South Korea said yesterday it wanted US experts to help investigate the mysterious blast that tore a warship in two near the tense North Korean border with the apparent loss of 46 sailors.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said, however, that Seoul would not rush its probe into the March 26 sinking of the corvette because the world was watching the outcome.
“Given the examples of disasters in various advanced nations, accuracy is more important than speed in determining the cause of this kind of big incident,” he said in a radio address.
The US Joint Chiefs of Staff said a phone request had already been made for US help and that the issue would be officially discussed later in the day.
There has been intense speculation about the cause of an explosion which sank the 1,200-tonne corvette near the disputed Yellow Sea border, the scene of deadly naval clashes in 1999 and 2002 and of a firefight in November.
Fifty-eight people were initially rescued, but 46 sailors are still missing.
Defense minister Kim Tae-young said last Friday a torpedo attack might have caused the sinking, although this was only one of several possibilities.
Civilian and military experts are preparing an operation to lift the hull sections from the treacherous seas but say the salvage could take weeks.
US ships and personnel took part in efforts last week to rescue sailors believed to be trapped in the rear section of the hull.
After finding one body on Saturday, the South Korean navy officially called off the risky rescue bid at the request of families of the missing. One navy diver has already died.
In a separate incident, a South Korean and an Indonesian have been confirmed dead and seven others remain missing after a trawler taking part in the search hit a Cambodian-registered freighter on Friday.
US President Barack Obama telephoned Lee on Thursday to offer sympathy and support. The US, a close ally, stations 28,500 troops in the South.
Lee yesterday urged people to “wait patiently, although it will be painful” for the outcome of the investigation. “We will have to find the cause in a way that satisfies not only our people but also the international community.”
A 2,000-tonne sea crane to be used to recover the wreck arrived on Saturday near the scene of the sinking and a 3,600-tonne crane is on the way. A total of four giant cranes and three barges will be used to lift the front and rear sections of the sunken corvette from the seabed, navy officials said.
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