Written by: Beck

More news is coming out of North Korea now about the train disaster near the Chinese border. The picture has taken on a much more realistic appearance, as there were numerous aspects of initial reports from yesterday that didn't quite add up.

First, the number of dead is "hundreds," with the thousands listed initially being more mundane injuries. North Korean medical infrastructure, however, will be quite overwhelmed by the number of injured. Not only do they lack the facilities and personnel to treat so many people, they lack the ability to transport or even sufficiently shelter the injured. The International Red Cross and the World Health Organization are both rushing experts and aid to the scene. By the time it gets there, I fear, many further lives which could have been saved without difficulty will be lost.

Second, the accident was not the result of a collision, but rather, from a single train which was carrying explosives blowing up from sparks when a car touched a live power line. While I'm no expert, most explosives wont go up just by catching a few sparks. Still, it's a more likely explanation than a two-train collision. Finally, the fact that it was a single train accident makes it clear that there was no assassination attempt intended in all of this.

Kim only travels by train and all rail traffic would have been shut down in the area for several hours before and after he passed through the station.

"Because the blast occurred long after Kim passed we just think it is purely an accident," a source from South Korea's National Intelligence Service told Reuters.

Considering the magnitude of this disaster, I'm surprised it isn't getting much coverage, relatively speaking. North Korean hyper-secrecy is going to work against them in this case, as the publicity generated from an event like this would likely engender some measure of international sympathy. Regardless, North Korea Zone has a ton of info for the interested (link credit to Instapundit).