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Report: Thousands Dead or Injured in N.Korea Rail Blast
EFLUp to 3,000 people were killed or injured when two trains loaded with fuel collided and exploded at a North Korean station Thursday, hours after leader Kim Jong-il had passed through, South Koreaâs YTN television said. I thought Kimmie traveled by choo-choo because itâs safer. YTN quoted witnesses in its report while South Koreaâs Yonhap news agency, which spoke of widespread destruction, also said there were thousands of casualties. Neither Yonhap nor YTN gave a breakdown of deaths and injuries. Yonhap quoted sources in the Chinese city of Dandong that borders the North as saying the explosion occurred around 1 p.m. -- nine hours after Kimâs special train was reported to have passed on its way back to Pyongyang after a visit to China. "The station was destroyed as if hit by a bombardment and debris flew high into the sky," Yonhap said, quoting the unidentified Chinese sources. Bombardment, now thereâs an idea. The sources said cargo trains carrying gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas collided at Ryonchon station 30 miles south of the border. Yonhap also quoted a senior Defense Ministry official as saying the Southâs military -- which eavesdrops on North Korea -- had heard about the blast through "intelligence channels directed against the North." There was no immediate suggestion the blast was anything other than an accident. But the explosion came after Kim met Chinaâs new leadership during a rare foreign visit to discuss the Northâs nuclear weapons plans and tentative economic reforms. North Korea appears to have cut international telephone lines to the area to prevent information about the explosion getting out, Yonhap added. The North appears to have declared a type of emergency in the area. Did not know they had many international phone lines. Yonhap said the sources said people in Dandong were concerned their friends or relatives could have been caught up on the explosion. Traders from both sides criss-cross the border area. A railway worker on the Chinese side of the Dandong border crossing told Reuters he had not heard of a blast and had seen no signs of any emergency effort under way. "The closest station to here in North Korea is in Sinuiju (on the border), and I would have heard it. But I didnât hear anything," So maybe it did not happen. North Koreaâs official media broke their silence on Kimâs three-day trip to Beijing Thursday -- strongly suggesting Kim was safely back in Pyongyang -- but did not mention the explosion. Kim does not travel by air when he does venture outside North Korea. Residents in Pyongyang said by telephone there was nothing unusual in the capital. North Korean television was broadcasting military songs and music -- standard evening fare. The best way to ensure citizens to not regret being too poor to have a teevee. Posted by: JAB 2004-04-22 |
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