20100520 S Korean minister blames N Korea for sinking of warship

S Korean minister blames N Korea for sinking of warship

AFP, SEOUL
Thursday, May 20, 2010, Page 1

“Clear and definitive material evidence will be presented that no country in the world and no one can refute.”— Lee Myung-bak, South Korean president

South Korea's foreign minister said yesterday 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 announces its findings on the March 26 explosion, which blew a 1,200-tonne corvette in two near the disputed sea border and killed 46 sailors.

Top South Korean officials had previously hinted strongly that the North was involved. Yu was the first to publicly implicate Pyongyang, which denies involvement.

Asked by reporters 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 Security Council, he said.

South Korea has been seeking firm proof that its neighbor sank the warship, in what would be the bloodiest provocation since the North's agents downed a South Korean airliner in 1987 with the loss of 115 lives.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak told Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama Seoul has indisputable evidence of who was responsible.

Lee told Hatoyama in a telephone conversation “clear and definitive material evidence will be presented that no country in the world and no one can refute,” his spokesman said.

Media reports say 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.

Yu said in a speech earlier yesterday that investigators, including experts from Britain, Sweden, the US and Australia had confirmed the corvette was hit by a torpedo.

Seoul would take “firm and prudent” measures to deter “any future provocations which will undermine peace and stability in Northeast Asia,” he told the EU Chamber of Commerce, appealing for international support.

In search of that backing, the foreign ministry yesterday briefed diplomats from about 30 countries about the findings of the investigation. Envoys from China, Japan and Russia had been briefed a day earlier.

South Korea is likely to ask the Security Council to slap new sanctions on the North, in addition to those imposed to curb its missile and nuclear programs. However, China, a veto-wielding council member and the North’s ally, is unlikely to support new measures unless the South produces a “smoking gun” linking its neighbor to the attack.