S. Korea compares N. Korean torpedo with metal pieces collected from sunken ship

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with comments from unification minister, presidential
secretary, President Lee chairing security reform panel meeting; RECASTS 3rd para)
By Chang Jae-soon
SEOUL, May 13 (Yonhap) -- Investigators are testing metal pieces collected from
the site where a South Korean naval ship sank and comparing them with a North
Korean torpedo to see if they are made of the same material, an official said
Thursday.
South Korea has been struggling to find concrete evidence of what caused the
1,200-ton Cheonan patrol ship to sink in waters near North Korea on March 26,
killing 46 sailors, amid suspicions the communist neighbor attacked the vessel in
retaliation after losing a naval skirmish to the rival South in November.
Minute traces of an explosive chemical used in making torpedoes and five tiny
aluminum pieces are the only evidence that the country is known to have gathered
so far.
On Thursday, defense ministry spokesman Won Tae-jae said experts are comparing
the metal pieces with a stray North Korean torpedo that South Korea picked up
from the southern coast seven years ago.
"It's a matter of course for us to compare the samples" with the torpedo, Won
told reporters. "But we've reached no conclusion on this."
South Korean officials have not officially blamed North Korea for the sinking,
but made remarks fraught with indications that they believe so, including
President Lee Myung-bak's comment last week that the sinking was not a "simple
accident."
Unification Minister Hyun In-taek said Thursday the sinking showed "the world the
cruel reality of division" on the Korean Peninsula. Senior Presidential Secretary
Park Hyung-joon also said in a radio interview that "an external attack was
highly likely" to have sunk the vessel.
North Korea has been suspected from early on, as the incident took place in
waters near the Koreas' tense Yellow Sea border where the sides fought deadly
skirmishes in 1999, 2002 and most recently in November last year.
Pyongyang has denied its involvement in the sinking.
President Lee Myung-bak chaired the first meeting of a newly created security
reform panel Thursday, stressing that the army, navy, air force and marine corps
should enhance interoperability to adapt to the battlefield conditions of the new
era, according to the panel's chief.
Lee ordered the panel's creation earlier this month to reform the military and
national security system after the sinking raised questions about the military's
crisis-handling capabilities.
A team of South Korean and international experts have been conducting an
investigation into the disaster, as Seoul seeks to ensure the probe is objective
and transparent. Its results are expected to come out next week, probably before
May 20, Won said.
The team includes three people recommended by the ruling party and two other
opposition parties.
Won said the ministry asked parliament to replace one opposition-designated
member, Shin Sang-chul, accusing him of spreading groundless rumors without
participating in the probe. Shin, who operates a Web site carrying columns and
commentaries on political issues, has claimed that the ship ran aground and sank.
Shin "hurt the image of the joint investigation team by putting forward his
personal opinions" before an official conclusion is made, Won said. "He has not
been working as an investigator after attending only one meeting."
Shin was not immediately available for comment.
jschang@yna.co.kr
(END)