3 workers dead after SKorean nuclear plant gas leak

Tragedy at reactor construction site 410 kilometers southeast of Seoul after days of threats by mystery nuclear cyber hacker By Alex Jensen SEOULA suspected gas leak claimed three workers’ lives at a South Korean nuclear reactor construction site Friday -- even as the country was in a state of heightened vigilance.It is believed that nitrogen gas escaped from an underground cable, according to a Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power official cited by local news agency Yonhap.The incident happened at the southern city of Ulsan’s New Gori No. 3 reactor, which is close to completion ahead of its scheduled launch in June.Nearby Gori and Wolsong nuclear power plants have been the subject of much scrutiny in recent days, after an anonymous Twitter user began to leak information about their facilities -- threatening to unleash chaos if certain reactors were not shut down by Christmas.Energy Minister Yoon Sang-jik spent the night at Gori on Christmas Eve and told residents of the government’s plans to ensure their security.Despite Seoul’s repeated calls for calm, an official investigation this week pointed to the possibility that a clandestine team of North Korean hackers in China may have been behind the release of documents.The United States reached a similar conclusion over the recent cyber attack on Sony Pictures, which almost led to the abandonment of its now highly-publicized movie, “The Interview”.But Friday’s apparently unrelated gas leak in Ulsan was also a reminder of the physical safety concerns South Korea has faced this year -- most notably after April’s Sewol ferry disaster, which claimed more than 300 lives.Aside from the three workers who died, there was no immediate suggestion that anyone else was at risk.AA