Triple talk...

[Error401]

For those that haven't heard about what happened in N. Korea, pick this one apart:

SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- A large cloud that appeared over North Korea in satellite images several days ago was not the result of a nuclear explosion, according to a U.S. official. {Colin Powell on Face the Nation}

South Korea's Yonhap news agency is reporting a huge explosion shook North Korea's northernmost province on Thursday producing a mushroom cloud over 4 kilometers (two miles) 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. {Again, C. Powell}

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.

John Irvine, a reporter for Britain's ITN TV who is in Pyongyang, said there has been no official response from the North Korean government, although there is pressure to provide an explanation.

"I'm touring outside Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, right now with the British Junior Foreign Minister Bill Rammell, who has just told me that he is demanding a response from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here in North Korea," Irvine reported Sunday.

"[Rammell] does have a meeting with a senior foreign minister here tomorrow and Mr. Fammell anticipates some answers at least by then."

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.

According to data gathered by Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), Yongjori is a suspected site for North Korea's uranium enrichment program.

According to its Web site, NTI is a private charity -- funded by CNN founder Ted Turner -- dedicated to lessen the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction -- nuclear, chemical and biological -- around the globe.

-- CNN National Security Correspondent David Ensor and Correspondent Sohn Jie-Ae contributed to this report

I also heard (but did not see) that there are satelite photos of a large crater at the site. Just reading this makes me wonder. There are too many conflicting accounts of what happened (or may have happened). If it were an explosion, then there would be seismic data from all over the world (that's how the USSR and the US knew when and how big each nuke test was during the cold war).

Now, for the sake of argument, if it was a forest fire would it not have started out small, made alot of smoke and very little noise. It would also not make a seismic event. It would also not have made a 2 mile in diameter mushroom cloud. I have yet to hear of a forest fire that does that. Also, wouldn't there be numerous reports from all over the world of a lack of a seismic event and thus was not an explosion?

All that aside, if it was (and I'm pretty sure that it was) an explosion, what kind was it? Nuklear, conventional, or something else. Lets say that it was a big pile of TNT, that would be a big pile of TNT indeed, and to what purpose? Why set off a huge pile of nondeployable ordenance?

What remains are a couple of options, a large meteor, a rocket malfunction (since it was reported to have occured at a missile test site), or the most likely, a nuke. A meteor would happen all of a sudden, might make a very large mushroom cloud and not produce radioactive fallout. It has happened before, and IMO is perfectly plausable.

A rocket malfunction IMO is highly unlikely given the size of the cloud and supposed crater. It would have to be a damned big rocket.

So, that leaves a nuke. N. Korea has stated that it wishes to have these things, and the site has been fingered as a site that could produce weapons grade material. What bothers me is that the media isn't saying much at all about the whole incident. Not much on the TV, a small blurb in the paper, no satelite pix. Another thing that bothers me is the proximity to China. If I was the Chinese leader, I sure as hell wouldn't want another small country with nukes and a pissy attitude on my border (the others are India and Pakistan).

Oh, I forgot the last option, an Acme brand anvil (courtesy of Wil E. Cyote).

--Update--

Found the real satelite pix:

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/dprk/ryongchon-imagery_comp01.htm

No crater, but the damage is unbelievable

My bad, that's the train explosion. Still no pix of the latest event.

 

[Rolex]

According to the comparison photos in that link, this was not a test site since there were so many buildings. Obviously an accidental explosion and an intense one at that. I don't think it was a nuke, but possibly a bunker for arms or other explosives. A LOT of buildings were flattened, so I'd guess that enough TNT or other powerful explosives could, in fact send up a mushroom cloud.
How much destruction could also be measured if they knew the altitude that Wil E. Coyote dropped the anvil from.

 

[Error401]

My bad, that set of photos are actually from the rail explosion back in April. I still can't find any pics of the latest explosion, even though they are referanced in numerous news articles from arround the world (BBC, S. Korea, Japan). Odd.

 

[El Pirata]

Error, these conspiracy theories are driving you psycho.

Oh, I forgot the last option, an Acme brand anvil (courtesy of Wil E. Cyote).

That's what it really was.

 

[Rolex]

You're right, it's the wrong link. Apparently this latest explosion was in a heavilly wooded area, and satelite photos show a large crater. I can't find a photo yet.

 

[Rolex]

Here's the latest spin. I still can't find any satellite photos. Please post them if you do.

SEOUL (Reuters) - A huge explosion in North Korea last week was a deliberate blast to pave the way for a hydro-electric dam, the BBC quoted the North's foreign minister as telling a visiting British official 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.

South Korea's financial markets, which can react sharply to developments in the North, 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.

Paek, who was giving 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 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.

Sunday, South Korean officials confirmed indications of one large explosion -- or possibly two -- on the night of Sept. 8 and early morning of Sept. 9.

Rammell is the highest British official to visit Pyongyang and he had been expected to meet the North's leader Kim Jong-il. He also asked Paek to allow a visit the blast site.

"He has said he will consider that request and get back to me," Rammell said.

 

[hb1111]

fiddlesticking koreans are nutz!!!