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Blast, Mushroom Cloud Reported in N. Korea 17 minutes ago By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA, Associated Press Writer SEOUL, South Korea - A large explosion occurred in the northern part of North Korea ( - ), sending a huge mushroom cloud into the air on an important anniversary of the communist regime, a South Korean news agency reported Sunday. The South Korean government said it was trying to confirm the report. The Yonhap news agency, citing an unidentified diplomatic source in Seoul, said the explosion happened at 11 a.m. local time Thursday in Yanggang province near the border with China. The blast in Kim Hyong Jik county left a crater 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," the source said. Yonhap described the source as "reliable." Thursday was the anniversary of the 1948 foundation of the communist regime. 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. "It remains unclear whether it was a deliberately planned nuclear test or it was just an accident," the source in Seoul told Yonhap. "But it doesn't seem to be an ordinary explosion." The source said the explosion took place "not far" from a military base that holds North Korea's Taepo-dong ballistic missiles. North Korea, which has a large missile arsenal and more than a million soldiers, is dotted with military installations. The damage and crater left by the explosion in Kim Hyong Jik county was big enough to be noticed by a satellite, a source in Beijing told Yonhap. North Korea was founded on Sept. 9, 1948. Leader Kim Jong Il uses the anniversary to stage performances and other events to bolster loyalty among the impoverished North Korean population. South Korea ( - )'s Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said the government was trying to confirm the report about the explosion. "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 explosion on Thursday was bigger than the Ryongchon train explosion, which devastated a wide area, Yonhap said. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
