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"룡천역 폭발은 김정일 암살기도 가능성" < 英신문 >



폭발사건 현장에서 휴대전화 기폭장치 발견



연합뉴스 2004/06/13 18:12 송고



(런던=연합뉴스) 이창섭 특파원 = 북한 관리들은 지난 4월 발생한 북한 룡천역 열차 폭발사건이 김정일(金正日) 국방위원장에 대한 암살기도였을 가능성이 있는 것으로 믿고 있다고 영국의 선데이 텔레그래프가 13일 보도했다.



이 신문은 북한 당국이 사건 직후 전기합선으로 질산나트륨과 연료를 실은 화물열차에 폭발이 일어났다고 공식 발표했으나 이후 진행된 원인 조사에 정통한 북한 관리들은 휴대전화가 기폭장치로 사용된 것으로 보고 있다고 밝혔다. 이 신문에 따르면 사건 현장에서 접착 테이프가 붙어 있는 휴대전화 잔해가 발견됐다.



룡천역 열차 폭발사건은 지난 4월 22일 중국을 방문하고 돌아오는 김정일 국방위원장이 탄 특별열차가 룡천역을 통과한 지 9시간만에 발생했다.



신문은 익명의 북한 관리의 말을 인용, "그런 사실이 있는지, 그렇다면 누가 폭발물을 장치했는지를 아직 밝혀내지 못했다"면서 "소규모 기폭장치로 대량의 질산나트륨을 폭발시킬 수 있기 때문에 증거를 발견하기는 매우 어렵다"고 말했다.



이 관리는 또 룡천역 열차 폭발이 암실기도였다고 100% 확신하고 있지는 않지만 암살기도 여부를 밝혀내는 것이 비밀조사의 주요 목표들 가운데 하나였다고 말했다.



이 관리는 폭발 현장에서 발견된 휴대전화의 소유자가 밝혀져 조사를 받았으나 그가 어떻게 됐는지는 확실하게 알려지지 않았다고 신문은 전했다.



신문은 이어 북한 당국이 룡천역 폭발 사건과 같은 일이 재연되는 것을 방지하기 위해 북한 주민들의 휴대전화 사용을 금지했다고 보도했다.



북한 당국은 처음에는 휴대전화 서비스를 중단했으나 지금은 북한 주민이 보유한 1만여대의 휴대전화를 압수하고 있는 것으로 알려졌다.









[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