North Korea 'says explosion was a planned demolition'

North Korea said a large explosion several days ago was a planned demolition for a hydro-electric project, the BBC reported today.

North Korea said a large explosion several days ago was a planned demolition for a hydro-electric project, the BBC reported today.

The North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun said the blast was intentional following a request for information from British Foreign Office minister Bill Rammell, who is visiting Pyongyang, the BBC reported.

South Korean and US officials said yesterday that a huge mushroom cloud that reportedly billowed up from North Korea on Thursday was not caused by a nuclear explosion, but that the cause was a mystery.

The South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that a mammoth explosion in North Korea produced a mushroom cloud more than two miles across. It said the blast was stronger than an April explosion that killed 160 people and injured an estimated 1,300 at a North Korean railway station when a train carrying oil and chemicals apparently hit power lines.