Officer says North sunk frigate
Source: Agencies |
April 21, 2010, Wednesday
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A SQUAD of North Korean soldiers was behind last month's deadly sinking of a South Korean frigate, according to a Seoul-based activist. The activist yesterday cited a North Korean military officer claiming knowledge of the plot.
The officer said a North Korean semi-submersible vessel carrying 13 crew fired a torpedo at the Cheonan, according to Choi Sung-yong, who said he had spoken to the officer by phone several times in recent days.
The claim could not be verified, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said it could not confirm the allegation.
An explosion split the 1,200-ton Cheonan in two on March 26 while the ship was on a routine patrol in the western waters near the tense maritime border with North Korea. Fifty-eight sailors were rescued, but at least 38 died and eight are missing.
The unnamed military officer told Choi the soldiers are being hailed as heroes in North Korea.
Seoul has not openly blamed Pyongyang for the sinking of the Cheonan, one of South Korea's worst naval disasters. North Korea has denied involvement. South Korean officials said they were investigating the possibility that a North Korean mine or torpedo struck the warship.
The two Koreas have never signed a peace treaty since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce. Their militaries have clashed three times in the Yellow Sea, most recently in November. A North Korean sailor was killed and three others wounded in that battle, South Korean officials said.
Choi, whose father was abducted to North Korea decades ago, heads an association of relatives of abductees. Now an activist, he has been involved in bringing South Korean abductees and prisoners of war out of North Korea, and claims to have regular contact with several North Koreans, including the military officer.
He said the officer told him that leader Kim Jong Il ordered troops to retaliate during a visit to the western North Korean port of Nampo right after the November clash. Choi declined to identify the officer.
A November dispatch by the official Korean Central News Agency said Kim inspected a navy command but did not say where.
South Korea's Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said it would be difficult to move forward stalled talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear programs if Pyongyang's involvement in the sinking is confirmed.
The officer said a North Korean semi-submersible vessel carrying 13 crew fired a torpedo at the Cheonan, according to Choi Sung-yong, who said he had spoken to the officer by phone several times in recent days.
The claim could not be verified, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said it could not confirm the allegation.
An explosion split the 1,200-ton Cheonan in two on March 26 while the ship was on a routine patrol in the western waters near the tense maritime border with North Korea. Fifty-eight sailors were rescued, but at least 38 died and eight are missing.
The unnamed military officer told Choi the soldiers are being hailed as heroes in North Korea.
Seoul has not openly blamed Pyongyang for the sinking of the Cheonan, one of South Korea's worst naval disasters. North Korea has denied involvement. South Korean officials said they were investigating the possibility that a North Korean mine or torpedo struck the warship.
The two Koreas have never signed a peace treaty since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce. Their militaries have clashed three times in the Yellow Sea, most recently in November. A North Korean sailor was killed and three others wounded in that battle, South Korean officials said.
Choi, whose father was abducted to North Korea decades ago, heads an association of relatives of abductees. Now an activist, he has been involved in bringing South Korean abductees and prisoners of war out of North Korea, and claims to have regular contact with several North Koreans, including the military officer.
He said the officer told him that leader Kim Jong Il ordered troops to retaliate during a visit to the western North Korean port of Nampo right after the November clash. Choi declined to identify the officer.
A November dispatch by the official Korean Central News Agency said Kim inspected a navy command but did not say where.
South Korea's Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said it would be difficult to move forward stalled talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear programs if Pyongyang's involvement in the sinking is confirmed.
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