03-26-2010, 08:39 AM
|
|
|
(felis madjewicus)
Industry Role:
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: In Mom & Dad's Basement
Posts: 20,368
|
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62P30E20100326
Quote:
Broadcaster SBS said many South Korean sailors on the stricken vessel were feared dead.
South Korea's YTN TV network said the government was investigating whether the sinking was due to a torpedo attack by the North, and Yonhap news agency said the Seoul government had convened an emergency meeting of security-related ministers.
Yonhap also reported a South Korean navy ship firing toward an unidentified vessel to the north.
North Korea in recent weeks has said it was bolstering its defenses in response to joint South Korean-U.S. military drills that were held this month.
|
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36052055...s-asiapacific/
Quote:
South Korea is investigating whether a naval ship sinking off the west coast of the peninsula was hit by a torpedo fired by the North.
The 1,500-ton vessel, which had more than 100 people on board, started sinking between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. local time (8 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET) near the island of Baengnyeong in the Yellow Sea. There were unconfirmed reports it had already sunk.
South Korean broadcaster SBS said many sailors were feared dead. A rescue operation was under way.
The South Korean Yonhap news agency reported that the South Korean navy subsequently fired at an unidentified ship in the direction of North Korea.
Citing Yonhap, the BBC reported that the South Korean government had convened an emergency meeting. However, the ministry of defence has not confirmed the reports of North Korean involvement.
There have been clashes on the sea border between the North and South before.
In November, a South Korean vessel opened fire when a ship from the North crossed a disputed sea border. The North Korean ship fired back and the North dened the vessel had fired back.
In recent weeks, North Korea has said it was bolstering its defenses in response to joint South Korean-U.S. military drills that were held this month.
Earlier Friday, North Korea's military warned South Korea and the United States of "unprecedented nuclear strikes" over a report the two countries plan to prepare for possible instability in the totalitarian country.
However the North routinely issues such warnings and officials in Seoul and Washington react calmly.
Diplomats in South Korea and the U.S. have repeatedly called on Pyongyang to return to international negotiations aimed at ending its nuclear programs.
|
|
|
|