Russian military experts have completed an investigation into causes of the sinking of a South Korean warship in June and forwarded its results to a security council, a high level official from Russian Defense Ministry said.
The 1,200-ton South Korean warship sank near the disputed Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea on March 26, causing the loss of 46 lives. South Korea says it has proof that North Korea fired a torpedo at the vessel from a submarine, although Pyongyang denies the attack.
"Russian military experts examined samples of materials from the Cheonan ship, obtained during a working visit to South Korea, as well as documentation available to them," the official said. "The investigation is complete, all results were submitted to the National Security Council," he added.
"The possible cause of the sinking became an external influence on the vessel's hull," the official said.
He did not rule out that the results will be later forwarded to the South Korean side.
In early June, a group of Russian Navy experts went to Seoul to assess an international probe into the incident, which revealed that North Korea fired a torpedo at the vessel from a submarine, although Pyongyang denies the allegations. However, the experts were unable to give any decisive answers.
In July the United States and South Korea conducted large-scale military exercises in the Sea of Japan. Initially, the exercises were scheduled for June 8-11, however, they were postponed as the sides decided to wait for a UN resolution on the sinking of the Cheonan.
The UN Security Council condemned the incident and stressed the need to prevent similar attacks in the region, but did not place the direct responsibility on North Korea.
MOSCOW, September 4 (RIA Novosti)
