May 18, 2004

'Source' Notes Syrian Technicians Killed in Yongch'on Train Explosion Incident

A military source familiar with Korean Peninsula
affairs revealed on 6 May that Syrian technicians were killed in a train explosion incident that occurred on 22 April in Yongch'on in the northwestern part of the DPRK and that the damage was especially serious in
that section of the train where the Syrians were aboard, along with large equipment. The same source noted that although the contents of the equipment are unknown, DPRK military-related personnel wearing protective suits arrived on the scene immediately after the explosion and removed debris only from that
section of the train where the Syrian group had been aboard. Consequently, there is a strong likelihood that the accident occurred when military materials were being secretly transported between the DPRK and Syria.

The mystery of this horrible blast continues.
It sounds more and more as if it might have been a small nuke or at least something that had the punch of 800 tons of TNT and that it was 8 times more powerful than the NorKs said it was.
There are 2 schools of thought on the Syrians' presence: some think that Kim Jung-Il was merely shipping weapons to his favorite terrorist pals in Syria who are fighting the U.S. occupation of Iraq and that due to the poor state of North Korea's rail system, an accident occurred setting off whatever munitions were in the train(s).
The relationship between North Korea and Syria, of course, should it prove to be this proactive, keeps his place in the Axis of Evil secure.
The other theory, which I rather like, is that China carried out a hit on Kim with the Syrians' help, because Kim had just gotten to be too much of a problem (although this is an "unhelpful" alliance I'd rather not have the U.S. to deal with).
To the best of my knowledge, "Dear Leader" still hasn't been seen or heard from in public, at least not by the Western media.
Keep your fingers crossed!

[Hat tip to Charles Johnson over at the incomparable Little Green Footballs.]