North Korean submarine torpedoed South Korean warship: Report
By IANSWednesday, May 19, 2010
SEOUL - A South Korean navy warship that sank in March was torpedoed by a North Korean submarine near the country’s maritime border, a multi-national team of investigators said Thursday.
The group of civilian and military experts said the 1,200-tonne warship Cheonan sunk as a result of an “external underwater explosion” caused by a torpedo fired by a North Korean submarine, resulting in one of the worst peacetime casualties in the country’s naval history.
“The evidence points overwhelmingly to the conclusion that the torpedo was fired by a North Korean submarine. There is no other plausible explanation,” Xinhua quoted the group as saying in a statement.
North Korea has denied its involvement in the incident that occurred March 26 near the disputed Yellow Sea border. Forty-six crew members lost their lives.
North Korea’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea Wednesday released a statement accusing South Korea of taking advantage of the sinking of its warship to push north-south relations to a catastrophe.
