Assuming, of course, that it was a missile-related incident at all, I'd guess the explosion was due to the unstable and corrosive liquid propellants used by the Taepo-Dong ICBM. This type of missile is kept defuelled unless ordered to launch readiness, and accidents do occur in exercises - the USAF lost two bases, and four airmen died, in accidents with the liquid-fuelled Titan II.
You'd get about a quarter-kiloton yield from a 'propellant fire' for an ICBM, which is a little on the low side to register on seismographs. All explosions this size create a mushroom cloud, but not even fuel-air bombs create secondary fires ignited by the flash. But then there's no word of that, just a peculiarly-shaped cloud and smoke with a 'radius' of 4km.
Thinking about it, you probably know this stuff already.
The official claim is that it was the "controlled demolition" of a mountain for a hydro-electric project. (Can you "demolish" a mountain?) Large-scale civil engineering with nukes is not unheard of, at least in experimental form (see Project Plowshare, and the Soviets were up to much the same kind of thing).
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2004-09-12 10:19 am (UTC)Assuming, of course, that it was a missile-related incident at all, I'd guess the explosion was due to the unstable and corrosive liquid propellants used by the Taepo-Dong ICBM. This type of missile is kept defuelled unless ordered to launch readiness, and accidents do occur in exercises - the USAF lost two bases, and four airmen died, in accidents with the liquid-fuelled Titan II.
You'd get about a quarter-kiloton yield from a 'propellant fire' for an ICBM, which is a little on the low side to register on seismographs. All explosions this size create a mushroom cloud, but not even fuel-air bombs create secondary fires ignited by the flash. But then there's no word of that, just a peculiarly-shaped cloud and smoke with a 'radius' of 4km.
Thinking about it, you probably know this stuff already.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-09-13 02:11 am (UTC)