Blood on the Tracks

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Il rarely ventures abroad and is said to be terrified of flying. On his infrequent trips to friendly capitals—a list consisting solely of Moscow and Beijing—he prefers to lumber along in a luxurious private train. Last Wednesday, Kim wound up a clandestine 2 1/2-day visit with China's leaders in Beijing—most likely to discuss international concerns over his nuclear-weapons program—and boarded his train for Pyongyang. It proceeded east to Dandong, crossed the North Korean border and passed through the city of Ryongchon. Some nine hours later, something sparked a cataclysmic explosion at the Ryongchon station, reportedly killing 154 people, including 76 school children, and injuring more than 1,000. South Korea's official Yonhap news agency quickly asserted that a state of emergency was declared around Ryongchon and that North Korea cut phone links from the area to the outside world.

When foreign aid workers from Pyongyang arrived on Saturday, they described large parts of Ryongchon as "obliterated." The train station in the center of town had collapsed, as had other buildings, including a nearby school. Those in the immediate vicinity "looked as if a fireball had gone through," said John Sparrow, a Beijing spokesman for the Red Cross, adding that "what was there isn't there anymore." He said a visiting Red Cross official had described "scorched" and damaged buildings radiating for four kilometers in all directions from the station. Rescue operations had apparently ended. Xinhua, quoting the North Korean in charge of the rescue efforts, Jang Song-gun, said the disaster occurred because an electrical pole was "knocked down after an oil tanker collided with two carriages loaded with ammonium nitrate."

Despite the devastation, trains on the single rail line between Beijing and Pyongyang, which passes through Ryongchon, continued to run. On future trips to China, though, Kim might consider taking a plane.