|
Home>News Center>World | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Seoul to pin down nature of North's blast 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.
"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.
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
