North Korea contests torpedo finding, threatens 'all-out war'
Source: Agencies |
May 21, 2010, Friday
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NORTH Korea said yesterday that South Korea fabricated evidence implicating Pyongyang in a torpedo attack and any attempt at retaliating for a warship's sinking would be answered with "all-out war."
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak vowed "stern action" for the attack after a multinational investigation issued its long-awaited results yesterday, concluding North Korea fired a torpedo that sank the Cheonan navy ship on March 26 near the Koreas' tense sea border.
"If the (South Korean) enemies try to deal any retaliation or punishment, or if they try sanctions or a strike on us .... we will answer to this with all-out war," Colonel Pak In Ho, of North Korea's navy, told broadcaster APTN in an exclusive interview in Pyongyang.
The civilian-military inquiry team said evidence overwhelmingly proved a North Korean submarine fired a homing torpedo that caused an underwater blast that tore the Cheonan apart.
Fifty-eight sailors were rescued from the frigid Yellow Sea, but 46 perished in South Korea's worst military disaster since the Korean War.
Since the 1950-53 war on the Korean peninsula ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty, the Koreas remain locked in a state of war and divided by the world's most heavily armed border.
The truce prevents Seoul from waging a unilateral military attack.
However, South Korea and the United States, which has 28,500 troops on the peninsula, could hold joint military exercises in a show of force, said Daniel Pinkston, a Seoul-based analyst for the International Crisis Group think tank.
South Korean and US officials said they were considering a variety of options in response to the sinking, ranging from United Nations Security Council action to additional American penalties.
North Korea is already chafing from international sanctions tightened last year in the wake of nuclear and missile tests.
UN sanctions now block funding to certain officials and companies, while North Korea is barred from exporting weapons and countries are authorized to inspect North Korean ships suspected of carrying illicit cargo.
South Korea "will take resolute countermeasures against North Korea and make it admit its wrongdoings through strong international cooperation," Lee said during a call with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, the presidential office said.
Lee has convened an emergency meeting for today.
The White House called the sinking an unacceptable "act of aggression" that violated global law and the truce.
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama declared his support for South Korea, calling the action "inexcusable."
North Korea continued its steadfast denials of involvement in the sinking.
"Our Korean People's Army was not founded for the purpose of attacking others. We have no intention to strike others first," Pak said.
Detailed scientific analysis of the wreckage, as well as fragments recovered from the waters where the Cheonan went down, point to North Korea, investigators said.
The bending of the ship's keel backed the theory that an underwater torpedo triggered a shock wave and bubble effect that tore the ship apart, the report said.
The report also cites fractures on the main deck, statements from survivors and a sentry on a nearby island, and fractures and lacerations on the remains of the bodies of sailors.
Pieces of the torpedo "perfectly match" the schematics of a North Korean-made torpedo North Korea had tried to sell abroad, chief investigator Yoon Duk-yong said.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak vowed "stern action" for the attack after a multinational investigation issued its long-awaited results yesterday, concluding North Korea fired a torpedo that sank the Cheonan navy ship on March 26 near the Koreas' tense sea border.
"If the (South Korean) enemies try to deal any retaliation or punishment, or if they try sanctions or a strike on us .... we will answer to this with all-out war," Colonel Pak In Ho, of North Korea's navy, told broadcaster APTN in an exclusive interview in Pyongyang.
The civilian-military inquiry team said evidence overwhelmingly proved a North Korean submarine fired a homing torpedo that caused an underwater blast that tore the Cheonan apart.
Fifty-eight sailors were rescued from the frigid Yellow Sea, but 46 perished in South Korea's worst military disaster since the Korean War.
Since the 1950-53 war on the Korean peninsula ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty, the Koreas remain locked in a state of war and divided by the world's most heavily armed border.
The truce prevents Seoul from waging a unilateral military attack.
However, South Korea and the United States, which has 28,500 troops on the peninsula, could hold joint military exercises in a show of force, said Daniel Pinkston, a Seoul-based analyst for the International Crisis Group think tank.
South Korean and US officials said they were considering a variety of options in response to the sinking, ranging from United Nations Security Council action to additional American penalties.
North Korea is already chafing from international sanctions tightened last year in the wake of nuclear and missile tests.
UN sanctions now block funding to certain officials and companies, while North Korea is barred from exporting weapons and countries are authorized to inspect North Korean ships suspected of carrying illicit cargo.
South Korea "will take resolute countermeasures against North Korea and make it admit its wrongdoings through strong international cooperation," Lee said during a call with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, the presidential office said.
Lee has convened an emergency meeting for today.
The White House called the sinking an unacceptable "act of aggression" that violated global law and the truce.
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama declared his support for South Korea, calling the action "inexcusable."
North Korea continued its steadfast denials of involvement in the sinking.
"Our Korean People's Army was not founded for the purpose of attacking others. We have no intention to strike others first," Pak said.
Detailed scientific analysis of the wreckage, as well as fragments recovered from the waters where the Cheonan went down, point to North Korea, investigators said.
The bending of the ship's keel backed the theory that an underwater torpedo triggered a shock wave and bubble effect that tore the ship apart, the report said.
The report also cites fractures on the main deck, statements from survivors and a sentry on a nearby island, and fractures and lacerations on the remains of the bodies of sailors.
Pieces of the torpedo "perfectly match" the schematics of a North Korean-made torpedo North Korea had tried to sell abroad, chief investigator Yoon Duk-yong said.
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