Seoul to pin down nature of North's blast
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-09-14 14:36

South Korea is seeking independent verification on the nature of a huge blast in North Korea last week, which its neighbor has said was linked to a hydroelectric scheme, Seoul's defense minister said on Tuesday.

This picture taken by South Korean satellite Arirang-1 on September 26, 2000, shows a part of Kimhyungjik county in North Korea's northern Ryanggang province. [Reuters]

Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-woong said South Korea would use its intelligence channels and satellite images to check on the source of the blast in a northern region of the North that was big enough to raise concerns it might be a nuclear test.

"The weather is clear, so we should be able to take satellite images today and tomorrow and analyze them," Yoon told pool reporters ahead of a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. "We should be able to confirm the site of the explosion," he said.

North Korea's official KCNA news agency said on Monday that reports of a large accidental explosion at the site or a nuclear test was a "preposterous smear campaign."

"Probably, plot-breeders might tell such a sheer lie, taken aback by blastings at construction sites of hydropower stations in the north of Korea," KCNA said.

On Monday, North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun told visiting British Foreign Office minister Bill Rammell that the blast was intended to clear the way for a hydroelectric plant.

A South Korean woman in Seoul September 12, 2004 reads a local newspaper which reports an explosion occurred in North Korea. [Reuters]

Hydroelectric experts in Seoul questioned the explanation, saying the relatively small Huchang river in the area made it an unlikely site for a major hydropower plant.

Go Duk-gu, a hydropower plant expert at the Korea Water Resources Corp., said the idea was "not economically feasible."

"Considering the basin size of the Huchang river and the amount of rainfall in the blasted region, the construction of a dam for such a purpose is hard to understand," he said.

South Korean media also questioned the North's explanation.

The Chosun Ilbo newspaper quoted a North Korean familiar with the region who said the body of water in the area was not sufficient for a large power plant.

Oh Byung-hyun, a civil engineering expert on dam construction, said a powerful blast of the kind last week was not suitable to create a precise surface on rocky cliffs needed for a hydroelectric power plant.

"Looking at media reports, it looks more like a bomb explosion than a controlled demolition," he said.

South Korea and the United States have denied that a nuclear test was the cause of the explosion, but concerns have lingered about the reliability of intelligence gathering focused on the North.

The region in Ryanggang province is believed to be near an underground missile base.

South Korean officials said on Tuesday they needed more time for an objective analysis. They have said satellite images taken on the night of Sept. 8, when the blast occurred, and morning of Sept. 9 were inconclusive because of cloudy conditions.

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