South Korean President Lee Myung-bak ordered an investigation yesterday into how a navy ship sank near the disputed North Korea border, but officials said it was unlikely to have been the result of an attack by Pyongyang.
Initial speculation that North Korea might have sunk the ship spooked Wall Street, where share prices dipped overnight partly on geopolitical concerns, and the won dropped against the dollar.
“Every possibility should be considered in investigating the causes of the ship sinking and the investigation must be fast and thorough,” Lee’s office quoted him as telling an emergency government meeting early yesterday.
A reporter on Baengnyeongdo island, near where the ship sank, said about 10 navy and coastguard vessels, along with divers, were searching the area and the wreckage.
MBC television quoted defense ministry sources as saying it was unlikely the prickly North was involved, although they were checking for a possible link. The ministry was also investigating whether it was the result of an internal explosion.
Presidential Blue House spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye also said there had been no unusual movements by North Korea, which has a million-strong military, much of it near the heavily armed border that has divided the Korean peninsula for more than 50 years.
Local media quoted a presidential official as saying satellite pictures and other information showed no sign of the North Korean military in the area at the time of the sinking.
The defense ministry said 58 of the 104 on board had been rescued and Yonhap quoted navy officials as saying several had died. It was later quoted as saying 46 crew were still missing.
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