NEW: North Korea allows Foreign Diplomats to visit Explosion Site, page 1

North Korea, in a rather surprising turn, is allowing Foreign Diplomats to visit the site of an explosion witnessed by many last week. An explosion so great it was visible in both China and South Korea. North Korea states that they blew up a mountain as part of a plan to build a water-powered electricity generator.

www.vrtnieuws.net
Noord-Korea laat buitenlandse diploma-
ten de plek bezoeken waar een zware
ontploffing heeft plaatsgevonden.

Die toezegging is gedaan aan een Britse
staatssecretaris die uitzonderlijk op
bezoek is in de hoofdstad Pyongyang.

Vorige week is het noorden van het land
opgeschrikt door een grote ontploffing.
Die is opgemerkt in buurland China en
op die manier bekendgeraakt.

Volgens het Noord-Koreaanse regime is
er een berg opzettelijk opgeblazen om
een waterkrachtcentrale te bouwen. Van
een eventuele nucleaire proef is geen
sprake, zegt Noord-Korea.

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North Korea has given this permission to a British Diplomat that is currently visiting Pyongyang.

More info as the story develops.

CNN covers the story too

After several days of speculation over the cause of the massive cloud, North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun offered the explanation in a meeting with British Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell.

"The foreign minister told Rammell that the large explosion several days ago was part of a planned demolition of a mountain for the construction of a hydroelectric plant," according to a statement Monday from the British Foreign Office.

"North Korea's foreign minister says suggestions that it was anything else are lies," the statement said.

Rammell asked that international diplomats be allowed to inspect the site, and the Foreign Office said North Korea has agreed to the request.

North Korea's vice foreign minister for Europe, Kung Sok Ung, said Britain's ambassador to Pyongyang, David Slinn, could go to the site as soon as Tuesday

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[edit on 13-9-2004 by thematrix]

[edit on 9-13-2004 by Valhall]