South Korea Foreign Minister: North Korea Sank Cheonan Warship

Via Christian Science Monitor -

South Korea's foreign minister bluntly blamed the March sinking of the Cheonan warship and the death of 46 sailors on North Korea Wednesday

“We have the evidence,” Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan told the Monitor. Asked how South Korea would respond, Mr. Yu promised “very firm action” but avoided specifics.

Yu's comments came a day before the release of the results of an inquiry into the sinking of the Cheonan. But with Seoul already making it clear that North Korea fired the torpedo that sank the Cheonan the question is: What will the South do about it?

“To release the outcome of the investigation is easy,” says Kim Tae-woo, senior North Korea analyst at the Korea Institute. “What to do after that is the most difficult part.”

Seoul is now likely to seek international action, perhaps by asking for tougher sanctions on North Korea from the United Nations Security Council.

South Korean defense officials are confident they have sufficient evidence to convince skeptics who have accused the government here of rushing to judgment against the North. Defense officials say investigators discovered the propeller blade of a torpedo with a North Korean serial number on it as well as traces of an explosive used in North Korean torpedoes discovered off the west coast seven years ago.