It's obvious North sank warship, South says
Source: Agencies |
May 20, 2010, Thursday
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SOUTH Korea said yesterday it was "obvious" that North Korea fired a torpedo that sank one of the South's warships in March, killing 46 sailors.
Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said that investigators have enough evidence of North Korean involvement in the sinking of the Cheonan to warrant taking Pyongyang to the UN Security Council and would be presenting their findings today.
Yu's comments are the first by a South Korean official clearly pointing the finger at North Korea for one of the worst attacks on the South since the two Koreas signed a truce in 1953 to end three years of fighting.
A thorough and exhaustive investigation revealed that a "strong underwater explosion generated by the detonation of a torpedo caused the Korean battleship to split apart and sink," he said in a speech to Seoul-based European business executives.
Asked if North Korea sank the ship, Yu said: "I think it's obvious." He declined to provide further details, saying the results of the multinational investigation into the incident would be released today.
North Korea has denied involvement in the sinking of the Cheonan near the Koreas' maritime border on March 26. Vice parliamentary speaker Yang Hyong Sop criticized Seoul for "unreasonably" linking Pyongyang to the sinking earlier this week, according to Pyongyang's state radio station.
However, investigators will lay out evidence showing that a North Korean torpedo attack triggered the explosion that sank the Cheonan, a US official said in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Investigators have collected damning evidence pointing to Pyongyang's involvement in the blast that blew the 1,200-ton warship apart during a routine patrolling mission in the Yellow Sea, local media said. Fifty-eight sailors were rescued; 46 died.
Fragments of a torpedo propeller found near the disaster site are similar to parts from a North Korean torpedo that South Korea obtained seven years ago, the Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported yesterday, citing unidentified government officials.
A serial number on the torpedo propeller was written in a font typically used in North Korea, and traces of explosives found in the wreckage resemble the gunpowder used in the North Korean torpedo retrieved in 2003, it said.
The Dong-a Ilbo newspaper carried a similar report, saying an 85-ton North Korean submersible is believed to have torpedoed the vessel.
Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said that investigators have enough evidence of North Korean involvement in the sinking of the Cheonan to warrant taking Pyongyang to the UN Security Council and would be presenting their findings today.
Yu's comments are the first by a South Korean official clearly pointing the finger at North Korea for one of the worst attacks on the South since the two Koreas signed a truce in 1953 to end three years of fighting.
A thorough and exhaustive investigation revealed that a "strong underwater explosion generated by the detonation of a torpedo caused the Korean battleship to split apart and sink," he said in a speech to Seoul-based European business executives.
Asked if North Korea sank the ship, Yu said: "I think it's obvious." He declined to provide further details, saying the results of the multinational investigation into the incident would be released today.
North Korea has denied involvement in the sinking of the Cheonan near the Koreas' maritime border on March 26. Vice parliamentary speaker Yang Hyong Sop criticized Seoul for "unreasonably" linking Pyongyang to the sinking earlier this week, according to Pyongyang's state radio station.
However, investigators will lay out evidence showing that a North Korean torpedo attack triggered the explosion that sank the Cheonan, a US official said in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Investigators have collected damning evidence pointing to Pyongyang's involvement in the blast that blew the 1,200-ton warship apart during a routine patrolling mission in the Yellow Sea, local media said. Fifty-eight sailors were rescued; 46 died.
Fragments of a torpedo propeller found near the disaster site are similar to parts from a North Korean torpedo that South Korea obtained seven years ago, the Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported yesterday, citing unidentified government officials.
A serial number on the torpedo propeller was written in a font typically used in North Korea, and traces of explosives found in the wreckage resemble the gunpowder used in the North Korean torpedo retrieved in 2003, it said.
The Dong-a Ilbo newspaper carried a similar report, saying an 85-ton North Korean submersible is believed to have torpedoed the vessel.
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