South Korea warned yesterday that stalled North Korea nuclear disarmament talks would not be able to resume if it finds the communist state was involved in the sinking of one of its warships.
The sinking of a 1,200 tonne corvette in the Yellow Sea last month after a mystery blast has ratcheted up cross-border tensions, with suspicions hanging over North Korea although Seoul has not directly accused Pyongyang.
“If convincing evidence of North Korea’s involvement is found, I think the six-party talks will be unable to take place for the time being,” South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan told a briefing.
PHOTO: REUTERS
NUCLEAR TEST?
Adding to the jitters, a South Korean television station said North Korea was preparing a third nuclear test, but Yu dismissed the report and analysts also described it as implausible.
Yu, however, said that if Pongyang is clearly found to be responsible for the March 26 disaster which cost the lives of 46 sailors, “the North would then have to be called to account over the sinking.”
As well as warning about the future of the stalled nuclear talks, he repeated comments made on Sunday that Seoul would take the issue to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions if Pyongyang was involved.
South Korean officials say an external explosion was the most likely cause, but have refrained from directly pointing the finger of blame at the reclusive communist state.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak vowed on Monday a “resolute” response to the disaster, the worst peacetime loss of life for South Korea’s navy.
Pyongyang on Saturday denied any involvement, accusing Seoul of seeking to shift the blame in order to justify its hardline policy toward the communist North.
Analysts have said the incident could harm diplomatic efforts aimed at coaxing North Korea back to the six-party nuclear disarmament talks it quit a year ago.
But Yu dismissed a report by South Korean YTN TV that the North was preparing a third nuclear test following ones in 2006 and last year.
‘IMPLAUSIBLE’
“There are no signs of the North preparing for a third nuclear test,” he said.
Quoting an unidentified diplomatic source in Beijing, YTN said the North had begun the preparations in February, involving significantly upgraded technology, for a test possibly next month or June.
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, also dismissed the YTN report as “totally implausible.”
With the cloud of suspicion hanging over North Korea, South Korea is launching detailed inspections of the Cheonan after the broken wreckage was moved ashore.
“Naked-eye inspections of the stern have led the joint investigation team to a conclusion that an outside explosion was a high possibility,” defense ministry spokesman Won Tae-jae told journalists.
“But any conclusive findings would come only after we salvage and inspect the bow section and other debris,” he added.
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