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N. Korea blast fuels Kim's security fears
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SEOUL, April 23 (UPI) -- South Korean officials rule out the possibility of terrorism in the massive train explosion in North Korea, which reportedly left thousands dead or injured. They say the explosion was an accident caused by the collision of fuel-laden trains.
But the train blast is expected to fuel concerns about security of the country's reclusive leader Kim Jong Il, who already feels nervous about his personnel safety, analysts say.
The explosion, which destroyed most part of a border town moncler jacken kaufen, the country's major transportation and industrial hub, would also deliver a huge blow to North Korea's sputtering economy heavily dependent on shipments from China.
Two trains carrying oil and liquefied petroleum gas collided and exploded in the northwest North Korean town of Ryongchon, about 12 miles from China, around 2 p.m. Thursday. As many as 3,000 people are thought to be killed or injured, according to South Korean media reports.
North Korean authorities have reportedly declared a state of emergency in the area following the explosion that occurred at a railway station nine hours after its leader Kim Jong Il passed through on his return from a three-day trip to China. The authorities also cut off international telephone lines, apparently to prevent details of the crash from leaking out moncler blouson, Seoul's Yonhap News Agency said boutique moncler, quoting Korean residents in a Chinese town bordering North Korea.
The incident touched off speculation that the explosion may have been an attempt to assassinate the North Korean dictator, who rules people suffering from starvation with an iron fist.
But Seoul's Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun, who is in charge of Seoul's relations with North Korea moncler gnstig, said the explosion appeared to be an "tragic accident" and not linked to the North Korean leader's trip through the station.
"It's my understanding that a collision occurred followed by an explosion while a cargo train carrying petroleum was being moved onto railways in Ryongchon Station," Jeong said in a press briefing.
"Because the blast occurred long after Kim passed, it appeared to be purely an accident," he said. "The explosion is a deeply regrettable accident and I convey my condolences to victims of the accident."
A South Korean intelligence official also ruled out terrorism. "It appears to be nothing more than a disaster caused by North Korea's aged infrastructure," he told United Press International.
Most of the country's dilapidated railway infrastructure was constructed during the 1910-1945 Japanese colonial period. Trains are seldom punctual and frequently break down. They are prone to accidents due to a deterioration of the transportation system www.monclerbransonjacken.com, according to North Korean defectors in Seoul. Massive train accidents in 2000 and 1997 in the North killed or injured 1 moncler jacken kinder,000 and 2,000 people, respectively.
Some the raise possibility that the railway tracks at the Ryongchon station, which were changed for the passage of Kim Jong-Il's special train at 3 a.m. Thursday, were not restored to the original state, leading the deadly collision of the two fuel-laden trains.
"The explosion seems not an assassination attempt but an accident, but it surely deals a major psychological blow to Mr. Kim," said Nam Sung-wook, a North Korea specialist at Korea University. "The incident is sure to revive Kim's fears about his security. He is expected to strengthen his security," he said.
Nam also said the North Korean leader may be further reluctant to conduct public activities in the aftermath of the train blast. When the U.S.-led war started in Iraq last year www.doudounemonclergilet.org, Kim vanished from public view for six weeks, sparking speculation he was hiding in a bunker for fear of attacks.
"Out of his security concerns, Mr. Kim is likely to refrain from traveling to South Korea to carry out his promise to make a return visit to Seoul, or other foreign nations," Nam said.
The massive explosion at the railway station is also expected to deal a heavy blow to energy-hungry North Korean economy. Ryongchon, which has a reported population of 130,000 moncler billig, is known as the North's transportation hub and is home to a petrochemical complex. Most of Chinese energy and food aid reach Pyongyang and elsewhere in the North through the Ryongchon station.
Crude oil imported by China is refined in Ryongchon before being distributed across the country. "China provides some 300,000 tons of oil in aid to North Korea annually. But widespread destruction of Ryongchon would upset the country's distribution networks and facilities moncler herren jacken," Nam said. The fuel carried by the two collided trains is also part of the Chinese aid, he said.
North Korea's isolation, caused by a prolonged nuclear standoff with the United States and its allies, has forced the communist country to deepen its reliance on China for economic survival.
The North's imports of Chinese fuel increased by 53.2 percent to $187 million last year from the previous year after the United States and its allies stopped an annual shipment of 500,000 tons of fuel oil in retaliation for Pyongyang's revival of its nuclear weapons program. South Korean officials say China has provided between 70 percent and 90 percent of North Korea's oil and more than one-third of its imports and food aid.
"It would be ironic if the tragic accident served as an occasion to help North Korea emerge from decades-long isolation," Prof. Nam said.
South Korea and the United States have offered emergency help for North Korea on humanitarian grounds.
But to gain much-needed international relief aid, North Korea is required to make public the catastrophic train explosion and make formal appeals for help. However, the North has remained silent on the disaster so far, despite confirmation from China.
