller than M2.5 outside the US....

[allemand]

5. Gov't Confirms 'Non-Nuclear' N. Korean Explosion

"A high-ranking government official said Sunday, “It is true that a large mushroom cloud about 3.5 to 4 km in diameter was observed by a satellite at around 11:00 a.m. Thursday. It was not a nuclear test, but the explosion seemed to be three times bigger than the one that took place during the Ryongchon Station accident,” and added, “Both U.S. and Korean intelligence authorities are investigating what caused the explosion.”

<...>

The accident took place in a mountainous region 1,500 meter above sea level around Yongjo-ri, where it is known that there were many munitions factories nearby. In particular, the exact spot of explosion is only 10km away southwest from the Yongjo-ri base for Rodong 1 and 2 missiles and some 30km away from the Sino-Korean border.

There is much talk about the cause of the explosion. The government official said, “If a nuclear test causes an explosion, we can detect it by reading satellite data. Thus, the recent explosion in North Korea was not caused by a nuclear test.” The intelligence authorities assume that an ammunition depot with over 1,000 tons of dynamite or an ammunition car may have exploded, or there may have been a chain explosion of chemical material or a big fire. Some Chinese sources argue that a massive explosion took pace in a munitions factory. Hong Sun-jik, director at the Hyundai Economic Institute said, “Other than the assumption that it may be a simple accident that took place due to old facilities, we cannot exclude the possibility that the explosion may have taken place due to the lack of control of the Kim Jong-il regime, or it may have been connected to a secret feud over the successor of Kim Jong-il following the rumor of death of Kim’s wife, Ko Young-hee.”

More:
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200409/200409120026.html

[Radius]

6. Fingerprints

An atmospheric test would produce a gamma bloom and ir signature detectable from space. I'm pretty sure we monitor NK extensively since they decided to shoot a big dong ill missile over japan with no warning.

Personally I think it is bullshit. They could confirm a nuke in hours. You think they would blow it underground so the fallout could not be gathered and used for analysis. 9/11 would have been the perfect political opportunity to release this information. And have be a huge windfall for the administration axis of evil stuff.

If it is true the Chinese will be pissed and may cut their fuel and food and they will fall apart. Remember the technical difficulties in the oil pipelines from china that got them to the table?

[GOPAgainstGW]

9. More detailed info from South Korean News Source

Gov't Confirms 'Non-Nuclear' N. Korean Explosion

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200409/200409120026.html

[allemand]

11. Would they blow up their own railway line in a nuclear test?

"The picture shows the near areas North Korea's Youngjo-ri, Ryanggang Province which was taken by the satellite of the U. S. firm DigitalGlobe in February 2003. The area in the circle is Youngjo-ri and the squared area is 10km to the southwest, where the explosion may have taken place. The dotted line is the railroads of Youngjo-ri and thick line is the boundary line of Ryanggang Province and Jagang Province."
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200409/2004...

[Radioactive]

12. Would the Bush administration want to release this information

Would the Bush administration want to release this information if it was proved to be a Nuclear explosion?

[Radius]

13. National Security

"Today on the memorial of our most devastating loss, a new and more powerful threat has emerged. The North Koreans have detonated a nuclear weapon and must be stopped from spreading this technology or attacking SK or Japan...."

Nice political speech, national security at risk, re elect me..

You get the drift, an I told you so.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

15. Try again. We're not the only nation with the ability to monitor....

...and detect nuclear emissions of any kind.

If this had been a nuclear explosion of any kind, the world media would have been all over this.

[Radius]

16. Russia

most certainly has satellites designed to monitor nuclear explosions. A simple seismograph will determine the "yield".

This one is starting to turn south.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

20. Several other countries are also part of the "nuclear club"...

...Israel, India, Pakistan, China, France, and the UK, for sure.

Several other countries may be close, with several more having conducted nuclear research:

List of countries with nuclear weapons
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_with_nuclear_weapons>

[belle]

17. I'm thinking "no," because that would mean we would have to do something

i.e. attack a country that *does* have WMD's, which i don't think they actually want to do, somehow. i could of course be wrong.

also, and probably more important, it would make them look really really bad. we went to Iraq first why, again?

not that this proves it *was* a nuclear explosion. who the fuck knows. what a creepy era we live in.

[belle]

14. I'm starting to wonder if there's some kind of attempted coup going on.

Internal, I mean: wouldn't a relatively unpopulated part of the country be a good place for dissidents to gather? near the border, too. was someone maybe trying to send Kim Jong Il a message on the country's anniversary?

something really strange is going on there anyway. but then, it's a very strange place, ruled by a very strange man. sad and scary.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

18. "...it's a very strange place, ruled by a very strange man"....

I bet most of the world uses that phrase to describe the United States and FratBoy these days.

And THAT is indeed "sad and scary".

[belle]

19. We're still not in N. Korea territory, believe me.

No one is. They are, or were, the tightest, most secretive authoritarian government even when Communism was at its height.

btw: is there something about Korean culture that lends itself to authoritarian structures? not just N. Korea, but even South Korea seems pretty militaristic and hegemonic, from what little I know. and all these cults seem to thrive there, or from there, most notoriously the Moonies. is it just me?

[chenGOD]

22. Not just Korean culture...

Chinese and Japanese cultures have also had strong tendencies towards authoritarian regimes. And South Korean culture has changed a lot over the last decade or so...

As for cults: Jim Jones cult, Branch Davidian, Raelians, Manson family and so on. I can't see a lot of cult activity here in Seoul, although i will say that the proselytization by the Christians here is scary.

[Jon8503]

21. Wrong War; Wrong Place; Wrong Time!

Not that I am or was in support for attacking N. Korea but for all Bush's reasons for attacking Iraq, other than for the oil & Halliburton, he did attack the wrong country.

[UNION.JACK]

27. Who is really who in this bloody zoo

I agree, considering the fact we are fighting a proxy war with Iran and Syria, Iraq just happens to be caught between a rock and a hard place, by Bush and Blair's MEGALOMANIA.

UJ

[rfkrocks]

23. i can't believe the Bushs*t from the WH

seismic activity, crater seen from space and a mushroom cloud-I thinks its a "stretch" but its a NUKE

[mom cat]

24. What about the possibility that Bushco bombed it.

Wouldn't that be the perfect pre-election strategy to have it "leak" just before the election that * wiped out a major munitions dump in NK. I just that this has his fingerprints.

[NNN0LHI]

26. Is Seoul is still on the map?

Because if Bush were to do what you suggesting Seoul would be in cinders by now.

Don

[Moderator]

28. Please update and discuss in this thread, thanks

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x820668