South Korea claims proof that North Korean torpedo sank its ship

New York, May 19 (ANI): South Korea will claim that a North Korean torpedo was the culprit in sinking their naval ship according to domestic media reports.

The torpedo smashed into the ship, broke it into half, caused it to sink and killed 46 South Korean sailors.

The revelation will widen the existing chasm between the two countries as it breaks the tenuous calm that prevailed since the end of the Korean war.

South Korea is meticulously amassing evidence to support this claim, as this will help in mobilizing international opinion in their favour and probably result in further isolation of their belligerent neighbour.

"We will blame a torpedo attack and link it to North Korea," said a government official briefed on the investigation, adding that the authorities were still fine-tuning an official announcement to be made on Thursday, the New York Times reports.

He refused to discuss forensic evidence that will be cited in the report.

In a series of closed-door briefings scheduled for Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry intends to present to Chinese, Russian, Japanese and European diplomats "scientific and objective evidence to back up the conclusion that it was a North Korean torpedo attack," said the South Korean news agency Yonhap.

However, China's affinity to North Korea could prove to be a stumbling block in South Korea's plans, as China has the veto-power and will need to be convinced beyond any doubt before they act against North Korea for whom they hold a sympathetic view, the New York Times said.

Investigators reportedly established a critical forensic link when they matched metal pieces and traces of explosive recovered from the ship with a stray North Korean torpedo secured by the South seven years ago, Yonhap and other South Korean news outlets reported.

They also said they had found a fragment believed to be part of a North Korean torpedo's propeller, the paper said. (ANI)