Saturday - April 17, 2010

Well no kidding

Yet another reason for BMEWS to have the “No shit, Sherlock” category. As in, “tell us something that we don’t already know, m’kay?”

An “external explosion” probably sank the South Korean naval vessel which went down near North Korean waters last month, an investigator says.

“The possibility of an external explosion is far higher than that of an internal explosion,” Yoon Duk-yong told a news conference in Seoul.

He was speaking a day after the stern section of the ship was raised from the seabed. Fifty-eight crew survived, but more than 40 sailors died. Salvage workers found 36 bodies in the shattered hull of the Cheonan, a 1,200-tonne navy gunboat, which sank in mysterious circumstances three weeks ago. Two more bodies were recovered earlier, and another eight sailors remain unaccounted for.

During a briefing in Seoul, South Korea’s investigative team said the sinking of the Cheonan did not appear to have been caused by an on-board accident or by running aground.

“There is a high possibility of an external explosion rather than an internal explosion,” said Yoon Duk-yong, co-head of a state investigation team. “A strong force was applied to the left side of the ship, leaving the hull and iron sheets curved inward. This kind of destruction is caused by an external explosion.”

He said evidence gathered from wreckage showed a low probability that the ship had sunk because of an internal blast, metal fatigue or collision with a reef. The ship’s ammunition room, its fuel tank and diesel engine room were not damaged, he said, noting that there was no indication of an internal fire.

North Korea has for decades disputed its border in the Yellow Sea with the South. Known as the Northern Limit Line, it was drawn by the U.S. military at the end of the Korean War in 1953.

The North cultivates a reputation for hair-trigger belligerence. Last year, it ignored U.N. resolutions by exploding its second nuclear device, launching a long-range ballistic missile and test-firing a number of short-range missiles into international waters.

Given to rhetorical excess, it often threatens South Korea and the United States with “all-out war.” The North has also said it has the ability to turn metropolitan Seoul, with a population of about 22 million and located just 35 miles from the border, into “a sea of fire.”

That is not an empty threat, according to many military analysts.

North Korea has moved about 70 percent of its military units and up to 80 percent of its artillery to within 60 miles of the border, according to the Strategic Studies Institute, a research arm of the U.S. Army War College.

Reprisals? You betcha. But subtle ones. Perhaps the NorKs merchant fleet will start being lost while far at sea after suddenly, mysteriously, losing radio communication. Perhaps the South can leverage the US to stop selling the NorKs fuel oil and food for a few seasons. But don’t expect anything too overt. Not right now.

Posted by Drew458     on 04/17/2010 at 10:18 AM   
Filed Under: • No Shit, Sherlock •  
• Comments (1) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

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