The South Korea government on Monday released the full
version of its investigation into the March 26 sinking of the Cheonan, which it
hopes will offer conclusive proof to a skeptical Russia that the explosion that
killed 46 sailors was due to a torpedo fired by a North Korean submarine.
The South Korean report (PDF),
obtained by The Cable¸ is meant to
put to rest the Russian argument that the Cheonan somehow ran aground in
shallow waters and triggered a mine explosion, leading to its sinking. That's
the version of events reportedly
contained in a Russian report that has never been publicly released.
"ROKS Cheonan was sunk due to an under-water explosion
caused by an attack of a CHT-02D torpedo manufactured and used by North Korea,"
concluded the South Korean report. "The evidence points overwhelmingly to the
conclusion that the torpedo was fired by a North Korean submarine. There is no
other plausible explanation."
The joint civilian-military commission that compiled the
report included input from 73 experts from 4 different nations, including the
United States. Despite its comprehensive nature, its findings were not enough
to convince the U.N. Security Council to issue a Presidential Statement explicitly blaming North Korea.
The U.N. statement acknowledged
that the South Korean investigation accused North Korea of being behind the
attack, and then "takes note of the responses from other relevant parties,
including from the DPRK, which has stated that it had nothing to do with the
incident."
South Korea's full report attempted to quell any dispute by
showing, among other evidence, that the investigators found parts of the North
Korean torpedo (pictured above) and parts of the explosive device that
ultimately sunk the ship.
"The finding of the propulsion motor of a torpedo (the smoking
gun) and the detection of explosive components illustrated to the North and the
international community that even the most covert of attacks will leave
evidence behind," the report stated. "Most importantly, all this entails a
solemn warning to the North not to engage in further military provocations. This
report is a pledge that the Republic of Korea will reflect upon this incident
and not let the North exercise further military provocations."
Meanwhile, Ambassador Stephen Bosworth, Special Envoy
Sung Kim, and NSC Asia Director Danny Russel were in Seoul Monday
for discussions
on North Korea, and will continue on to Tokyo and Beijing later this week. They met with Minister of Unification Hyun In-taek, acting Foreign Minister Shin Kak-soo, Special Representative
for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Wi Sung-lac, and National Security Advisor Kim Sung-hwan.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said that the State Department is "looking to see how
- through bilateral contacts and multilateral contacts we can advance towards
denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."
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