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Powell Says N. Korea Blast Not Nuclear
EFLSEOUL, South Korea (AP) - A huge explosion in the northern part of North Korea sent a plume of smoke more than two miles wide into the air on an important anniversary of the secretive communist regime, a South Korean news agency reported Sunday. Secretary of State Colin Powell said the explosion Thursday was not a nuclear test but that it was not known yet what caused it. "There was no indication that was a nuclear event of any kind. Exactly what it was, we're not sure," Powell said on ABC's "This Week." China's government, which has the closest relations with North Korea, had no immediate comment about the reported explosion. The Yonhap news agency said the blast Thursday was more powerful than the April 22 explosion that killed 160 people and injured an estimated 1,300 at a railway station in North Korea. That explosion was believed caused by a train laden with oil and chemicals hitting power lines. In a story published before Yonhap's report, The New York Times said Sunday that senior U.S. intelligence officials had seen signs of activities that some analysts thought might indicate North Korea was preparing its first test explosion of a nuclear weapon. Other experts were more cautious in their assessments, but the developments were considered worrisome enough for the White House to be alerted, the Times said. Asked about the report, Powell told "Fox News Sunday" that U.S. authorities have been monitoring activities at a "potential nuclear test site." "We can't tell whether it's normal maintenance activity or something more," he said. "So it's inconclusive at this moment, but we continue to monitor these things very carefully." Let me see if I understand this. Noth Korea is an isolated Communist nation. They had a train wreck a few months ago in which the full story was "unconfirmed" by anyone for about a week. Now we are expected to take Powell's word for it that this test was not nuclear after less than 24 hours? Please. We can't get a clear report about a train wreck, but top-secret military actions (nuclear or not) by N. Korea are instantly known and reported by Western officials. This smells, IMO. Posted by: Chris W. 2004-09-12 |
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