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Blast, Mushroom Cloud Reported in N. Korea
8 minutes ago
By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA, Associated Press Writer
SEOUL, South Korea - A large explosion rocked the northern part of North Korea (news - web sites), sending a huge mushroom cloud into the air on an important anniversary of the communist regime, South Korea (news - web sites)'s Yonhap news agency reported Sunday.
Citing an unidentified source in Beijing, Yonhap said the explosion happened on Thursday in Yanggang province near the border with China. The damage and crater left by the explosion in Kim Hyong Jik county was big enough to be noticed by a satellite, the source said.
"We understand that a mushroom-shaped cloud about 2.2 miles to 2.5 miles in diameter was monitored during the explosion," Yonhap quoted an unidentified diplomatic source in Seoul as saying.
North Korea was founded on Sept. 9, 1948. Leader Kim Jong Il uses the occasion to stage performances and other events to bolster loyalty among the impoverished North Korean population.
Experts have speculated that North Korea might use a major anniversary to conduct a nuclear-related test, though there was no immediate indication that the reported explosion on Thursday was linked to Pyongyang's efforts to develop nuclear weapons.
Kim Hyong Jik is reported to hold a major missile base. North Korea, which has a large missile arsenal and more than a million soldiers, is dotted with military installations.
South Korea's Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said Sunday the government is in the process of confirming reports that there were signs of an explosion in North Korea.
"I am not aware of details such as the size of the damage," he was quoted as saying by Yonhap after a National Security Council meeting.
On Saturday, North Korea said recent revelations that South Korea conducted secret nuclear experiments involving uranium and plutonium made the communist state more determined to pursue its own nuclear programs.
The South Korean experiments, conducted in 1982 and 2000, were likely to further complicate the already stalled six-nation talks aimed at dismantling the North's nuclear development. South Korea has said the experiments were purely for research and did not reflect a desire to develop weapons.
On April 22, train wagons at a railway station exploded in the North Korean town of Ryongchon, killing 160 people and injuring an estimated 1,300, according to some estimates. The blast was believed to have been sparked by a train laden with oil and chemicals that hit power lines.
The source in Beijing that told Yonhap about the explosion last week said it was reportedly bigger than the train explosion in Ryongchon.
uh... this is not good nuclear swaggering from North Korea on 9/11?
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