The Ryongchon Disaster

It is impossible to obtain information from North Korea, thus it is understandable that the details of the Ryongchon accident are vague. According to one source, 10,000 homes were devastated, and 150 people perished. At first, the Red Cross reported 54 deaths whereas South Korean reports reported 3,000. The explanation for everything was also vague.

Around 13:00 local time, flammable goods exploded at Ryongchon Station, causing a calamity (04:00 GMT) Possibly two gasoline trains collided. But the Red Cross claimed that explosives, not fuel, were being transported by the trains. And according to one account, electricity cables rather than a collision were to blame when they collapsed on a train hauling ammunition.

An assassination attempt on Kim Jong-il, who had been in the vicinity, according to a former US ambassador to South Korea. Shortly after the occurrence, the nation switched off the phone lines, preventing any further information from spreading, and the incident is still as clear as we have described it.

• Year:2004
• Damage: remains vague