The incident was not reported internationally until 12 September 2004, when the South Korean news agency Yonhap cited a source in Beijing, China, which said a mushroom cloud had been observed. In addition, suspicion was raised by the fact that there was no mention of the explosion on internal North Korean media. However, North Korean news is usually a method employed by governing figures to make the ruling party's decisions more favourable to the people (national and internationally); therefore, unfavourable stories are commonly not broadcast. The Ryongchon disaster earlier in 2004 was reported only several days after the event.