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S. Korea accuses North of sinking its warship in March - agency

© Сollage by RIA NovostiS. Korea accuses North of sinking its warship in March
S. Korea accuses North of sinking its warship in March - Sputnik International
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Seoul announced on Thursday that a North Korean submarine sank a South Korean warship in March.

Seoul announced on Thursday that a North Korean submarine sank a South Korean warship in March, the Yonhap news agency said.

The 1,200-ton Cheonan corvette sunk on the night of March 26 near the disputed Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the Yellow Sea after a sudden explosion that killed 46 sailors.

A team of international investigators confirmed on Thursday suspicions that the ship was destroyed by a torpedo launched from a North Korean submarine.

"We have reached a clear conclusion that South Korea's Cheonan [corvette] was sunk as a result of an external underwater explosion caused by a torpedo made in North Korea," Yonhap quoted Yoon Duk-yong, co-head of the investigation team, as saying.

"The evidence points overwhelmingly to the conclusion that the torpedo was fired by a North Korean submarine," the official added.

The conclusions of the investigation may lead to further deterioration of the already sour relations between the two Koreas and jeopardize international efforts to stop Pyongyang's controversial nuclear weapons and ballistic missile development programs.

North Korea has already called the results of the investigation "a fabrication," and warned Seoul of stern response if the South retaliated with new sanctions against Pyongyang over the alleged attack on its warship.

The two countries remain technically at war as their 1950-1953 conflict ended only in an armistice.

Naval clashes between the two states over the disputed sea border took place in 1999, 2002 and last year.

MOSCOW, May 20 (RIA Novosti)

 

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