North Korea rejects South’s apology demand

NEW DELHI - North Korea has rejected a demand by South Korea on Monday that Pyongyang apologise for the sinking of its warship in March this year.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said his country would also take the issue to the UN Security Council and resort to self-defense measures in case of “further military provocation” by the North.

“I solemnly urge the North Korean (DPRK) authorities … to apologize immediately to the Republic of Korea and the international community,” Lee said in a nationally televised speech.

North Korea called Lee’s speech a plot to conceal his “conspiratorial farce”.

It described Lee as a “crazy traitor” trying to block the unification of the nation, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) quoted a National Defense Commission (NDC) spokesman as saying in a statement.

The spokesman said the speech violates past agreements reached by the two countries.

The Cheonan, a 1,200-ton warship with 104 crew onboard, sank on March 26 near South Korea’s maritime border with North Korea after an explosion. Only 58 sailors survived.

South Korea released the results of an investigation last week, and accused North Korea of sinking the Cheonan in a torpedo attack.

According to Xinhua, China has appealed for calm and restraint to prevent tensions from escalating on the Korean Peninsula. (ANI)