The Cheonsan, a 1,200-ton corvette, sank after a mysterious explosion tore it into half near disputed waters in the Yellow Sea. STORY HIGHLIGHTS * North Korea denies it sank a South Korean warship in March * Official investigation in South Korea finds N.Korea to blame * Investigators recovered a propeller from torpedo, committee's co-chair said * The 1,200 ton ship sank near disputed waters off North Korea on March 26 Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- North Korea denied Thursday that it fired a torpedo that sank a South Korean warship in March, killing 46 sailors. South Korean military officials on Thursday announced the results of an official investigation into the sinking of the Cheonan, prompting North Korea to accuse them of fabricating evidence. "We had already warned the South Korean group of traitors not to make reckless remarks concerning the sinking of warship Cheonan of the puppet navy," North Korea's national defense commission said in a statement, according to the Korean Central News Agency. "Nevertheless, the group of traitors had far-fetchedly tried to link the case with us without offering any material evidence." The 1,200 ton corvette sank after a mysterious explosion tore it into half near disputed waters off North Korea on March 26. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak vowed to take "resolute countermeasures" against North Korea for its alleged attack, according to his office. RELATED TOPICS * South Korea * North Korea * Yellow Sea "The evidence points overwhelmingly to the conclusion that the torpedo was fired by a North Korean submarine," said Dr Yoon Duk-yong, co-chair of a military group formed to investigate the incident. The group comprises of experts from South Korea, Australia, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. "There is no other plausible explanation," he said. Meanwhile, China asked both sides to stay calm to avoid an "escalation of the situation," said the country's foreign affairs ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu. Military and civilian briefers said that damage to the Cheonan's hulk and injuries on the bodies of the sailors were consistent with the kind of "shock-wave and bubble effect" produced by a homing torpedo attack. Seismic data, witness statements and computer modeling provided further corroboration, Yoon said. Briefers displayed torpedo parts recovered from the Cheonan wreck site: part of a motor, a shaft and parts of the propeller. Korean writing, with the words "Number 1" were inscribed on fragments of the weapon. The parts displayed in a glass case were compared and shown to be identical to the blueprint of a 7.35 meter torpedo, obtained from a North Korean weapons export brochure. General Han Won-dong, director of South Korea's Defense Intelligence Agency, declined to state how or where South Korea had obtained the brochure, citing security sensitivities. International members of the investigative team agreed with the conclusions. "We worked closely and collaboratively, … [Read more...]
