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Ryongchon Explosion Occurred While Transporting Military Cargo? (Syria, WMD Connection)
www.independent.co.kr ^ | 05/07/04 | Yoo Hae-sung

Posted on 05/07/2004 7:15:07 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster

/begin my translation

Ryongchon Explosion Occurred While Transporting Military Cargo?

Sankei Shimbun, a Japanese Daily, reported on 7th (of May, 2004), "In Ryongchon Blast, Syrian engineers were killed and wounded. A wagon carrying a large cargo had a particularly heavy damage, revealed on 6th (of May, 2004) by a military news source who has great expertise on Korean matters." According to the source, "the content of the cargo is unknown. However, after the accident, N. Korean military personnels in protective suits arrived at the scene, and recovered the remains of the destroyed wagon. We strongly suspect that the accident occurred while transporting a top-secret cargo between N. Korea and Syria."

The paper went on to say, citing the source, "Passengers in the wagon were engineers dispatched from Syria's Scientific Investigation and Research Center(CERS). CERS's goal is promoting science and technology. It is also suspected of a major involvement in the Syria's development of WMD's."

It also reported, "Engineers were in a separate compartment in a wagon from the cargo compartment. It is not clear whether the cargo was the primary source of the explosion or the secondary source after explosion from other wagons. However, it is true that this wagon had the most extensive damage. Close to 10 personnels of both Syrians and N. Koreans were either killed or wounded."

Syrian casualties went home via a Syrian transport plane on May 1st, which was there to pick up the cargo. All personnels involved in the transport (of Syrians), both Syrians and N. Koreans, were again wearing protective suits.

The paper further added, "The behaviors of N. Korea and Syria showed that this cargo is of utmost secret nature, which they never want to disclose. Countries like America suspect that N. Korea and Syria are cooperating the development of Syrian Scud D missiles or chemical weapons."

/end my translation


TOPICS: Breaking News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: explosion; militarycargo; nkorea; nktrainwreck; northkorea; ryongchon; syria; wmd
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To: TigerLikesRooster
"The behaviors of N. Korea and Syria showed that this cargo is of utmost secret nature, which they never want to disclose."

Good post in your usual tradition, TLR. I particularly appreciated the translation warning at the top.

As you recall, several of us saw this development coming a mile away, when the North Koreans (with the complicity of the UN) tried to float the ridiculous story that this was just an accidental explosion caused by the collision of a railway car filled with ammonium nitrate with another railway car carrying fuel oil. That ruse was easy to dissect and destroy.

Good chance that this was a covert operation, but unfortunately, there is even a better chance that this was just another example of Murphy's Law in action. (That and relying on "Terrorism for Dummies" for their operations manual!)

--Boot Hill

81 posted on 05/07/2004 4:18:24 PM PDT by Boot Hill (America...thy hand shall be upon the neck of thine enemies.)
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To: TigerLikesRooster
I think that it was being transported from N. Korean production facilities via rail and loaded on Syrian transport plane waiting at a N. Korean airport.

Yes. I remember reading something about a town along the rail line between Ryongchon and the China border as being a "closed town" requiring special permits for entry. Many of the Ryongchon casualties were brought there but the international medical aide crews were not allowed in. Wonder what they do in this "closed town".

82 posted on 05/07/2004 5:22:47 PM PDT by Mad_Tom_Rackham (Any day you wake up is a good day.)
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To: AmericanInTokyo
China stands as the first country to provide relief goods to the DPRK followed by South Korea, Russia and Syria.

The Syrians just happened to be in the neighborhood so they decided to pitch in with the search and rescue operation.

83 posted on 05/07/2004 5:27:07 PM PDT by Mad_Tom_Rackham (Any day you wake up is a good day.)
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To: menotyu
Look at the pics closely in Post #75. Interesting how the tracks lead up to and end at a building in the Pre-blast pic and in the Post-blast pic, this is precisely where the crater is. Wasn't the initial report that two trains collided? How can they collide on a one-way section?
84 posted on 05/07/2004 6:06:41 PM PDT by Eagle of Liberty
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To: TigerLikesRooster; EODGUY; Cyber Liberty; maxwell
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmn.

85 posted on 05/07/2004 6:08:51 PM PDT by Robert A Cook PE (I can only donate monthly ... But Kerry's ABBCNNBCBS press corpse lies every day.)
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To: Mad_Tom_Rackham
Re #82

Playing with rockets or dangerous chemicals?:)

86 posted on 05/07/2004 6:09:31 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
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To: eastforker; Boot Hill
Don't ask. Don't tell.
87 posted on 05/07/2004 6:13:38 PM PDT by Robert A Cook PE (I can only donate monthly ... But Kerry's ABBCNNBCBS press corpse lies every day.)
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To: menotyu; Boot Hill
Wouldn't you like to get some samples of that "dirt" from the blast area?
88 posted on 05/07/2004 6:16:16 PM PDT by Robert A Cook PE (I can only donate monthly ... But Kerry's ABBCNNBCBS press corpse lies every day.)
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To: Robert A. Cook, PE
Maybe we have some tiny drones to get a thimble full?
89 posted on 05/07/2004 6:35:38 PM PDT by UnbelievingScumOnTheOtherSide (Give Them Liberty Or Give Them Death! - Islam Delenda Est! - Rumble thee forth...)
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To: Buckhead; dufekin
No Dong Jong not dead...
Just Il.
And locked in fetal position somewhere.
90 posted on 05/07/2004 6:39:41 PM PDT by UnbelievingScumOnTheOtherSide (Give Them Liberty Or Give Them Death! - Islam Delenda Est! - Rumble thee forth...)
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To: TigerLikesRooster; Mad_Tom_Rackham
"Playing with rockets or dangerous chemicals?:) Well, maybe they were playing with "rockets and things that go boom in the night" .... BEFORE the explosion.

AFTER the explosion: Fewer rockets, fewer players, and fewer things that go boom in the night.

91 posted on 05/07/2004 6:40:16 PM PDT by Robert A Cook PE (I can only donate monthly ... But Kerry's ABBCNNBCBS press corpse lies every day.)
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To: Reo
Aw c'mon.
Bush doesn't have anything against Kim Jong the Third!
92 posted on 05/07/2004 6:42:48 PM PDT by UnbelievingScumOnTheOtherSide (Give Them Liberty Or Give Them Death! - Islam Delenda Est! - Rumble thee forth...)
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To: Robert A. Cook, PE
"Wouldn't you like to get some samples of that "dirt" from the blast area?"

From the blast area? LOL, after seeing the photos that show the size of the immense crater, I imagine you can get those samples from as far away as the Sea of Japan!

But it does boggle the imagination as to just what explosive substance it was that Syria couldn't make at home and they had to travel all the way to North Korea in order to obtain. Or maybe we have it backwards, maybe Syria brought it to North Korea. Maybe it was something Syria obtained from Iraq, just prior to our invasion. Hmmmm!

One guess, given what North Korea lacks and what is critical to their bomb building program, would be a large supply of RDX or HMX, which is needed to achieve critical mass in the core of a nuke. There just isn't a lot of suitable alternatives to those materials, and they are extremely energy-intensive materials to produce and energy is something is in short supply in the "people's paradise".

If that guess is right, it narrows the possible scenarios as to what happened in the Ryongchon event. There is no (nearly) no chance that the RDX or HMX went off by accident. It could only be an intentional event. It would also explain why the North Koreans are so intent on trying to hide what the explosive substance was.

--Boot Hill

93 posted on 05/07/2004 7:22:59 PM PDT by Boot Hill (America...thy hand shall be upon the neck of thine enemies.)
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To: menotyu
bump ..... whatever was in that train pretty much wiped a good portion of that town off the map.
94 posted on 05/07/2004 8:18:19 PM PDT by Centurion2000 (Resolve to perform what you must; perform without fail that what you resolve.)
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To: Bogey78O
...or else that there is divine providence.

I do seem to recall hearing in early reports that one of the trains was carrying ammonium nitrate, and the other diesel. Sounds like a cargo tailor made for IED's, no?
95 posted on 05/07/2004 8:21:20 PM PDT by XEHRpa
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To: Boot Hill
Please explaine why the long crater was perpendiculer to the tracks and not circuler like most explosions, if you have any idea, please , enlighten us.
96 posted on 05/07/2004 8:28:21 PM PDT by eastforker (The color of justice is green,just ask Johny Cochran!)
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To: Boot Hill
It's a sharp, deep, explicit explosion.

Immediately under the railroad spur track, no on the main line (as was originally implied.) Then again,the original stories aren't necessarily accurate anyway ...Info gets distorted by guesses, smoke, and damage, bad witnesses, etc.

Anyway ... If RDX or explosives were involved, they weren't in 1000-2000 lb "bomb" sized lots - or there would be a series of blasts as each went off. Debris would be thrown also - bomb carcasses and bomb casings from slightly damaged bombs in the outside of the first blast would get thrown around too. Everything indicates it was one explosion from a tightly-packed charge in one box car.

Sure cleaned up the oil-soaked mess that was on the original tracks.
97 posted on 05/07/2004 8:32:09 PM PDT by Robert A Cook PE (I can only donate monthly ... But Kerry's ABBCNNBCBS press corpse lies every day.)
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To: Robert A. Cook, PE
Bump for later read.
98 posted on 05/07/2004 9:13:37 PM PDT by bcoffey (Sen. Kerry: I'm not questioning your service; I'm questioning your sanity!)
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To: eastforker
Please explaine why the long crater was perpendiculer to the tracks and not circuler like most explosions, if you have any idea, please , enlighten us.

I'll take an educated guess. Two possibilities. First, the material that exploded was arranged along a line (i.e., it was distributed along the rails). Thus, if you draw an explosive radius R (a fixed distance) from all the explosive material it will be an oval-like pattern when viewed from above. Second, if the train is moving during the explosion (or series of explosions), the movement of the train affects the pattern that occurs. Both factors might have helped generate the pattern.

I claim no expertise. My parents stopped my home-made firecracker research when I was 14 years old and I haven't revisited that area in over 3 decades.

99 posted on 05/07/2004 9:37:38 PM PDT by BillF (Fight terrorists in Iraq & elsewhere, instead of waiting for them to come to America!)
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To: Grampa Dave; TigerLikesRooster
I agree, a great find indeed! That blast sounded fishy
from day 1, and now to hear SYRIA had 'engineers' there,
killed in the blast, well that speaks VOLUMES!
100 posted on 05/07/2004 10:27:19 PM PDT by Future Useless Eater (FreedomLoving_Engineer)
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