Seoul may take Cheonan sinking to UN
Source: Agencies |
April 19, 2010, Monday
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Print Edition
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SEOUL may ask the United Nations Security Council to take up the sinking of a South Korean naval ship, if it learns North Korea was behind the blast that split apart the vessel, killing dozens of sailors, the top South Korean diplomat said yesterday.
South Korea has not openly blamed North Korea for the March 26 explosion that broke the 1,200-ton Cheonan in half during a routine patrol near the tense border.
But officials have said they are open to all possibilities, including that a North Korean naval mine or torpedo hit the vessel. On Friday, an investigator said the sinking was likely caused by an external explosion, rather than by a blast of munition stored in the ship or the vessel hitting an underwater rock.
Fifty-eight of the ship's crew were rescued, and 38 bodies have been found, most of them last Thursday when the stern was raised from the water. Eight crew are unaccounted for.
"Though it's hypothetical, I think if it was confirmed to have been committed by North Korea, what we can consider doing first of all is referring this matter to the UN Security Council," Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said yesterday. "We can discuss (how to respond to North Korea) after referring it to the UN Security Council."
On Saturday, North Korea denied its involvement in the blast, accusing the South Korean government of spreading false rumors linking Pyongyang to the incident to shore up international sanctions against it and muster conservative votes to boost its prospect for June's mayoral and gubernatorial elections.
South Korea has not openly blamed North Korea for the March 26 explosion that broke the 1,200-ton Cheonan in half during a routine patrol near the tense border.
But officials have said they are open to all possibilities, including that a North Korean naval mine or torpedo hit the vessel. On Friday, an investigator said the sinking was likely caused by an external explosion, rather than by a blast of munition stored in the ship or the vessel hitting an underwater rock.
Fifty-eight of the ship's crew were rescued, and 38 bodies have been found, most of them last Thursday when the stern was raised from the water. Eight crew are unaccounted for.
"Though it's hypothetical, I think if it was confirmed to have been committed by North Korea, what we can consider doing first of all is referring this matter to the UN Security Council," Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said yesterday. "We can discuss (how to respond to North Korea) after referring it to the UN Security Council."
On Saturday, North Korea denied its involvement in the blast, accusing the South Korean government of spreading false rumors linking Pyongyang to the incident to shore up international sanctions against it and muster conservative votes to boost its prospect for June's mayoral and gubernatorial elections.
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