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UN warns Koreas against escalating
military tensions
AFP , UNITED NATIONS
Wednesday, Jun 16, 2010, Page 5
The UN Security Council warned South and North Korea on
Monday against escalating regional tension after hearing briefings by both sides
on the sinking of a South Korean warship that Seoul blames on the North.
The Security Council made a ¡§strong call to the parties to refrain from any act
that could escalate tension in the region¡¨ and to preserve peace and stability
on the Korean Peninsula, according to its president, Mexican Ambassador Claude
Heller.
Heller told reporters after the twin briefings that the council ¡§is gravely
concerned¡¨ about the incident and ¡§its impact on peace and stability on the
Korean Peninsula.¡¨
Earlier on Monday, a South Korean envoy called on the council to take action
against the Stalinist North after giving evidence linking Pyongyang to the March
sinking of the South Korean corvette.
¡§We hope that ... the Security Council will take timely and appropriate measures
against the provocation of North Korea,¡¨ said Yoon Duk-yong, a physics and
material science expert at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and
Technology.
He did not go into specifics, noting that it was up to the 15-member council to
decide how it planned to respond.
Yoon and his team found that a North Korean midget submarine fired a torpedo on
March 26, sinking the Cheonan and killing 46 sailors.
¡§We identified the torpedo as a North Korean CHT02D on the basis of our
recovered pieces of the torpedo, which was the propulsion part, including two
propellers, a shaft, a steering plate and a motor,¡¨ he added.
However, North Korea¡¦s deputy UN Ambassador Pak Tok-hun dismissed the South
Korean charges as ¡§incorrect¡¨ and cast his country as the victim.
North Korea was to give a rare press conference on the case yesterday.
Yoon said the South Korean team, including top navy and army officers, shared
their findings during a two-hour presentation featuring a video clip showing
North Korean torpedo parts being salvaged from the sea and forensic evidence
linking Pyongyang to the raid.
US, British, Australian, Canadian and Swedish experts also took part in the
South Korean presentation.
Yoon said council members ¡§asked very good questions and came to a final
understanding about the scientific and physical causes of the sinking.¡¨
¡§I thought it was very positive. They were really eager to know the facts,¡¨ he
added.
Japan¡¦s UN Ambassador Yukio Takasu described the South Korean evidence of North
Korean involvement as ¡§extremely convincing,¡¨ saying there was no other
explanation for the sinking.
He found ¡§very little substance¡¨ to the North Koreans¡¦ claim that ¡§they are the
victim¡¨ and questioned why they were insisting on being allowed to visit the
site of the sinking.
Takasu said the council should consider ¡§appropriate actions¡¨ but said there was
no agreement as yet on how to respond.
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