N. Korea delays tour of blast site
 |  File picture of the region where the blast is believed to have gone off. |
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|  VIDEO |
 North Korea says cloud was the result of a deliberate demolition
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PYONGYANG, North Korea -- Western diplomats trying to verify what triggered a massive mushroom cloud in North Korea have had a state-approved trip to the site delayed for "logistical reasons."
British Ambassador to North Korea David Slinn told Reuters Wednesday he would likely have a more precise schedule later in the day for a tour of the site of last Thursday's explosion.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is being very cooperative" in "keeping with the spirit" of the recent visit by British Home Office minister Bill Rammell, Slinn said by telephone.
North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun on Monday agreed to a request from Rammell to allow foreign diplomats to visit the site on Tuesday or Wednesday.
A Western diplomat in Pyongyang told Reuters on Wednesday he saw no sign the North Koreans had changed their mind on allowing the visit.
U.S. and South Korean officials are still skeptical over Pyongyang's explanation of the event.
After several days of speculation, North Korea said on Monday the 4-kilometer (2 miles) wide mushroom cloud spotted on satellite images by South Korea's Yonhap agency was the result of a deliberate demolition of a mountain for a hydro-electric power project.
The cause of the smoke, which was spotted on the day North Korea marks its founding, is still a mystery to U.S. and South Korean intelligence, though the Communist state is watched closely using spy satellites and other means.
A Bush official said Monday the administration is not prepared to "speculate" about what happened in North Korea.
The U.S. did not think the explosion was a nuclear event, but a Bush administration official cautioned: "We still don't know what it was, and we're not speculating."
U.S. officials say they are still reviewing satellite imagery and other intelligence on the matter.
Some outside analysts have speculated the explosion could have been at the Yongjo-ri Missile Base, a facility believed to house up to 36 NoDong missiles.
U.S. officials say there is no evidence that is true, though it cannot be completely ruled out.
According to data gathered by the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), Yongjo-ri is a suspected site for North Korea's uranium enrichment program.
South Korea skeptical too
On Tuesday South Korea's defense minister said the country was seeking independent verification on the nature of the blast.
Yoon Kwang-woong said the South would use intelligence channels and satellite images to check on the source of the blast in a northern region of the North.
"The weather is clear, so we should be able to take satellite images today and tomorrow and analyze them," Yoon told pool reporters ahead of a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
"We should be able to confirm the site of the explosion."
Hydroelectric experts in Seoul have questioned the North's explanation, saying the relatively small Huchang river in the area made it an unlikely and unfeasible site for a major hydro power plant, according to Reuters reports.
The nation's media have also raised questions, with the Chosun Ilbo newspaper quoting a North Korean defector familiar with the region who said the body of water in the area was not sufficient for a large power plant.
North Korea's official KCNA news agency said late Monday that reports of a large accidental explosion at the site or a nuclear test was a "preposterous smear campaign."
"Probably, plot-breeders might tell such a sheer lie, taken aback by blastings at construction sites of hydropower stations in the north of Korea," KCNA said.
CNN Radio, CNN National Security Correspondent David Ensor and Correspondent Sohn Jie-Ae contributed to this report.
