One Israeli assassin, a North Korean train explosion, dead Syrian scientists,...

NK News/Nate Thayer ^ | JUNE 20, 2013 | NATE THAYER

[TigerLikesRooster]

I am still wondering what surface explosion created such a large deep crater.

[TigerLikesRooster]

P!

[BenLurkin]

Beeg bada-boom.

[Mr. K]

whollycrud that’s a big explosion!

It looks like it was directed straight down too.

[gaijin]

The entire train was filled with explosives for military purposes and I believe at the time there was a lot of ammonium phosphate fertilizer nearby.

I saw photos of the neighborhood and I believe more than 12 city blocks disappeared from this explosion.

It was an assassination attempt against Kim Jong il, who i believe had been scheduled to pass through that same train station by train.

he changed his plans last minute.

[eastforker]

Didn’t we figure it must have been an ANFO bomb? Or was that was how it was reported to have happened?

[WayneS]

One curious tale in the bloody global spy war behind the Middle East conflict An Israeli agent on a stolen Canadian passport spotted in Pyongyang raises eyebrows after Syrian weapons scientists are killed in a mysterious North Korean train explosion. At the time, he was fleeing New Zealand charged with trying to steal the identity of a cerebral palsy victim. He later resurfaced with a fake beard on a French passport in Dubai in a hotel where a Hamas leader is assassinated.

The "trying to steal the identity of a cerebral palsy victim" is a bit weird, but this guy is a serious badass

[RedMonqey]

Don’t mess with the Zohan

[TigerLikesRooster]

Surface explosion usually go up and out. This one burrowed a deep hole with a steep slope as if it were directed to the ground.

[Steely Tom]

There was a residential school near the tracks that was essentially vaporized. Only the outer wall was left. I remember seeing it in satellite imagery taken a couple of days after the explosion.

IIRC, they said there was an LNG train nearby, although that may have been a cover story.

[Red Badger]

Kim chee...................

[COBOL2Java]

...more than 12 city blocks disappeared from this explosion.

"My pizzas were on that train!"

[TigerLikesRooster]

Yeah, they say it is an ANFO bomb, but does it usually create a crater so deep and sharp?

[eastforker]

There was quite a crater at the OKC bombing, although not quite as deep it was probably a smaller explosion than this one.

[eastforker]

Going back and refreshing memory I believe the crater at OKC was fifty feet deep from 4800 pound anfo bomb.

[robroys woman]

We’ve found the fifth element. I’m not surprised he is an Israeli. :)

[gibsonguy]

Sheesh keep this guy on our side.

[mairdie]

Does anyone else get the between the lines reading that the paper is trying to help people find this spy? Seems overly protective of North Korea with no sense that anyone would have a reason to harm the harmless little country.

[rjsimmon]

There was quite a crater at the OKC bombing,

There was no crater at the Murrah building in OK city, you may be thinking of the clearing efforts that involved the basement. The ANFO in the truck destroyed the front of the building and caused a collapse of the upper floors.

The NK explosion is more indicative of a projectile or something planted beneath the surface.

[tired&retired]

I have several friends/ aquaintences/ clients who were explosives technicians in the mining industry. They explained to me that when they were cutting the path through Pennsylvania mountains for I-80 they used anfo with a blasting cap on top to prime.

I sure am glad that the intelligent people who possess this knowledge are peace loving people. Most people have no idea of our vulnerability.