US looks into DPRK blast

The United States said on Thursday that it was looking into the blast by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and hoped to hear from the foreign delegation allowed by the DPRK to visit the blast site.

"We do not have any more detail at this point. We have been looking into the matter as much as we can," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said at a press conference.

"The North Koreans claim it is associated with a hydroelectric project. We understand the North Koreans allowed a delegation to travel to the hydroelectric project yesterday, and we look forward to hearing what they saw and heard," Boucher said.

British Foreign Office minister Bill Rammell said Thursday that British ambassador to the Democratic had visited the blast site that raised fears of a nuclear weapons test.

"I can confirm British Ambassador, David Slinn and other foreign diplomats (from Sweden, Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland, Russia and Mongolia) were today taken by North Korean officials to Samsu in the north-east of the country, where a hydroelectric power plant is being built," Rammell said in a statement.

The DPRK has confirmed the blast, which reportedly happened on Sept. 9 in the country's northern region, was part of a power plant project.

Source: Xinhua