North Korea threatens 'all-out-war'

In the face of world-wide condemnation North Korea today claimed damning evidence that it torpedoed a South Korean warship was fabricated.

And it warned that any attempt at retaliating for the sinking would be answered with “all-out war”.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak vowed “stern action” for the attack after a multinational investigation issued its long-awaited results today, concluding the North fired a torpedo that sank the Cheonan navy ship near the countries’ tense sea border.

“If the (South Korean) enemies try to deal any retaliation or punishment, or if they try sanctions or a strike on us .... we will answer to this with all-out war,” Col. Pak In Ho of North Korea’s navy said.

An international civilian-military investigation team said evidence overwhelmingly proved a North Korean submarine fired a homing torpedo that caused a massive underwater blast that tore the Cheonan apart. Fifty-eight sailors were rescued from the Yellow Sea, but 46 died in the South’s worst military disaster since the Korean War.

Since the 1950-53 war on the Korean peninsula ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty, the Koreas remain locked in a state of war and divided by the world’s most heavily armed border.

The truce prevents Seoul from waging a unilateral military attack.

However, South Korea and the US, which has 28,500 troops on the peninsula, could hold joint military exercises in a show of force, said Daniel Pinkston, a Seoul-based analyst for the International Crisis Group think tank.

South Korean and US officials also said they are considering a variety of options in response to the warship’s sinking, ranging from UN Security Council action to additional US penalties.

The exchange of war rhetoric raised tensions, but the isolated communist regime - already under international pressure to cease its nuclear weapons programme - often warns of dire consequences against South Korea or Washington for any punitive steps against it. Its large but decrepit military would be no match for US and Korean forces.

The impoverished country is already chafing from international sanctions tightened last year in the wake of widely condemned nuclear and missile tests. UN sanctions currently block funding to certain officials and companies, while North Korea is barred from exporting weapons and countries are authorised to inspect North Korean ships suspected of carrying illicit cargo.

South Korea “will take resolute countermeasures against North Korea and make it admit its wrongdoings through strong international cooperation,” Lee said during a call with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, the presidential office said.

The White House called the sinking an unacceptable “act of aggression” that violated international law and the 1953 truce. Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama declared his support for South Korea, calling North Korea’s actions “inexcusable”.

China, North Korea’s traditional ally, called the sinking of the naval ship “unfortunate” but stopped short of backing Seoul.

Pyongyang continued its steadfast denials of involvement in the sinking.

“Our Korean People’s Army was not founded for the purpose of attacking others. We have no intention to strike others first,” Col. Pak, the naval spokesman, said. “So why should we attack a ship like the Cheonan which has no relation with us, no need to strike it and we have no significance in doing so.”

North Korea has waged a series of attacks on South Korea since the 1950-53 fighting ended, including the 1987 downing of a South Korean airliner that killed all 115 people on board.

Pyongyang has never owned up to the attacks.

North Korea also disputes the maritime border drawn unilaterally by UN forces at the close of the Korean War, and the waters have been the site of several deadly naval clashes.

Detailed scientific analysis of the wreckage, as well as fragments recovered from the waters where the Cheonan went down, point to North Korea, investigators said.

The bending of the ship’s keel backs the theory that an underwater torpedo triggered a shockwave and bubble effect that tore the ship apart, the report said.

The report also cites fractures on the main deck, statements from survivors and a sentry on a nearby island, and fractures and lacerations on the remains of deceased sailors.

Pieces of the torpedo “perfectly match” the schematics of a North Korean-made torpedo Pyongyang has tried to sell abroad, chief investigator Yoon Duk-yong said.

A serial number on one fragment is consistent with markings from a North Korean torpedo that Seoul obtained years earlier, Yoon said.

“The evidence points overwhelmingly to the conclusion that the torpedo was fired by a North Korean submarine,” he said. “There is no other plausible explanation.”