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Finding says N. Korean torpedo sank ship
SEOUL, (UPI) -- A North Korean torpedo, as suspected by Seoul, sank a South Korean navy ship March 26, killing 46 sailors, international investigators said Thursday.
North Korea, as it has from the time of the incident near the sea borders of the two Koreas, immediately denied the finding, while South Korean President Lee Myung-bak summoned an emergency meeting of his security advisers to discuss measures against Pyongyang, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.
The 1,200-ton ship Cheonan went under March 26 after an explosion, and 46 of the 104 sailors aboard either died or remain missing. The others were rescued.
The wreckage of the ship was later lifted from the sea bed.
The finding by investigators from the United States, Australia, Britain, Sweden and South Korea said the vessel was struck by a torpedo launched by a North Korean submarine.
Making the announcement, team co-head Yoon Duk-yong said, "We have reached the clear conclusion that (South Korea's) Cheonan was sunk as the result of an external underwater explosion caused by a torpedo made in North Korea," Yonhap reported.
"The evidence points overwhelmingly to the conclusion that the torpedo was fired by a North Korean submarine. There is no other plausible explanation."
In its report on the latest finding, Xinhua, the official news agency of China, which is the main benefactor of the economically-struggling North Korea, also quoted a North Korean statement as accusing the south of taking advantage of the ship's sinking to push north-south relations to a catastrophe.
Yonhap reported suspicion about the ship's sinking had centered on North Korea to retaliate against its defeat in a naval clash last November in the same tense Yellow Sea border. The report said the investigation's conclusion is expected to further worsen relations between the two countries.
The finding may affect efforts to restart the six-nation talks on the North's denuclearization, stalled since Pyongyang walked out to protest U.N. sanctions against it.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said Washington "strongly supports" the conclusions of the team, CNN reported.
CNN quoted a U.S. military official that the military since last month has believed that a North Korean torpedo most likely caused the explosion in the ship.
SEOUL, (UPI) -- A North Korean torpedo, as suspected by Seoul, sank a South Korean navy ship March 26, killing 46 sailors, international investigators said Thursday.
North Korea, as it has from the time of the incident near the sea borders of the two Koreas, immediately denied the finding, while South Korean President Lee Myung-bak summoned an emergency meeting of his security advisers to discuss measures against Pyongyang, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.
The 1,200-ton ship Cheonan went under March 26 after an explosion, and 46 of the 104 sailors aboard either died or remain missing. The others were rescued.
The wreckage of the ship was later lifted from the sea bed.
The finding by investigators from the United States, Australia, Britain, Sweden and South Korea said the vessel was struck by a torpedo launched by a North Korean submarine.
Making the announcement, team co-head Yoon Duk-yong said, "We have reached the clear conclusion that (South Korea's) Cheonan was sunk as the result of an external underwater explosion caused by a torpedo made in North Korea," Yonhap reported.
"The evidence points overwhelmingly to the conclusion that the torpedo was fired by a North Korean submarine. There is no other plausible explanation."
In its report on the latest finding, Xinhua, the official news agency of China, which is the main benefactor of the economically-struggling North Korea, also quoted a North Korean statement as accusing the south of taking advantage of the ship's sinking to push north-south relations to a catastrophe.
Yonhap reported suspicion about the ship's sinking had centered on North Korea to retaliate against its defeat in a naval clash last November in the same tense Yellow Sea border. The report said the investigation's conclusion is expected to further worsen relations between the two countries.
The finding may affect efforts to restart the six-nation talks on the North's denuclearization, stalled since Pyongyang walked out to protest U.N. sanctions against it.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said Washington "strongly supports" the conclusions of the team, CNN reported.
CNN quoted a U.S. military official that the military since last month has believed that a North Korean torpedo most likely caused the explosion in the ship.
