North Korea engulfed with multiple fires: NASA image

By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 (Yonhap) -- Multiple fires broke out in the northeastern part
of North Korea recently, sending a plume of smoke to the East Sea between the
North and Japan, a picture released by the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) Wednesday shows.
The true-color image, captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging
Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite on Oct. 15, shows big plumes
extending eastward and covering skies of northeastern North Korea and part of the
East Sea.
"The smoke plumes blow uniformly eastward, some of the individual plumes
coalescing into a single large plume over the sea," the caption of the image
said. "Red outlines indicate hotspots associated with active fires, although not
all the fires have visible hotspots."
North Korean media have not yet reported the fires.
South Korean intelligence officials said that they were not sure about the nature
of the plumes.
"We are still trying to analyze it," an official said. "One possibility is forest
fires. But we are not certain about what it is, what caused it and what it looks
like at the moment."
hdh@yna.co.kr
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