Huge mushroom cloud, explosion near N. Korean-Chinese border

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 Yonhap news agency, citing an unidentified source in Beijing, said the explosion happened Thursday in Yanggang province near the border with China. The explosion in Kim Hyong Jik county blasted a crater big enough to be noticed by a satellite, the source said. (more...)

...and with Iran 10 months or so away from possibly developing their own nukes, it looks like Washington is dropping the F-bomb right about now.

The NYTimes interestingly reports:

While the indications were viewed as serious enough to warrant a warning to the White House, American intelligence agencies appear divided about the significance of the new North Korean actions, much as they were about the evidence concerning Iraq's alleged weapons stockpiles. (more...)

They couldn't resist putting that last bit in there, could they? And I don't know about you, but large mushroom shape clouds are enough to convince me something ain't right over in them there parts of the world.

Kim will likely publicly state tomorrow to the world, "It's just for developing clean, efficient nuclear powa!"

I don't remember ever hearing about New Jersey setting off a mushroom cloud explosion next to the Delaware border when they constructed the Salem Nuclear Plant. Shady, I tell you.

You have to admit, it was truly ballzy to test the "whatever caused the mushroom cloud to occur" so close to the Chinese border.

When you are this sexy, I guess you can do anything.

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What?? You don't have a registration name and password to the NY Slimes? Pity you. But lucky you, kyer has one for you.
Login Name= refuse Password= registration
If this doesn't work for yaz, rock www.bugmenot.com

P.S. I'm so glad Geraldo is never on TV until after midnite when no one cares. Unfortunately, I'm still awake and subjected to this torture.

P.P.S. This white guy on Geraldo's show just tried to pronounce Cuba like he was Hispanic. He said "Coobuh." That was cute.

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UPDATE: (00:05 AM) According to S. Korea's "unification minister," Chung Dong-young in comments to reporters, "Seoul's assessment so far was the explosion was unlikely to have been linked to the North's nuclear arms ambitions." Who is he trying to kid?

I've just scoured several English-translated S. Korean newspapers and failed to find any updates. I find it odd Japan and China have yet to comment on this incident either. Nothing from the South China Morning Post or Xinhua News Agency in China and the Japanese press is just laughable. Something is not quite right here...

UPDATE: (01:43 AM) Apparently, Sean @ The American Mind thinks so, too. He has actually gone so far as to check out seismograph reports from U.S. Geological Survey stations in Alaska. Good work.

UPDATE: (11:25 AM) "There are all kinds of reports and there are all kinds of assessments that are going on. Maybe it was a fire, some kind of forest fire,"

UPDATE: (1:33 PM) "There was no indication that was a nuclear event of any kind. Exactly what it was, we're not sure," - Secretary Powell

That was one heck of a forest fire there, Colin. Communist countries don't have fire prevention and safety programs? No "Smokeyev, Secretary of Soviet Fire Resources"?

Posted by Kyer at September 12, 2004 01:10 AM