Seoul hunted out evidence that Cheonan was torpedoed

14.09.2010 S Korean corvette Cheonan with displacement of 1,200 tons was torpedoed by N Korean submarine on March 26 in the Yellow Sea, reports ITAR-TASS referring to S Korean defense ministry.

According to the ministry's press release, outputs made by investigative board will dispel numerous doubts about reasons of an explosion halved the corvette and caused death of 46 sailors. Fifty eight crewmen were rescued then. According to S Korean 73-man investigative board including experts from Australia, the UK, the U.S., and Sweden, the ship sank because of underwater burst of a torpedo launched by N Korean sub sneaked into S Korean territorial waters.

The major evidence is a torpedo engine picked up at the accident site; there was N Korean-style inscription "No. 1" on the engine. Other fragments of torpedo lifted up were corresponding to Seoul's descriptions of N Korean arsenals. According to the board experts, it was a torpedo contained about 250 kg of explosives made in N Korea.

We recall that 104-man crewed Cheonan was patrolling border territories somewhat 20 km away from N Korean frontier on March 26, 2010. When an explosion occurred in the hull, the corvette ship rapidly went to the bottom. Fifty eight sailors were rescued in the first hours after tragedy; afterwards, rescuers failed to find any survivors.