Mine from the past

Divers searching for missing South Korean sailors

South Korean Defense Minister Kim Dae-yong told parliamentarians yesterday that the mysterious sinking of the South Korean corvette Cheonan last week could have been caused by a mine deliberately planted by the North Koreans. The minister did not rule out that a mine could have been drifting there since the Korean War of 1950-1953. The South Korean General Staff called the probable cause of the tragedy a collision with a stray mine, adding that a “sudden emergency situation” on the ship itself could have led to the explosion. Military sources of the authoritative South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo believe that if the Cheonan was destroyed by a sea mine, then it could have been made in South Korea. A lot of such mines have accumulated in the Yellow Sea over the past decades.

North Korea yesterday threatened South Korea and the United States with “unpredictable incidents, including loss of life,” for “escalating inter-Korean confrontation” in the demilitarized zone separating the two Korean states. However, until now Pyongyang has not said a word about the March 26 incident. But at first, many experts feared that the tragedy would put South and North Korea on the brink of military conflict.

The Cheonan corvette with a displacement of 1.2 thousand tons was torn in half by a powerful explosion off the southern-controlled island of Pangnendo near the actual border with the North. At first, Seoul said that the ship was torpedoed by northerners who did not recognize the inter-Korean border established by the Americans in the Yellow Sea. In 1999 and 2002, collisions between warships of northerners and southerners have already occurred in this area. But an investigation into the explosion, ordered by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, did not reveal a North Korean trace.

Of the 104 Cheonan crew members, 58 were saved. The fate of the remaining 46 is unknown. In the Yellow Sea at this time of year, death from hypothermia occurs after about three hours, but some sailors could survive in the isolated rooms of the sunken stern. Yesterday, despite the strong undercurrent and poor visibility, South Korean military scuba divers made their way to it. They found no signs of life inside. “The divers knocked on the hull, no one answered them,” said Brigadier General Lee Ki-sik, a spokesman for the South Korean Ministry of Defense. “Now they will try to penetrate the discovered wreck of the corvette.” 20 South Korean ships and four US Navy ships are involved in the search for the missing sailors.

Alexander SAMOKHOTKIN