'External blast' toppled ship
Source: Agencies |
April 17, 2010, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
An external explosion most likely caused a South Korean navy ship to split apart and sink three weeks ago, officials said yesterday, leaving open the possibility that a North Korean torpedo or mine may have caused the disaster.
The 1,200-ton Cheonan broke into two pieces after exploding on March 26 during a routine patrol near the maritime border with North Korea. Fifty-eight crew members were rescued and 38 bodies have been found, most of them on Thursday when the stern was raised from the water.
There has been some suspicion but no confirmation of North Korean involvement in the sinking, which North Korea has denied. The disputed western sea border has been the scene of three past inter-Korean naval battles.
South Korean officials have said they will look into all possibilities, including a North Korean torpedo or a mine left over from the 1950-53 Korean War. The conflict ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty, leaving the Koreas still technically at war.
Defense Minister Kim Tae-young said Seoul considers the sinking "a grave national security issue."
"Once the investigation is completed, we will make it public without leaving a dot of suspicion and work out the next step in a clear and stern manner," he told the nation.
"There is a high possibility of an external explosion rather than an internal explosion," chief South Korean investigator Yoon Duk-yong told reporters yesterday. He said more analysis is needed to determine the exact cause after the rest of the ship's wreckage is salvaged and the debris collected.
Lee Hyun-yup, a marine engineering expert at Chungnam National University, said an underwater explosion, caused either by a torpedo or a floating mine, may well have destroyed the Cheonan.
The 1,200-ton Cheonan broke into two pieces after exploding on March 26 during a routine patrol near the maritime border with North Korea. Fifty-eight crew members were rescued and 38 bodies have been found, most of them on Thursday when the stern was raised from the water.
There has been some suspicion but no confirmation of North Korean involvement in the sinking, which North Korea has denied. The disputed western sea border has been the scene of three past inter-Korean naval battles.
South Korean officials have said they will look into all possibilities, including a North Korean torpedo or a mine left over from the 1950-53 Korean War. The conflict ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty, leaving the Koreas still technically at war.
Defense Minister Kim Tae-young said Seoul considers the sinking "a grave national security issue."
"Once the investigation is completed, we will make it public without leaving a dot of suspicion and work out the next step in a clear and stern manner," he told the nation.
"There is a high possibility of an external explosion rather than an internal explosion," chief South Korean investigator Yoon Duk-yong told reporters yesterday. He said more analysis is needed to determine the exact cause after the rest of the ship's wreckage is salvaged and the debris collected.
Lee Hyun-yup, a marine engineering expert at Chungnam National University, said an underwater explosion, caused either by a torpedo or a floating mine, may well have destroyed the Cheonan.
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