Mushroom Cloud In N. Korea
Carti
Join Date: 2003-07-12 Member: 18099Members, Constellation
Join Date: 2003-07-12 Member: 18099Members, Constellation
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It seems like the government in N. Korea would be willing to take this chance for some functioning nukes considering their short but hostile history.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency is reporting a huge explosion shook North Korea's northernmost province on Thursday producing a mushroom cloud over two miles (4 km) wide.
The blast coincided with the anniversary of North Korea's founding on Sepember 9 when various military activities are staged.
The U.S. official said the cloud could be the result of a forest fire.
South Korea's Unification Minister Chung Dong-yong said the government was aware of the reports and is checking them.
"I have no information about the size of the damage of the explosion," he said on Sunday, according to Yonhap.
Chung also said he believed there was no correlation between the explosion and reports of North Korea preparing for a possible nuclear test.
The New York Times reported on Saturday that U.S. President George W. Bush and his top advisers recently received intelligence reports that could indicate North Korea is preparing its first nuclear test, citing senior officials with access to the intelligence.
None of North Korea's known nuclear sites are in the country's northernmost provinces.
Yonhap reported the explosion happened in Yanggang province along the Chinese border, the site of Yongjori Missile Base -- a large facility with an underground missile firing range.
At least 161 people were killed in an explosion at Ryongchon Railway Station in April. It took three days for Pyongyang to break its silence on the blast.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
--http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/09/11/nkorea.blast/
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->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.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
best comment ever
1) It happened several days ago, and then the AP released an article last night. It's slowly trickling into the mass media, which normally jumps on stuff right away. Not incredibly surprising considering our general "ignore what we can't handle" policy with PRNK.
2) There are indications that there may not have been an explosion at all, or that accounts are greatly exaggerated, from a variety of things that would spot a blast.
3) Detonating a nuke in the open, assuming that is is a nuke and was detonated, would be plain stupid. It's next to the Chinese border, and they'd be **** off for one. It's also dumb to denate a test nuke overground if you're a burgeoning power, because it reveals all of your data. So if it was a nuke, I'm thinking it was a case of "hey what's this button do?"
We have satellites that will pick up a nuclear detonation immediately (they have characteristics different from conventional explosions... other than being incredibly freaking huge)
<b>If</b> it was a nuclear detonation, I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't release any of the information for several days while they get their own stuff together. Confirming, doing the initial political process, setting up the threatcons for US forces, and so forth.
They're not gonna go *boom* "NUKE, release it to the media!" the same day.
That being said, there are a few sources turning around and saying it WASN'T a nuclear explosion and was some sort of forest fire or something else. This makes me a little suspcious simply because confusing the two is near impossible... at least from the government standpoint. Plus, an explosion implies a rapid process. I've never heard even a "fast" spreading forest fire referred to as an explosion before, at least in the literal sense. As for "something else", I think a missile storage site would probably be a good candidate... it certainly gives you the size, and the "explosion" (although satellites should still be able to tell the difference)
We'll just have to wait and see
I do hope it wasn't a nuclear detonation... it opens up a big can of worms that can never be closed. With current US forces tied up in the middle east, it could spell a draft (for instance) if a two front conflict opens up.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->3) Detonating a nuke in the open, assuming that is is a nuke and was detonated, would be plain stupid. It's next to the Chinese border, and they'd be **** off for one. It's also dumb to denate a test nuke overground if you're a burgeoning power, because it reveals all of your data. So if it was a nuke, I'm thinking it was a case of "hey what's this button do?"<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
If you're sabre rattling and want to aquire nukes just for political leverage (vice defense), than detonating nukes in the open might be exactly what you want to do.
North Korea earlier was stating they were doing nuclear testing to the United States as if to say "Catch me if you can!" Now they are having clouds of nuclear weapons come up and pretending to hide it. It accomplishes the same goal. Getting publicity and making it known to the world that you have nuclear weapons.
(They may or may not have it. I won't sit here and say they don't, but their motivation to me is entirely clear.)
And you do not need to detonate above ground to make a politcal statement. An underground detonation is still obviously a nuke going off, yet doesn't have all those drawbacks. Take a look at recent history in the India-Pakistan region.
The updates I've been seeing indicate that there was indeed an explosion of some sort, but not a nuclear one. Still less than useful info however. Back to waiting.
x5 has logged on as admin
admin_vsay "Boom?"
1. Yes
2. No
*everyone screaming no*
*boom!*
<!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
What really Happened:
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->SEOUL (Reuters) - A huge explosion in North Korea last week was a deliberate blast to pave the way for a hydro-electric dam, Pyongyang said Monday.
Washington and Seoul have said the explosion was unlikely to have been a nuclear weapons test. South Korean media said an accident at an underground munitions depot or a weapons factory was a likely explanation for possibly two blasts.
A British minister visiting Pyongyang said late Monday that the North Korean authorities had agreed to allow foreign envoys to visit the scene and see for themselves.
South Korea's financial markets, which can react sharply to developments in the North, had 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.
"It was no nuclear explosion or an accident. It was a deliberate controlled detonation to demolish a mountain in the far north of the country," a BBC correspondent in Pyongyang with British Foreign Office minister Bill Rammell quoted North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun as saying.
Britain's Press Association gave similar details in a pool report and China's Xinhua news agency quoted a North Korean Foreign Ministry official as giving the same explanation.
Paek, who was providing the first North Korean word on the explosion, said it was part of a construction project to build a hydro-electric dam in the remote mountainous region of Ryanggang on the Chinese border.
The BBC said that when Paek was asked why North Korea had not explained earlier about the blasts he told Rammell Pyongyang had not done so because all foreign journalists were liars.
Later in the day, Rammell, the most senior British official to visit the North, told accompanying journalists that Pyongyang had agreed to let Western diplomats visit the site of the blast.
"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," he said, according to a pool report to London.
Rammell added that London's envoy, David Slinn, might be able to visit the site as early as Tuesday.
South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young told a parliamentary committee Monday "a peculiar cloud" and seismic activities were detected in separate areas that may be from unrelated incidents some 100 to 120 km (60 to 75 miles) apart.
MISSILE BASES IN AREA
South Korean media did not home in on the possibility of controlled explosions for building work.
South Korean intelligence detected two explosions on the night of Sept. 8 to 9, the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper in Seoul said, suggesting a possible accident at a military factory or a munitions depot.
The area in Ryanggang that borders China was known to have a secret missile base but the site of the accident was some way from there, the source was quoted as saying.
Analyst Kim Tae-woo at the Korea Institute for Defense Analysis said it was probably an accident.
"Rodong missile bases are located in the blast area, and extremely explosive liquid fuel, which is also very flammable, is used in production and in operation of missiles," Kim said. "I believe it was a mere accident triggered by mishandling."
A train blast in April in the Ryongchon rail station, close to North Korea's northwestern border with China, killed at least 170 people. That was believed to have been sparked by careless handling of explosive materials.
Analyst Kim Kyung-sool at Korea Energy Economics Institute said Ryanggang offers rich resources for hydroelectric power with several smaller plants in place but there had been no reports of a larger-scale project.
The North's state television last week showed footage of what it said was the construction site for a hydroelectric power plant about 60 km (40 miles) east of the reported explosion. The video showed earthmovers with rugged mountains in the background.
U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Colin Powell, played down the possibility of a nuclear test.
North Korea is believed to be developing nuclear weapons, and Washington has said it may already have one or two or even more.
The New York Times reported in its Sunday editions the Bush administration had received recent intelligence reports that some experts believed could indicate that 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. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->