Ryanggang explosion
Encyclopedia
The Ryanggang explosion was a large explosion
that took place in North Korea
on 9 September 2004 in the northern province
of Ryanggang. The nature and cause of the suspected explosion is the subject of speculation. No neighboring nations have claimed any detection of radioactive isotopes characteristic of a nuclear explosion.
in Ryanggang. This is in a mountainous region, about 1.5 km above sea level. The explosion was about 30 km from the border with China
. The area contains several military
installations, including munitions factories
and a secret underground military base suspected to contain a uranium
enrichment
plant. The Yongjori Missile Base was 10 km northeast of the explosion.
Early reports said that seismic activity had been detected early on 9 September 2004, and this was correlated with a "strangely shaped cloud", suspected to be a mushroom cloud
. Together these would indicate a large explosion. The date, 9 September 2004, the 56th anniversary
of the formation of North Korea, was taken as significant; North Korea has a history of making grand military gestures on significant dates. However, the original reports have been contradicted by later reports denying that there was any explosion.
n news agency Yonhap
cited a source in Beijing
, China
, which said a mushroom cloud
had been seen. Suspicion was raised by the fact that there was no mention of the explosion on internal North Korean media
. However, North Korean news is usually a method employed by governing figures to make the ruling party's decisions more favourable to the people (national and internationally), therefore unfavourable stories are commonly not broadcast. The Ryongchon disaster
earlier in 2004 was reported only several days after the event.
There was immediate popular speculation that the explosion was nuclear
in origin. United States Secretary of State
Colin Powell
said there was "no indication" that it was nuclear, and South Korea
similarly said that it did not appear to be nuclear. It would be some days before the effects of a nuclear explosion would be unequivocally visible to apolitical authorities. It would not be possible to hide the nuclear nature of such an explosion for long, as the radioactive isotopes created by a nuclear explosion would be detectable to outside observers around the world.
, Paek Nam-sun
, officially stated that the explosion "was in fact the deliberate demolition
of a mountain
as part of a huge hydroelectric project". North Korea announced on 13 September 2004 that the British
ambassador
, David Slinn
, would be permitted to visit the site. Diplomats from the United Kingdom, Sweden
, Germany
, the Czech Republic
, Poland
, Russia
and Mongolia
visited what was purported to be the site on 16 September 2004, and reported having seen a hydroelectric project under construction. However, South Korea said the diplomats had been in the wrong place, about 100 km from the suspected explosion site.
(UTC +9) on 8 September 2004 at Mount Baekdu, about 100 km from the suspected blast site.
concerning its nuclear program with the United States
, South Korea
, the People's Republic of China
, Russia
, and Japan
. North Korea was insisting on a delay before a fourth round of talks, citing recently-revealed South Korean nuclear research programs
. On 14 September 2004, a British envoy said that North Korea was still committed to the talks, but on 27 September 2004, the KCNA
(North Korea's state news agency) reported that resumption of the talks was out of the question until the United States
made certain concessions. It is unclear what effects the explosion might have on the talks, if continued, or on the negotiations concerning resumption of the talks.
Since the initial days, there has been essentially no followup reporting in Western media.
On 28 September, North Korea
n Vice Foreign Minister Choi Su-heon announced at the United Nations General Assembly
that it had turned plutonium from 8,000 spent fuel rods into nuclear weapons as a deterrent against the US nuclear threat. Six-nation talks on the nuclear issue, which were due to resume, were instead suspended. As of this date, analysts believed North Korea had ruled out further talks until after the United States presidential election
in November 2008.
Things that could cause the physical phenomena observed:
If there were an explosion, the main possible causes:
Finally, another way to divide up explosion hypotheses is by how intentional it was:
With this dearth of solid information, the reactions from North Korea and other states form part of the reasoning of most interesting hypotheses. There is little solid information to go on: most statements are hedged, no one has been caught unequivocally lying, and the stakes are potentially high enough for all interested states to hide the truth from the public. The only really certain conclusion that can be drawn is that those states in the know are united in not wishing to make a public diplomatic incident out of whatever has happened.
North Korea's claim to possess nuclear weapons on 10 February 2005 gives the nuclear testing or accident hypotheses some credibility. However, no neighboring nations have claimed any detection of radioactive isotopes which would be characteristic of either. On 9 October 2006, North Korea claimed to have tested its first nuclear weapon (see 2006 North Korean nuclear test
for more details).
Explosion
An explosion is a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner, usually with the generation of high temperatures and the release of gases. An explosion creates a shock wave. If the shock wave is a supersonic detonation, then the source of the blast is called a "high explosive"...
that took place in North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
on 9 September 2004 in the northern province
Administrative divisions of North Korea
The administrative divisions of North Korea are organized into three hierarchical levels. Many of the units have equivalents in the system of South Korea. At the highest level are nine provinces, two directly governed cities, and three special administrative divisions. The second-level divisions...
of Ryanggang. The nature and cause of the suspected explosion is the subject of speculation. No neighboring nations have claimed any detection of radioactive isotopes characteristic of a nuclear explosion.
The suspected explosion
The suspected explosion was located near the town of Yongjo-ri (41°19'47"N 127°05'02"E) in the county of KimhyŏngjikKimhyongjik
Kimhyŏngjik County is a kun of Ryanggang Province, North Korea. Formerly known as Huch'ang County, it was renamed in 1988 after Kim Il Sung's father, Kim Hyŏng-jik.The 2004 Ryanggang explosion occurred at Yongjo-ri in this county.-Geography:...
in Ryanggang. This is in a mountainous region, about 1.5 km above sea level. The explosion was about 30 km from the border with China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. The area contains several military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
installations, including munitions factories
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
and a secret underground military base suspected to contain a uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
enrichment
Isotope separation
Isotope separation is the process of concentrating specific isotopes of a chemical element by removing other isotopes, for example separating natural uranium into enriched uranium and depleted uranium. This is a crucial process in the manufacture of uranium fuel for nuclear power stations, and is...
plant. The Yongjori Missile Base was 10 km northeast of the explosion.
Early reports said that seismic activity had been detected early on 9 September 2004, and this was correlated with a "strangely shaped cloud", suspected to be a mushroom cloud
Mushroom cloud
A mushroom cloud is a distinctive pyrocumulus mushroom-shaped cloud of condensed water vapor or debris resulting from a very large explosion. They are most commonly associated with nuclear explosions, but any sufficiently large blast will produce the same sort of effect. They can be caused by...
. Together these would indicate a large explosion. The date, 9 September 2004, the 56th anniversary
Anniversary
An anniversary is a day that commemorates or celebrates a past event that occurred on the same day of the year as the initial event. For example, the first event is the initial occurrence or, if planned, the inaugural of the event. One year later would be the first anniversary of that event...
of the formation of North Korea, was taken as significant; North Korea has a history of making grand military gestures on significant dates. However, the original reports have been contradicted by later reports denying that there was any explosion.
Reaction
The incident was not reported internationally until 12 September 2004, when the South KoreaSouth Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n news agency Yonhap
Yonhap
Yonhap News Agency is South Korea's largest news agency. It is a publicly-funded company, and based in Seoul, South Korea. Yonhap supplies domestic, foreign news and other information to newspaper, TV broadcast and other media in South Korea.-History:...
cited a source in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, which said a mushroom cloud
Mushroom cloud
A mushroom cloud is a distinctive pyrocumulus mushroom-shaped cloud of condensed water vapor or debris resulting from a very large explosion. They are most commonly associated with nuclear explosions, but any sufficiently large blast will produce the same sort of effect. They can be caused by...
had been seen. Suspicion was raised by the fact that there was no mention of the explosion on internal North Korean media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
. However, North Korean news is usually a method employed by governing figures to make the ruling party's decisions more favourable to the people (national and internationally), therefore unfavourable stories are commonly not broadcast. The Ryongchon disaster
Ryongchon disaster
The Ryongchŏn disaster was a train disaster that occurred in the town of Ryongchŏn, North Korea, near the border with the People's Republic of China on April 22, 2004....
earlier in 2004 was reported only several days after the event.
There was immediate popular speculation that the explosion was nuclear
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
in origin. United States Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Colin Powell
Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
said there was "no indication" that it was nuclear, and South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
similarly said that it did not appear to be nuclear. It would be some days before the effects of a nuclear explosion would be unequivocally visible to apolitical authorities. It would not be possible to hide the nuclear nature of such an explosion for long, as the radioactive isotopes created by a nuclear explosion would be detectable to outside observers around the world.
From North Korea
North Korea initially denied that the explosion was nuclear. When prompted for an explanation, North Korea's foreign ministerForeign minister
A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government . It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in...
, Paek Nam-sun
Paek Nam-sun
Paek Nam-sun was the North Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1998 until his death. He was one of the few North Koreans to frequently be in the international spotlight.-Early years:...
, officially stated that the explosion "was in fact the deliberate demolition
Demolition
Demolition is the tearing-down of buildings and other structures, the opposite of construction. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apart while carefully preserving valuable elements for re-use....
of a mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
as part of a huge hydroelectric project". North Korea announced on 13 September 2004 that the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
, David Slinn
David Slinn
David Arthur Slinn CMG OBE is a British diplomat. Slinn was the first British ambassador to North Korea. Slinn was head of the Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team between 2007-08. He has also held posts in Geneva, Ulan Bator, Pretoria, Tirana, Belgrade, and Pristina.-External links:* *...
, would be permitted to visit the site. Diplomats from the United Kingdom, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
visited what was purported to be the site on 16 September 2004, and reported having seen a hydroelectric project under construction. However, South Korea said the diplomats had been in the wrong place, about 100 km from the suspected explosion site.
From South Korea
On 17 September 2004, South Korean Vice Minister of unification Rhee Bong-jo claimed that there was no explosion at all at the purported site, saying the supposed mushroom cloud was a natural cloud formation (mushroom clouds form from many types of large explosions, not only nuclear detonations). On the same day the Korea Earthquake Research Center reported that the only seismic activity in Ryanggang province in the period in question was at 23:24 Korea Standard TimeKorea Standard Time
Korea Standard Time is the standard time zone in North and South Korea and is 9 hours ahead of UTC : i.e., when it is midnight UTC, it is 9 am Korea Standard Time. Korea does not currently observe daylight saving time but has experimented with it in the past...
(UTC +9) on 8 September 2004 at Mount Baekdu, about 100 km from the suspected blast site.
North Korean disarmament talks
At the time of the blast, North Korea was under pressure to again resume six-way diplomatic talksSix-party talks
The six-party talks aim to find a peaceful resolution to the security concerns as a result of the North Korean nuclear weapons program.There has been a series of meetings with six participating states:* The Democratic People's Republic of Korea ;...
concerning its nuclear program with the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. North Korea was insisting on a delay before a fourth round of talks, citing recently-revealed South Korean nuclear research programs
South Korean nuclear research programs
In August 2004, South Korea revealed the extent of its highly secretive and sensitive nuclear research programs to the IAEA, including some experiments which were conducted without the obligatory reporting to the International Atomic Energy Agency called for by South Korea's safeguards agreement...
. On 14 September 2004, a British envoy said that North Korea was still committed to the talks, but on 27 September 2004, the KCNA
Korean Central News Agency
The Korean Central News Agency is the state news agency of North Korea and has existed since December 5, 1946. KCNA is headquartered in the capital city of Pyongyang...
(North Korea's state news agency) reported that resumption of the talks was out of the question until the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
made certain concessions. It is unclear what effects the explosion might have on the talks, if continued, or on the negotiations concerning resumption of the talks.
Since the initial days, there has been essentially no followup reporting in Western media.
On 28 September, North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
n Vice Foreign Minister Choi Su-heon announced at the United Nations General Assembly
United Nations General Assembly
For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
that it had turned plutonium from 8,000 spent fuel rods into nuclear weapons as a deterrent against the US nuclear threat. Six-nation talks on the nuclear issue, which were due to resume, were instead suspended. As of this date, analysts believed North Korea had ruled out further talks until after the United States presidential election
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
in November 2008.
Cause
There has been a great deal of speculation on the nature of the incident. Hypotheses can be divided on several axes.Things that could cause the physical phenomena observed:
- A large chemical explosiveChemical explosiveThe vast majority of explosives are chemical explosives. Explosives usually have less potential energy than fuels, but their high rate of energy release produces a great blast pressure...
blast. - A forest fire. The United States National Security Advisor, Condoleezza RiceCondoleezza RiceCondoleezza Rice is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...
, said "maybe it was ... some kind of forest fire". The YonhapYonhapYonhap News Agency is South Korea's largest news agency. It is a publicly-funded company, and based in Seoul, South Korea. Yonhap supplies domestic, foreign news and other information to newspaper, TV broadcast and other media in South Korea.-History:...
news agency also quoted a source suggesting a forest fire. - A natural cumulonimbus cloudCumulonimbus cloudCumulonimbus is a towering vertical cloud that is very tall, dense, and involved in thunderstorms and other inclement weather. Cumulonimbus originates from Latin: Cumulus "Heap" and nimbus "rain". It is a result of atmospheric instability. These clouds can form alone, in clusters, or along a cold...
formation.
If there were an explosion, the main possible causes:
- North Korea's official explanation of demolition for a hydroelectric project.
- A nuclear weaponNuclear weaponA nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
test or demonstration. There had been reported recent intelligence that North Korea might have been planning its first nuclear bomb test, and the significant date lends credence to this hypothesis. However, it would be strange for North Korea to then deny it, and international officials have said that it does not appear to have been a nuclear explosion. (Later updates in intelligence suggested that the test planning may have not been what it appeared to be.) - A nuclear accident. Likewise, it has been denied that the explosion was nuclear.
- A large chemical explosiveChemical explosiveThe vast majority of explosives are chemical explosives. Explosives usually have less potential energy than fuels, but their high rate of energy release produces a great blast pressure...
blast, to calibrate for a later nuclear test. - Explosion of a munitions dump or of explosives in a munitions factory.
Finally, another way to divide up explosion hypotheses is by how intentional it was:
- Intended by North Korea.
- Accidental. North Korea's failing economy has made its industry accident-prone, as seen in the Ryongchon disasterRyongchon disasterThe Ryongchŏn disaster was a train disaster that occurred in the town of Ryongchŏn, North Korea, near the border with the People's Republic of China on April 22, 2004....
earlier in 2004. - Covert operationCovert operationA covert operation is a military, intelligence or law enforcement operation that is carried clandestinely and, often, outside of official channels. Covert operations aim to fulfill their mission objectives without any parties knowing who sponsored or carried out the operation...
by a foreign state. - Military/terrorist action connected with an internal power struggle.
With this dearth of solid information, the reactions from North Korea and other states form part of the reasoning of most interesting hypotheses. There is little solid information to go on: most statements are hedged, no one has been caught unequivocally lying, and the stakes are potentially high enough for all interested states to hide the truth from the public. The only really certain conclusion that can be drawn is that those states in the know are united in not wishing to make a public diplomatic incident out of whatever has happened.
North Korea's claim to possess nuclear weapons on 10 February 2005 gives the nuclear testing or accident hypotheses some credibility. However, no neighboring nations have claimed any detection of radioactive isotopes which would be characteristic of either. On 9 October 2006, North Korea claimed to have tested its first nuclear weapon (see 2006 North Korean nuclear test
2006 North Korean nuclear test
The 2006 North Korean nuclear test was the detonation of a nuclear device conducted on October 9, 2006 by North Korea.North Korea announced its intention to conduct a test on October 3, six days prior, and in doing so became the first nation to give warning of its first nuclear test...
for more details).
See also
- List of Korea-related topics
- North Korea and weapons of mass destructionNorth Korea and weapons of mass destructionNorth Korea has declared that it has nuclear weapons and is believed by many to have nuclear weapons. The CIA assesses that North Korea also has a substantial arsenal of chemical weapons...
- Behind Enemy Lines II: Axis of Evil (direct-to-videoDirect-to-videoDirect-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
action filmAction filmAction film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
based on the enemy action theory of the explosion.)
External links
- BBC News: N. Korea blast 'was not nuclear'
- BBC News: UK demands N. Korea explain blast
- BBC News: N. Korea allows blast site visit
- BBC News: N. Korea 'will talk' says UK envoy
- Nuclear Test in North Korea? (commentary suggesting that the blast was in fact nuclear)
- HoustonChronicle.com: North Korea: Talks depend on South
- Digital Chosunilbo: Signs Indicate No Explosion Occurred in N. Korea's Kim Hyong-jik County
- China Daily: No explosion at all
- KCNA Blasts U.S. for Overturning Groundwork of Six-party Talks