When major explosions occur in any part of the world —complete with mushroom clouds reminiscent of those associated withthe nuclear explosions of World War II — people tend tonotice. When those explosions occur in remote areas of northernNorth Korea, people just get confused.
The initial reports from Yonhap, a South Korean news agency,were frightening and unsettling. A large blast (complete withmushroom cloud) had been reported Sept. 9, the 56th anniversary ofthe founding of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.These reports claimed the blast was nuclear because of themushroom-like plume billowing forth from the explosion.
Adding to this shadow of uncertainty around the explosion arethe words of Mohamed ElBaradei, the director general of theInternational Atomic Energy Agency.
“I think it’s unlikely, but we are not there andcannot validate this conclusion for sure,” he said in aninterview with CNN.
This indicates the true nature of the blast still isunknown.
Associated Press reports are claiming the explosion was adeliberateattempt to clear the side of a mountain for ahydroelectricity project. North Korea’s dictator Kim Jung-Ilclaimed South Koreans fabricated the story as part of a”smear campaign” against its neighbors to the north inan effort to hide thier own secret program of uranium enrichment in2000.
North Korea’s official state news agency, the KoreanCentral News Agency, said, “The story about the explosion isnothing but a sheer fabrication intended to divert elsewhere theworld’s public attention focused on the nuclear-related issueof South Korea.”
North Korea’s government is repressive regime. All press,and almost every other facet of existence, is state-controlled.Religion has been outlawed in the country and the U.S. CentralIntelligence Agency’s Web site claims “autonomousreligious activities now [are] almost nonexistent;government-sponsored religious groups exist to provide illusion ofreligious freedom.”
This repressiveness makes ascertaining the exact details of theexplosion almost impossible.
Kim Jung-Il, the eccentric “Great Leader” of theDPRK —who claims he was born atop the sacred mount Paektuunder a double rainbow — also has an obsession with obtainingnuclear weapons and also is part of the “axis of evil”President George W. Bush mentioned in the 2003 State of the Unionaddress. The South Korean Central Intelligence Agency oncedescribed Kim Jung-Il as an “unstable madman, acognac-swilling playboy serviced by a team of women known as the‘Pleasure Squad’ when he is not watching Daffy Duckcartoons.”
The explosion initially thought to be a nuclear bomb possiblycould be only the clearing of a side of a mountain for ahydroelectric plant. But, the exact details remain a mysterybecause of North Korea’s extreme secrecy.
This lack of transparency gives added stress to democraticnations around the world because Kim Jung-Il also is the absoluteruler of the world’s fourth largest standing military.Because of his massive military might and relentless quest fornuclear weapons capabilties, Kim Jung-Il and his mysteriousexplosions will be a threat the rest of the world should keep aclose eye on.
