South Korea finds clues to ship sinking


 

Reuters April 24th, 2010

NTDTV April 6th, 2010

Torpedo hits a Destroyer  (July 02, 2007  - A torpedo tears this Destroyer in two.)

CCTV March 26, 2010

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — An explosion caused by a torpedo likely tore apart and sank a South Korean warship near the North Korean border, Seoul's defense minister said Sunday, while declining to assign blame for the blast as suspicion increasingly falls on Pyongyang.

Defense Minister Kim Tae-young said an underwater explosion appeared to have ripped apart the vessel, and a torpedo blast seemed the most likely cause. Investigators who examined salvaged wreckage separately announced Sunday that a close-range, external explosion likely sank it.

"Basically, I think the bubble jet effect caused by a heavy torpedo is the most likely" cause, Kim told reporters. The bubble jet effect refers to the rapidly expanding bubble an underwater blast creates and the subsequent destructive column of water unleashed.

Kim, however, did not speculate on who may have fired the weapon and said an investigation was ongoing and it's still too early to determine the cause.

Soon after the disaster, Kim told lawmakers that a North Korean torpedo was one of the likely scenarios, but the government has been careful not to blame the North outright, and Pyongyang has denied its involvement.

As investigations have pointed to an external explosion as the cause of the sinking, however, suspicion of the North has grown, given the country's history of provocation and attacks on the South.

The Cheonan was on a routine patrol on March 26 when the unexplained explosion split it in two in one of South Korea's worst naval disasters. Forty bodies have been recovered so far, but six crew members are still unaccounted for and are presumed dead.

The site of the sinking is near where the rival Koreas fought three times since 1999, most recently a November clash that left one North Korean soldier dead and three others wounded. The two Koreas are still technically at war because their 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.

Also Sunday, investigators said a preliminary investigation of the front part of the 1,200-ton ship — retrieved the day before — pointed to an external explosion.

Chief investigator Yoon Duk-yong told reporters that an inspection of the hull pointed to an underwater explosion. He appeared to support the bubble jet effect theory, saying, "It is highly likely that a non-contact explosion was the case rather than a contact explosion."

But he, too, said it was too early to determine what caused the explosion.

Earlier Sunday, Prime Minister Chung Un-chan said South Korea will take "stern" action against whoever was behind the explosion as the country started a five-day funeral for the 46 dead and missing sailors. Makeshift alters were set up in Seoul and other major cities to allow citizens to pay their respect.

"We will remember all of you in the name of the Republic of Korea to let you keep alive in our hearts," said Chung, clad in a black suit and tie. The 46 sailors will be promoted by one rank and awarded posthumous medals, he said.

In Pyongyang, the North marked the 78th anniversary of the founding of the country's military Sunday with a vow to "mercilessly" punish any hostile moves by "the imperialist enemies," a term it uses when referring to the U.S.

Pyongyang routinely accuses the U.S. of plotting to invade the North, despite the repeated denials by Washington.

"If the imperialist enemies intrude into" the North's territory, "its army will beat them back at a stroke by mercilessly showering bombs and shells on them," the North's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in an editorial carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. It didn't mention the ship sinking.

------------------------------------------

Last April 19th, 2010, An emotional President Lee Myung-bak vowed Monday to find out why a South Korean naval ship sank and to "deal resolutely" with whatever or whomever caused the sinking, the country's Yonhap news agency reported.-

April 19th, news CNN reported that there were 58  rescued after explosion.  There were total 104 crew members on Board and 40 others are missing on Friday Evening.  It started sinking near Baengnyeong Island, which is controlled by South Korea, after an explosion that occurred Friday evening.  Baengnyeong Island is the westermost point of South Korea. Travel time by boat to the island from Incheon is about four hours.

An explosion caused by a torpedo likely tore apart and sank a South Korean warship near the North Korean border, Seoul's defense minister said Sunday, while declining to assign blame for the blast as suspicion increasingly falls on Pyongyang.  Relatives of the missing sailed overnight aboard a military ship, arriving at the scene of the sinking on Sunday.

The sinking of the ship near the disputed sea border, where the navies of the two Koreas have fought bloody skirmishes, raised the possibility of a North Korean torpedo attack or sabotage. The South Korean defense minister, Kim Tae-young, told Parliament that the authorities would investigate such a possibility but emphasized that it was too early to connect the sinking to North Korea.

The ship, a 1,200-ton frigate built in 1989, was on a routine patrol mission with 104 crew members on board.

See below movie as an example how Torpedo destroys the ship:

“I heard a terrible explosion and the ship keeled suddenly to the right. We lost power and telecommunications,” Choi Won-il, captain of the Cheonan, told the relatives. “I was trapped in the cabin for five minutes before my colleagues broke the window in and let me out. When I got out, the stern had already broken away and disappeared underwater.”

Most of those missing were believed to have been trapped inside their rapidly sinking ship as waters gushed into their dark under deck, officials said.

“Many sailors were hanging onto the bow of the sinking ship,” Kim Jin-ho, a crewman on a civilian ferry to Baengnyeong, a South Korean border island, told YTN television, describing the rescue scene on Friday night. “They were shouting for help. They were falling into water.”

The sinking of the ship near the disputed sea border, where the navies of the two Koreas have fought bloody skirmishes, raised the possibility of a North Korean torpedo attack or sabotage. The South Korean defense minister, Kim Tae-young, told Parliament that the authorities would investigate such a possibility but emphasized that it was too early to connect the sinking to North Korea.

Many of the incidents occurring at sea are due to border disputes. The North claims jurisdiction over a large area south of the de facto western maritime border, the Northern Limit Line. As this is prime fishing area, clashes are common. In addition, the North claims its territorial waters extend for 50 nautical miles (90 km) from the coast, rather than the 12 nautical miles (22 km) recognized by other countries.

If we go back to the  November 10, 2009: Naval vessels from the two Koreas exchanged fire in the area of the NLL, reportedly causing serious damage to a North Korean patrol ship.

March 26, 2010: One South Korean naval vessel is sunk in the Yellow Sea near North Korea. Reasons for this attack are unknown. 58 sailors are rescued, but others are feared to be dead. Though not much evidence is available, the common theory among the U.S. and South Korean governments is that North Korea is behind this attack. North Korea had reportedly been running numerous artillery drills on the same day the ship was brought down.

On Saturday, recovery crews found the body of a missing sailor in the wreckage of the ship.  The ship sunk in the Yellow Sea near the western sea border with North Korea on March 26.  Forty of Cheonan's 104 crew members have now been confirmed dead, and six more are also believed dead, though they are still listed as missing. Fifty eight others were rescued before the vessel sank .

Condolences and prayers for those of who lost loved ones and who are injured by the Military disaster, Ship sinking in March 26th, 2010,

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Reported by Catch4all.com, Sandra Englund, April 25, 2010

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South Korea ship sinking may be North's grandstanding

Acording to Reuters, Herskovitz - Analysis SEOUL dated, Fri Mar 26, 2010 12:25pm EDT:

The Seoul government has called an emergency meeting of senior cabinet ministers.

The North will not escalate tensions to the state of war, which would be a suicidal move for leader Kim Jong-il because his ill-equipped army would be no match for the advanced militaries of South Korea and its biggest ally the United States.

* If the North did attack the South's ship, the likely reason would have been to raise tension ahead of its return to the nuclear talks. The North often rattles sabers ahead of major diplomatic meetings to alarm its dialogue partners in the hope that they would be more willing to make concessions in return for Pyongyang reducing its military threat to the region.

* Military grandstanding by the North usually only has a temporary impact on markets, with investors saying it would take the threat of war to cause real and lasting impact.

* North Korea risks further hits to its economy by an attack on the South. Its nearly bare coffers have been further depleted by U.N. sanctions imposed after a nuclear test in May while a botched currency revaluation at the end of last year added to its woes and sparked rare civil unrest.

* A North Korean attack on the South strengthens Kim's standing at home among the country's powerful military. This could help him reshuffle cadres or perhaps clear the way for his youngest son to be named heir of the communist dynasty when the North's parliament holds its annual meeting on April 9.

* The North may follow the attack with other sorts of military grandstanding that could include missile launches or even another nuclear test.

* If Pyongyang goes too far, it could be hit by U.S. Treasury measures that would virtually cut off its meager international finances. This would deal a major blow to Kim who needs hard cash to win the support of cadres for his succession plans and to pay for an ambitious program lauded in his state's media to build a "strong and prosperous" nation by 2012.

---------------------------------------

South Korea says not clear North involved in ship sinking. A South Korean naval ship was sinking on Friday night with more than 100 people on board, but officials played down earlier suggestions that it may have been the result of an attack by North Korea.

"It is not clear whether North Korea was involved," Presidential Blue House spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye told Reuters.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff also said it could not conclude that the reclusive North was behind the attack.

Earlier, South Korean media had quoted officials as saying the North could have torpedoed the ship near the disputed western sea border that separates the two Koreas.

The sinking comes as the impoverished North has become increasingly frustrated by its wealthy neighbor, which has given the cold-shoulder to recent attempts to reopen a lucrative tourist business on the northern side of the Cold War's last frontier.

It also coincides with mounting pressure on Pyongyang to call off a more than one-year boycott of international talks to end its efforts to build a nuclear arsenal.

The presidential office had earlier also said a South Korean vessel had fired at an unidentified vessel in the North.

The government held an emergency security meeting following the incident, Yonhap news agency said.

The ship was sinking near the disputed Yellow Sea border off the west coast of the peninsula which was the scene of two deadly naval fights between the rival Koreas in the past decade.

Local media reports said at least 59 South Korean sailors survived the attack and an unknown number appeared to have been killed or are missing. A rescue operation was under way.

Navies from the rival Koreas exchanged gunfire for the first time in seven years in the Yellow Sea waters in November, damaging vessels on both sides.

The international community has been pressuring the North to give up efforts to build nuclear weapons, promising help for its broken economy if it does so.

There has been widespread speculation that North Korea's iron ruler, Kim Jong-il, was about to visit China, his only significant ally and on which he has depended almost entirely for economic aid after a new conservative government in Seoul effectively ended years of free-flowing assistance.

In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said a nuclear arms reduction treaty announced with Russia earlier in the day showed states like North Korea that non-proliferation was a top priority for Moscow and Washington.



The following locations for the Nuclear Facilities (Source: FAS):
FAS (Federation of American Scientists)
Satellite imagery via /US Committee for Human Rights in North Korea. Seclected North Korean Prison Camp Locations
Source:U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea

US envoy blasts 'appalling' NKorean human rights:

Strengthening the Global Leadership under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to stop the spread of these weapons, and to ensure that other nations meet their own responsibilities.

President Obama and President Medvedev agreed to meet in Prague, the Czech Republic, on Thursday, April 8, to sign the Treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation. This was the 14th meeting and shared commitment to “reset” U.S.-Russia relations which shows the mutual interest along many dimensions.

21 Consecutive 5 inch Deck Gun Shots from US NAVY DESTROYER
November 10, 2009 :North and South Korean naval ships have fired on each other off the western coast of the peninsula. Each claims the other side violated their territorial waters. (Nov 10)

Sources: Yahoo, Reuters, Youtube, CNN, White House
Reported by Catch4all.com, Sandra Englund.

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