Armistice watchdog to probe S Korean warship sinking

A multinational investigation led by South Korea concluded on Thursday there was overwhelming evidence that a North Korean torpedo split the 1,200-tonne corvette in two on March 26, killing 46 sailors.

"The UNC is convening a special investigations team...to review the findings of the investigation and determine the scope of armistice violation that occurred in the sinking," the UNC said in a statement.

The UNC has been in the South since the UN sent an international force to defend it after the Korean War broke out in 1950. The conflict ended in 1953 with an armistice but not a peace treaty.

South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak today described the torpedo attack as a breach of the armistice.

The team will include members from the UNC and the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission, an armistice watchdog.

The UNC members include representatives from Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, New Zealand, South Korea, Turkey, Britain and the United States. The Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission consists of members from Sweden and Switzerland.

"The team will report their findings to the United Nations," the UNC statement said.
North Korea warned today it would scrap a non-aggression pact with the South and freeze all inter-Korean relations if Seoul tries to punish it for the sinking.

It accuses Seoul of faking evidence of its involvement in the sinking, and wants to send its own team to the South to examine the evidence.