Posted on 05/25/2004 7:29:57 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
North Korean Security Believes Ryongchon Explosion an Assassination Attempt
According to a source, North Korea's State Safety & Security Agency concluded that the massive explosion that occurred in the North Korean city of Ryongchon on April 22 had been conspired by anti-North Korean government forces to harm North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. A North Korean official who was recently on his business trip to China said, The North Korean National Security Agency has investigated the incident since it took place and concluded that rebellious forces had plotted the explosions targeting the exclusive train of Kim Jong-il. The security agency, in particular, gained evidence that cell phones had been used in triggering the explosion and reported to the North Korean leader that the use of cell phones should be banned for the sake of the leaders safety, the official said.
Accordingly, it was learned that North Korea prohibited the use of cell phones across the nation on May 19.
An officer working with a North Korean border guard unit, which is in charge of guarding the border area between the North and China, said in a phone call with this writer that the use of cell phones was banned in Pyongyang first on May 19, and then prohibited in other regions on May 20.
A North Korea defector who crossed the border a few days ago said, It doesnt seem to be a temporary measure, because even handsets have been conscripted following the cell phone use ban. The Postal Service, which manages the cell phone business, has unilaterally conscripted handsets without offering any compensations. It's a typical example of a dictatorial state, the defector pointed out.
North Korea began to use European-type GSM phones in August 2002 and started cell phone service in Najin and Sunbong, the North Korean special economic areas, starting November that year. However, in areas bordering China, an increasing number of North Korean people have already used cell phones with handsets made in China since the end of 1990s.
So they banned cell phones, to keep information from going out? I wonder if the US got a call about what was in the warehouse before it could be shipped.
N. Koreans believe that cell phone(s) is(are) used to trigger the explosion.
Is the cell phone story coming up on your computer?
--Boot Hill
Try the link in #118. That link leads to the right story.
LOL, yes the story does come up, but it is in Kanji with no option link for English!
--Boot Hill
I understand, but would they ban cellphones because of that?When they use the word trigger could something have gotten lost in translation? I guesss what I am saying is with an explosion of this magnitude how would they determine a cell phone was the trigger mechanism?
No English version at this time, it appears.:)
I do not know how they came up with that conclusion. Some news accounts did say that there were two explosions, one preceding the other by a short time. It may be that the first one created fire which spread out and triggered the second catastrophic explosion by engulfing the secret military cargo escorted by Syrians. If the first one occurred some distance away from the second one, it may be possible that some potential evidences for the first explosion managed to survive.
Of course, I am assuming that cell phone story is not just a cover story.
eastforker: "I understand, but would they ban cellphones because of that?"
Because they don't want cell phones to be used anymore to trigger explosions. (I must not understand your question.)
--Boot Hill
Just about anything electronic can be used to trigger an explosion, hell a kitchen timer would do that. Banning cell phones would never stop remote detonations but cell phones would be much harder to tap, especialy cell phones with the transponder in china. Cell phones today with camera capabilities is a spies dream come true, no more micro-film to be smuggled accross international lines and all that cloak and dagger stuff. See now where I am coming from?
Posted by Rockpile to per loin
On News/Activism 05/16/2004 12:42:04 PM PDT #39 of 58
I wonder if North Korea is making their own rocket fuel or if they import----like maybe from China in railroad tankcars?
==============================================================
I still wonder where NK gets their rocket fuel from. If they have to import from China and if that is what was involved in this explosion I would think that an outside player could be involved such as the US, South Korea, heck maybe even the Japanese.
Given the North's penchant for foreign murders in the past it kinda makes you feel warm and fuzzy to think the little toad may be sweating life on the receiving end.
Still, could be a coup attempt though. I hope he hears the Boogeyman in the dark :]
It is more likely that explosive materials were from N. Korea and that the saboteurs could also be Chinese or someone connected to Chinese.
It dawned on me that Kim Jong-nam, Kim Jong-il's eldest son, could be behind Kim Jong-il's assassination attempt. Jong-nam is being pushed aside and steps are taken by N. Korean regime to install his younger brother, Jong-chol, as the successor to Kim Jong-il. With the help of Chinese and Americans, Jong-nam might have used China as his base to launch this operation.
Jong-nam has enough connections inside N. Korean regime to pull something like this. Some reports even claim that the death of party secretary Kim Yong-soon and the hospitalization of Ko Yong-hee were also the work of pro-Kim Jong-nam faction.
Yes, I caught all of that from Japanese sources, too.
Freepmail sent to you.
A son killing a father? Impossible, why that would violate the Biblical injunction to "honor thy father and mother"! J
(If I were Kim Jong-nam, I'd make darn sure not to miss Fathers Day this year!)
--Boot Hill
thanks.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.