Three Australian experts were to arrive yesterday to join an international investigation into the mystery sinking of a South Korean warship near the North Korean border, the defense ministry said.
Seven US and 123 South Korean experts are already probing the March 26 blast that broke a 1,200-tonne corvette in two with the loss of 46 lives.
Britain and Sweden have also been asked to join the probe.
A huge naval crane on Monday moved the submerged stern to shallower water in the Yellow Sea to make it easier eventually to hoist the wreckage onto a barge. However, the salvage was suspended yesterday due to high winds and waves.
Workers also halted a separate search for any seabed debris that could indicate the cause of the explosion.
Survivors have said a big external blast tore the ship apart, discounting theories that an explosion on board or a grounding sank the vessel.
The area around the disputed border was the scene of deadly naval clashes between North Korea and South Korea in 1999 and 2002 and of a firefight in November last year.
Seoul’s defense minister has raised the possibility that a mine or torpedo may have sunk the Cheonan.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak cautioned against speculation before the end of the probe — which could take weeks even after the wreckage has been raised and moved by barge to a naval base for examination.
Lee has called for “a very objective investigation” whose findings cannot be disputed, and promised “stern measures” against whoever was to blame.
The sinking may also have sunk hopes for an early resumption of six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear disarmament, some analysts said.
“This incident is poisoning the atmosphere for resuming the six-party talks” grouping the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the US, Yoo Ho-yeol of Korea University said.
“The likelihood of North Korea’s involvement seems to be growing day by day and an increase in tension between the two Koreas appears inevitable,” he said.
He and other analysts said, however, that even before the sinking, the North did not appear keen to resume the nuclear dialogue that it quit a year ago.
As preconditions for returning, the North wants a US commitment to discuss a permanent peace treaty and the lifting of UN sanctions. Washington says it must first return to the nuclear forum and show seriousness about negotiating.
Yoo said that if the North’s involvement in the attack were eventually proved, the South would likely seek new UN sanctions. A retaliatory military strike would not be an option, he said.
Not everyone is convinced an explosion sank the corvette.
“I think it would be too far fetched to assume a torpedo attack by the North, judging from its weapons capability,” said Baek Seung-joo of the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses. “I think it might rather have been related to some structural defects in the warship.”
On the Chinese microblogging platform Sina Weibo, enthusiastic slackers share their tips: Fill up a thermos with whiskey, do planks or stretches in the work pantry at regular intervals, drink liters of water to prompt lots of trips to the toilet on work time, and, once there, spend time on social media or playing games on your phone. “Not working hard is everyone’s basic right,” one commenter wrote. “With or without legal protection, everyone has the right to not work hard.” Young Chinese people are pushing back against an engrained culture of overwork, and embracing a philosophy of laziness known as “touching
‘STUNNED’: With help from an official at the US Department of Justice, Donald Trump reportedly planned to oust the acting attorney general in a bid to overturn the election Former US president Donald Trump was at his Florida resort on Saturday, beginning post-presidency life while US President Joe Biden settled into the White House, but in Washington and beyond, the chaos of the 45th president’s final days in office continued to throw out damaging aftershocks. In yet another earth-shaking report, the New York Times said that Trump plotted with an official at the US Department of Justice to fire the acting attorney general, then force Georgia Republicans to overturn his defeat in that state. Meanwhile, former acting US secretary of defense Christopher Miller made an extraordinary admission, telling Vanity Fair that
The Palauan president-elect has vowed to stand up to Chinese “bullying” in the Pacific, saying that the archipelago nation is set to stand by its alliances with “true friends,” Taiwan and the US. Surangel Whipps Jr, 52, a supermarket owner and two-time senator from a prominent Palauan family, is to be sworn in as the new president tomorrow, succeeding his brother-in-law, Tommy Remengesau Jr. In a forthright interview, Whipps said that the US had demonstrated over the years that it was a reliable friend of Palau, most recently shown by its delivery of 6,000 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. “It’s important for
Boeing set a target of designing and certifying its jetliners to fly on 100 percent sustainable fuels by 2030, amid rising pressure on planemakers to take climate change seriously. Regulators allow a 50-50 blend of sustainable and conventional fuels, and Boeing on Friday said it would work with authorities to raise the limit. Rival Airbus is considering another tack: a futuristic lineup of hydrogen-powered aircraft that would reach the skies by 2035. The aircraft manufacturers face growing public clamor to cut emissions in the aviation industry, which added more than 1 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere in 2019, according to
RSS