[Explosion Update]N Korea allows blast site visit

Chosun Ilbo ^ | 09/13/04 | N/A

[TigerLikesRooster]

N Korea allows blast site visit

South Korean media has been full of speculation about the blast

A British diplomat is to be allowed to visit the site of a huge explosion in North Korea that raised fears of a nuclear test, a British minister says.

The UK's Foreign Office minister Bill Rammell requested acccess to the site during a visit to North Korea.

Pyongyang said the explosion was in fact the demolition of a mountain as part of a huge hydro-electric project.

In an unusual concession, North Korea said Britain's ambassador could visit the site to see forhimself.

Mr Rammell, who earlier held talks with the country's foreign minister, Paek Nam-sun, welcomed the offer.

"Having asked the vice foreign minister this morning for our ambassador and other ambassadors to be allowed to visit the scene of the explosion I am very pleased the North Koreans have agreed to the request," Mr Rammell said.

He added that the ambassador, David Slinn, could visit the site as early as Tuesday.

'Peculiar cloud'

The United States and South Korea had already played down suggestions that the explosion, near Yongjo-ri in Yanggang Province, was caused by a nuclear device.

"There was no indication that was a nuclear event of any kind. Exactly what it was, we're not sure," US Secretary of State Colin Powell told ABC television on Sunday.

The blast is said to have happened on Thursday as the Stalinist state celebrated its National Day.

It created what officials in Seoul said was a huge, and peculiarly-shaped, cloud.

The incident and the fears it has provoked around the world are another illustration of the enormous tension between the regime and the international community, says the BBC's diplomatic correspondent James Robbins, in Pyongyang.

North Korea is under international pressure to end all nuclear programmes and disarm.

But so far it has offered only limited concessions during "six-party" international talks involving both Koreas, the US, China, Russia and Japan.

It has not yet committed to attend a fourth round of the talks, which the Chinese, as hosts, wanted to start before the end of this month.

[TigerLikesRooster]

From Chosun Ilbo (and another source)

The red marking on the left is the suspected blast site. The river passing by is Wol-tan(or Hu-chang?) River. The red 'x' mark on the right is the construction site for a hydro-dam which started in last May. It is on Un-chong River.

---

In the following picture, the grey area on the upper right corner is China. The light brown area is N. Korea. The river between the two is Yalu River. A tributary coming from the bottom center and turning into the upper right direction is Huchang River. The suspected blast site is Wol-tan-ri. Across the blast site is the town of Huchang. They are part of Kim Hyong-jik County. On the right of Wol-tan-ri is Mt. Jajak(998m above sea level.) On its left across the river, some distance away, is Mt. Wol-tan(937m above sea level.) At the bottom of the picture, near the end of the river is Young-jo-ri, where markings shows the underground missile base. 10 lauch tunnels for Rodong I missiles (range: 1300km) are known to be deployed. Its construction started in '94.

Wol-tan-ri is 900m above sea level. The annual precipitation is about 700mm(28inches), which is way below the N. Korean average of 1,000mm(40inches.) Huchang River is 3-4m wide. In another source I encountered, it is 5-10m wide and 50-60cm deep (20-24 inches deep.) Anyhow, it does not have enough water flow to justify the construction of hydro-dam.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ping!

[Judith Anne]

As always, thank you for the ping.

[Old Sarge]

I still think the idea of a meteor is kinda neat. Freaky, but neat.

[gilliam]

Remember, there was a report of 2 explosions that day. This is probably the 2nd explosion.

[traumer]

[Boundless]

> North Korea said Britain's ambassador could
> visit the site to see forhimself.

Don't forget your radiation badge, dude.

[ArmyBratproud]

Nuke explosion? I am thinking no.

But, as with all other engineered products.....it would be tested at various phases.

Could be that they were testing another part of an explosive. Testing for info for future (near future?) development.

[COEXERJ145]

Could be that they were testing another part of an explosive. Testing for info for future (near future?) development.

There isn't enough HE in a nuclear device to cause such a large explosion. The only thing related to nuclear weapons that would require such a large amount of HE being used at once would be a calibration test. We did the same thing before Trinity. We stacked up 100 tons of TNT and set it off. Looked like a small nuclear explosion, mushroom cloud and all. This was all of the needed instruments can be calibrated and prepared before an actual nuclear test.

[Thermalseeker]

Could be that they were testing another part of an explosive. Testing for info for future (near future?) development.

Perhaps a huge conventional explosion designed to help them calibrate instrumentation for an upcoming nuke test?

[mewzilla]

Or is the little wart just trying to take the heat off his friends in Iran?

[SittinYonder]

North Korea explosion - blasting for hydro-electric dam. I knew there would be a reasonable explanation. The North Koreans, of all people, wouldn't do anything crazy!

[PoorMuttly]

Is that Tourist Guy climbing out of the crater?

[ruready4eternity]

My personal opinion is that there is alot of "secret and undisclosed info & screened press" that is not making it back to the people. I believe the situation is more real than we are to believe. It is just as dangerous as Iraq in terms of a de-stabalized region.

[AmericanInTokyo]

You can see that the graphic artists have been working overtime. Bet they did not have much of a Sunday this past weekend. Good work. I know the DPRK will have some Potemkin Village scheme in line for the Brits to see when they go up there. Interesting. I think our sat photography will pretty much dispel anything the Northies explain.

[nuconvert]

They will allow a visit to 1 explosion site.(there were reports of 2) And no vists to subsequent explosion sites in the future.

[MD_Willington_1976]

I was thinking the same thing here too (calibration), but where I grew up they did a similar excavation to remove "Ripple Rock" from the sea floor.

700 000 tons of rock and water reaching 305 m ( 1000 feet ) erupting from the blast was being broadcast live on television at 9:31 am April 5 , 1958.

1400 tons of Nitramex 2H explosives were packed into the pinnacle tunnels . It was to be the world 's largest non-atomic blast to that date (1958).

[MTOrlando]

Time for Bubba's Crackpot Theory:

Russian intelligence located a terrorist base in that mountain; the Red Army managed to find one of their cold-war era nukes that was still in working order...