Yongjori missile base

North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun said the blast in the northeastern region of Yanggang, bordering China, was intentional, following a request for information from British Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell, who was visiting Pyongyang, the BBC said on its Web site.

South Korean and U.S. officials said Sept. 12 that a huge mushroom cloud that reportedly billowed up from North Korea on Sept. 9 was not caused by a nuclear test, but that the cause was a mystery.

Some South Korean officials said there were two blasts, one at 11 p.m. Sept. 8 and the other at 1 a.m. Sept. 9, the 56th anniversary of North Korea's founding -- an occasion when the nation might show off any new technology -- about 10 km from a missile base, in a mountainous area off-limits to outsiders. The base has tunnels for storing, deploying and launching up to 20 medium-range Nodong missiles, according to the Center for Non-proliferation Studies in Monterey, California.

South Korean media reported Sept. 13 that an accident at an underground munitions depot or a weapons factory was the likely cause of the explosion.

The Japan Times Weekly: Sept. 18, 2004
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