Text Fwd: U.N. Command to probe whether N. Korea violated armistice

Yonhap News
U.N. Command to probe whether N. Korea violated armistice
2010/05/21 14:59 KST
By Kim Deok-hyun

SEOUL, May 21 (Yonhap) -- The United Nations Command (UNC) in South Korea said Friday it will investigate whether a North Korean torpedo attack on a South Korean warship in March was in violation of an armistice agreement.

The UNC and the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC) will "review the findings of the investigation and determine the scope of the armistice violation that occurred in the sinking of the Republic of Korea Ship Cheonan," the UNC said in a statement.

The UNC's special investigation team will be comprised of representatives from South Korea, Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, New Zealand, Turkey, Britain and the United States, as well as Sweden and Switzerland, members of the NNSC, the statement said.

The team will report their findings to the U.N., according to the statement.

A South Korean government source said earlier Friday the UNC's Military Armistice Commission will lodge a formal protest with Pyongyang if the North is proven to have violated the armistice pact, a ceasefire that ended the 1950-1953 Korean War.

On Thursday, South Korea officially accused North Korea of torpedoing the Cheonan, a 1,200-ton patrol ship, in an unprovoked attack, causing it to sink near their Yellow Sea border. Forty-six sailors aboard were killed.

Pyongyang denies the accusation, calling it a fabrication by the Seoul government, and has threatened to wage an "all-out war" if South Korea takes any countermeasures.

The government source said the armistice commission could suggest a joint investigation with North Korea once the probe results are confirmed and verified.

In a meeting of the National Security Council, the first in a year, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said the attack on the Cheonan constitutes a violation of the U.N. Charter and the armistice. He is expected to give a public address early next week on the government's countermeasures against the North.

"Depending on the government's decision, we could take military or non-military measures as early as next week," Deputy Defense Minister Jang Kwang-il said.

The South's military is considering resuming propaganda broadcasts across the border with the North, launching anti-submarine military training exercises with the U.S. and banning North Korean commercial ships from passing through South Korean waters, officials said.

In a diplomatic offensive, South Korea has said it would appeal to the U.N. Security Council to punish the North for the sinking.

On Thursday, North Korea's National Defense Commission expressed its intent to send its own investigators to Seoul to assess the investigation results, South Korean defense officials said.

The Seoul government's position is that the issue should be handled by the UNC, they said.

kdh@yna.co.kr