SBS뉴스

4월22일 북조선 룡천에서 발생한 열차폭발사고는 김정일을 암살하기 위한 것으로 보인다고 6월13일자 TELEGRAPH가 보도했다.



그 이유는, 사고 원인을 조사하고 있는 북조선 관리들은 질산암모늄과 유류를 폭발시키기 위해서 휴대전화가 사용되었다고 믿고 있다는 것이다.



사고현장에서 접착테이프가 붙어있는 휴대전화가 발견되었으며, 이 휴대전화 사용자를 추적했는데 이 사용자가 현재 어떻게 되었는지 알려지지 않고 있다고 한다. 휴대전화를 이용해서 TNT 등을 폭발시키는 것은 팔레스타인 아랍 테러리스트들이 이스라엘에 테러공격을 할 때 사용하기도 한다.



휴대전화를 이용해 원격폭발을 일으킬 수 있는 것을 발견한 북조선 당국은 현재 북조선 인민들의 휴대전화를 몰수해 사용하지 못하게 조치를 취해 놓았다.



현재 북조선은 김정일이 탄 특급열차가 지나고 수시간후에 룡천에서 대형폭발사고가 일어났다는 것에 대해 인민들이 청취할 수 있는 국내방송에서는 일절 보도하지 않고 있다.



북조선이 휴전선 일대에서 상호비방방송을 중지하자고 한국군과 장성급 회담을 한 이유도 조선인민군들이 룡천 열차폭발사고에 대한 정보를 한국측으로부터 입수함으로써 동요하게 될 것을 두려워했기 때문인 것으로 보인다.









[TELEGRAPH]



Train blast was 'a plot to kill North Korea's leader'



By Sergey Soukhorukov in Pyongyang



(Filed: 13/06/2004)



Officials investigating the devastating North Korean train

explosion in April now believe that the blast was an

assassination attempt on the country's leader, Kim Jong-il.



At the time, the secretive Communist state described the

explosion in the border town of Ryongchon as an accident.

Electric cables were believed to have ignited a cargo of

explosive chemicals and oil.



Now, however, officials close to the investigation believe

that a mobile telephone was used to detonate the train's

deadly cargo of ammonium nitrate and fuel. The remains of a

mobile handset, with adhesive tape attached, have been found

at the scene of the blast.



Hours before the train exploded, killing more than 160

people and injuring 1,300, Mr Kim passed through the town by

train on his way back from China.



"They still don't know who planted the explosives, if indeed

there were any," one official said. "It's very difficult to

find any sign, as they would have used only a small amount

to detonate a huge amount of ammonium nitrate.



"You don't even need TNT to detonate it - it is enough just

to create a high temperature."



The official said that they were not yet totally convinced

that the blast was an assassination attempt, but that the

theory had become the main thrust of the secret inquiry. "A

short-circuit might have been responsible, but evidence they

have is quite convincing that it was not."



Mr Kim's itinerary was frequently altered for security

reasons, he said, which probably saved his life.



The owner of the mobile telephone found at the scene had

been traced and questioned, according to the official, but

it was unclear what had happened to him.



It would not have been the first assassination attempt

against Mr Kim, who succeeded his father Kim Il Sung as

leader in 1994. At the end of the 1990s, a plan hatched by a

number of Korean army generals was uncovered, and the

conspirators arrested.



After they were interrogated, the generals were executed in

Pyongyang's 150,000-capacity May Day Stadium. Petrol was

poured over them and set alight, burning them alive.



In light of the Ryongchon evidence, Pyongyang has banned

North Koreans from using mobile telephones, hoping to

prevent a repeat attack. The sudden decision, made a

fortnight ago, dealt a severe blow to the state-owned mobile

telephone operator, the only one in the country, which had

just started to make a profit.



Initially, the mobile service was suspended. Later, handsets

were confiscated from nearly 10,000 private and corporate

owners by officials from the Ministry of People's Security

(MPS). The official reason given was that the regime was

struggling to intercept and control conversations, given the

explosion in mobile telephone customers.



Aggrieved North Koreans, who had to pay about $360 (￡200)

for a simple handset - the average monthly wage is about $4

(￡2.20) - complain that they have been left in the lurch.



They are unaware of the secret inquiry into the train blast -

indeed most ordinary North Koreans know little about the

explosion. The strictly-controlled state media has never

mentioned that Mr Kim's train passed through Ryongchon a few

hours before the explosion.



"I really needed the mobile for work," said one employee of

a North Korean-Chinese joint venture. "Now I waste a huge

amount of time sitting in the office waiting for calls

instead of doing real business."



Foreigners are still allowed to use mobile telephones but

must buy them locally and pay higher prices for handsets and

calls. They are charged up to ￡470 for the phone and ￡550

for the Sim-card.



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/06/13/wkor13.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/06/13/ixworld.html