E-Paper
South Korea minister blames North Korea for warship sinking
Seoul's foreign minister on Wednesday said it was "obvious" North Korea was to blame for the sinking of a South Korean warship, and there was enough evidence to take the case to the UN Security Council.
Seoul's foreign minister on Wednesday said it was "obvious" North Korea was to blame for the sinking of a South Korean warship, and there was enough evidence to take the case to the UN Security Council.
The comments by Yu Myung-Hwan came a day before a multinational investigation team published its report on the March 26 tragedy, which cost 46 lives.
Top South Korean officials had previously hinted strongly that the North was involved in the sinking of the 1,200-tonne corvette near the disputed inter-Korean border on March 26.
But Yu was the first to implicate publicly the communist state, which denies involvement.
Asked by journalists whether the North had sunk the Cheonan, Yu replied: "I think it's obvious". Seoul has "enough evidence" to bring the issue to the UN, he added.
News reports said investigators had found a torpedo fragment with a serial number written in North Korean style.
The discovery, if confirmed, would be the latest and strongest piece of evidence that a North Korean torpedo broke the ship into two.
Yonhap news agency, citing unnamed military officials, said Seoul had collected a sizeable piece presumed to be part of the axle of a torpedo, with a serial number written in a North Korean font.
It said this was in addition to a piece of the propeller salvaged earlier.
Chosun Ilbo newspaper carried a similar report.
"Analysing the serial number, experts from the US, Australia and other countries agree that the torpedo that sank the Cheonan must have been made by North Korea," an unnamed source told the paper.
"It is the smoking gun, following the discovery of a piece of torpedo and traces of explosive."
The defence ministry declined to confirm the reports. Both Yonhap and Chosun said President Lee Myung-Bak directly blamed the North for the naval disaster during his phone call this week with US President Barack Obama. Lee's office declined comment.
On Tuesday Yonhap said explosive traces found on the Cheonan and on the seabed have a similar chemical make-up to substances found in a stray North Korean torpedo secured by the South seven years ago.
Seoul has indicated it will take the issue to the Security Council and is seeking diplomatic support.
The foreign ministry on Wednesday briefed diplomats from some 30 countries about the findings of the investigation. Envoys from China, Japan and Russia had been briefed a day earlier.
