[See photos of the blast site]
North Korea's state security agency has determined that April's massive train blast was a botched effort to kill North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il, a South Korean newspaper reported.
The train explosion in the border city Ryongchon on April 22 was the result of a plot by anti-North Korean government forces to assassinate Kim, according to the Chosun Ilbo, South Korea's largest daily. In a May 26 report, the newspaper cited an unnamed North Korean official who recently traveled on business to China.
Kim's heavily guarded special train passed through Ryongchon station on his way back from China just nine hours before the explosion. This triggered speculation that the incident was an assassination attempt on the North Korean leader.
Kim vanished from public view for more than a week following the explosion and the North's normally attentive state-controlled media made no mention of his activities or whereabouts.
"The North Korean National Security Agency has investigated the train incident and reached the conclusion that rebellious forces had plotted the explosion targeting the train of Kim Jong-Il," the official was quoted as saying.
The security agency obtained evidence that cell phones had been used in the assassination plan, which was why the North's authorities had confiscated and banned mobile phones around the region, the daily said.
North Korea has prohibited use of cell phones across the nation since May 19, Chosun Ilbo reported, quoting other sources including an officer working with a North Korean border guard unit.
